Daily Video Reports Start Monday, Feb. 16; Live Webcast Friday, Feb. 20
When the tilted Earth's annual trip around the Sun brings winter to the Northern Hemisphere, snow and ice come regularly to Lake Placid, N.Y. So regularly, in fact, that the city has twice hosted the Winter Olympics, in 1932 and 1980.
This year, the city's intense winter is again drawing a crowd, as NASA helps examine the chilly climate for teachers and students across the country.
Daily video reports will be included on-line and a live webcast takes place Friday
Ice is one of the most widespread, intriguing, and familiar compounds in the solar system. It falls as snow, forms lacy deposits on winter windows, skating surfaces on lakes, graceful draperies on rock cliffs, thick packs on the polar oceans, and the even thicker ice caps blanketing Greenland and Antarctica. Beyond Earth, ice is present in the frozen oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa, the particles in Saturn's rings, and the spectacular tails of passing comets.
This week, participating teachers from the NASA Explorer Schools are studying winter snow and ice in a once-in-a-lifetime field campaign in Lake Placid. The History of Winter (HOW) program will allow them to interpret the winter record on location and gain the tools to do the same in their hometowns.
Teachers take ice samples. Credit: NASA
While at Lake Placid from February 15-21, teachers will be interacting with their students at home via a multimedia Web interface on Feb. 20. Sharing the experiences in detailed science fieldwork and the challenges faced in a cold weather environment, they will have the opportunity to communicate the excitement of science to their classes, both virtually and upon their return to school.
To find out more about HOW, and get connected with Friday's live webcast at 1 p.m. EST, visit http://howexcite.gsfc.nasa.gov. (You will need to download the latest Flash player from Macromedia)
More Information:
NASA Explorer Schools
Special Project Initiatives Office
Earth Science for Kids
Destination: Earth
Blue Ice Online
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
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