Students on Ice
This week’s journal highlights two Booker T. Washington High School graduates, April Gearlds and Shameka Adams, who recently returned from a ‘Students On Ice’ expedition to Antarctica. I was excited to learn a bit about the ‘Students On Ice’ program and hear about their journey and thought you would too.
Here’s what these globe traveling graduates had to say.
They, along with 53 other students, started there adventure on December 26, 1010 - in route to explore southern South America, the Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding Southern Ocean.
Sutdents on Ice - Antarctic 2010
This was truly a world wide event with participants from Argentina, Australia, China, France, Germany, Guyana, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Palestine, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States and every region of Canada.
As I listened to their stories unfold, every day of their expedition seemed to be more exciting and inspiring than the last – and the pictures were amazing!
Check out some of the student daily journey updates at http://www.studentsonice.com/antarctic2010/daily.html
Although April and Shameka spent a good bit time on the ship –‘ Ushuaia,’ they were able to explore the Southern Ocean on Zodiac cruises, take hikes when they were on shore, learn about the effects of climate change and participate in a number of educational and research activities.
Here are some incredible pictures and comments from their adventure:
April Gearlds and Shameka Adams – Excerpts from there Antarctic Blog – December 2010 to January 2011.
Excerpt from April and Shameka’s Antarctic Blog - This is the Ushuaia Ship. Shameka and I (April) spent most of our sleeping hours aboard this ship. There were several activities such as CPR training, music composition, and discussion groups with other students from round the world who also attended this trip. Many of us became sea sick when traveling along the Drake Passage! Photo courtesy of April Gearlds and Shameka Adams
Excerpt from April and Shameka’s Antarctic Blog - This is a zodiac. We used this as transportation to get around to the many islands we visited. Many of the images seen in this blog were taken from the zodiac! Photo courtesy of April Gearlds and Shameka Adams
Excerpt from April and Shameka’s Antarctic Blog - This is Deception Island. It isn’t just an Island but also an active volcano. While visiting we hiked inside the volcano! The winds where so high near the bottom, that it nearly pushed us over! The last eruption was around 1980. Photo courtesy of April Gearlds and Shameka Adams
Excerpt from April and Shameka’s Antarctic Blog - This iceberg is melting slowly. We actually witnessed huge chunks of the iceberg falling off into the water. It sounded similar to a thunder storm. We were on an island and we witness two avalanches within 30 minutes. This image alone is something all students should experience! Photo courtesy of April Gearlds and Shameka Adams
Wildlife was everywhere!
And they got a chance to see a wide diversity at that - whales, seals, and a host of Antarctic seabirds. Here are some of my favorite pictures with comments from their blog.
Excerpt from April and Shameka’s Antarctic Blog - When traveling the Pacific Ocean, we saw a bevy of penguins! These are Gentoo penguins trying to see which one is going to take the first leap in the water. Photo courtesy of April Gearlds and Shameka Adams
Excerpt from April and Shameka’s Antarctic Blog - This is a Humpback whale. I (April) stood on the deck nearly thirty minutes to get this shot. This whale is really rare to see in Antarctica. He was constantly breaching the day we saw it. Photo courtesy of April Gearlds and Shameka Adams
Are you interested in going on an Arctic or Antarctic adventure?
Check out the Students on Ice website at http://www.studentsonice.com/index.php
Congratulations Booker T. Washington on willing the 2011 Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge – You are TOPS!!