We have been studying the polar region for the past month, and last week we were honored to invite one of the children’s dad along to share his experiences of the polar world. Mike, a scientist who works in Greenland, came in to share with us his Arctic gear. He entered the classroom all bundled up with a heavy jacket, snow pants, boots, and mittens. Children started to ask questions about his gear and sharing about their own snow gear.
Mike pointed out the reason for the fur around his hood was to keep the snow from blowing into his face. The children then began a conversation about whether they had fur or not on their own jackets.
He showed pictures from our Polar book of scientists on snow mobiles and large research boats. Once he was finished answering the children’s questions, he offered his gear for children to try on. We brought down a scale and found out that each boot weighted 3 lbs, his jacket was big enough to cover the entire child, and multiple children could bundle up in his puffy sleeping bag.
But the fun didn’t end there. Mike showed a rock collection from his various journeys and children were interested to see the sparkle and striation within each rock.