Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/04/2008 - 13:27

Hi there!  I am a colleague of Maren Nelson, in Chaska MN.  The enthusiasm  her class has shown for PolarTREC is catching on with our class too!  We love your WHAIZIT postings, and have determined that the skull must be an elephant seal because of your clue.  Mrs. Nelson and a student measured out 20 feet in our lunchroom today, to show all of us how long elelphant seals can grow.  Your pictures of the quinzee have captivated the interest of one of our students, in particular.  Perhaps you'll hear more from him!   Also, our class thinks it would be fun to try to walk around with buckets over their heads!  You might be interested to know that when we returned to school on Wednesday, it was 32 degrees colder here in MN than at McMurdo Station!  (-5 F here, and a balmy 27 F there) For us hearty Minnesotans, that is bragging rights!  Cheers to all.  Ann Berne-Rannow

Kirk Beckendorf

Hi Ann and class,I am excited to have all of you on board and am glad you are enjoying the trip. Thanks for joining in.
You are definitely correct, the skull is from a seal, but it is not from an elephant seal. What kind of reaction did students have when they saw the size of an elephant seal.
You certainly win the contest for being coldest, you area hardy bunch. But, do keep in mind that we are in the middle of summer down here. I bet that your student who is interested in qinzees could make one there in Minnesota.
Having students rescue someone who has been lost in a whiteout could be a fun activity, especially if half watched the other half trying to rescue someone and then switch off. In our case the instructor had us pretend that someone had left the tent to go to the outhouse and had not returned.  In a bad storm you will not be able to hsee or hear anyone because of the wind.
Notice that when we were wearing the buckets we were also roped together to make sure the rescuers don't also become lost. 
I look forward to hearing back from you.
kirk