Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 08:41
Forums
Spring Plankton and Changing Ice Cover

Hi Ms Welch!

I miss you. Why are there antlers in the office?

Mr. Matt named the hedgehog Albert.

Henry Logan-Schlanger Class 1A Oyster-Adams Bilingual School.

Fri, 02/27/2009 - 09:36

Simone Welch

Hi Henry!  I miss you too!  Albert is a great name for him!  Good question! Many animals lose their antlers every year. They need them during the mating season and then get rid of them.  Usually they lose them in the winter when the need to save all the energy they can!  Take a look at the close-up reindeer eyes picture. You can see that the reindeer in the picture only has one antler! Caribou are the only animals which the females have the antlers.  What do you think they use them for?

Tue, 03/03/2009 - 12:03

Isabelle

Dear Mrs Welch,
I hope you are having a great time.
I want to ask you some questions.
How old are the animals if you know?
What was the lowest temperture there yet?
From:Isabelle 3C

Tue, 03/03/2009 - 17:52

Kali Erickson

Hi Ms. Welch,
This is the mother of Kiah Vilchez from KA. The research sounds so interesting and this webpage is an amazing resource! Thanks for your interesting postings. I hope this is a great experience for you! You are really missed back at the school!
"Warm" wishes,
Kali

Sat, 03/07/2009 - 18:49

Simone Welch

Hi Kali- Sorry for the delayed reply!  Thank you so much for logging on and checking out the project.  Kiah is such a great little scientist!  I hope you guys enjoying being a virtual part of the expedition.  I can't believe that it is only 3 weeks away!
Simone

Sat, 03/07/2009 - 19:01

Simone Welch

Hi Isabelle,Sorry that I didn't get right back to you- I didn't know that anyone had written to me. All this super-technology is new to me!
As for your questions, I think that you were talking about the animals at the research center. If so, there were animals of all ages there from very young to very old. I think that Yessie was 3 years old.
The temperature was the strangest thing! Even though it was -12F one day, I never felt as cold as I do in DC. The air was really dry and it wasn't windy at all. The snow was soo powdery and papery feeling that it didn't even seem real.
I wore snow-pants, two jackets, gloves, a scarf and a hat though, everywhere that I went so that may have been part of the reason that I wasn't cold! :)See you next week for more polar science experiments!
Ms.W