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Media Advisory 07-015
International Polar Year Web Portal Offers E-mail Alerts for Educators
May 9, 2007
Teachers can now sign up for e-mail alerts immediately informing them when news about federally funded educational materials, classroom resources and information about opportunities to assist scientists in the field is added to the U.S. government's Web portal for the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008.
Launched in February, the newly redesigned interagency portal--http://www.ipy.gov--now offers two RSS (short for "Real Simple Syndication") feeds to the public--one on "news and features" and one on "educational resources." Once users have set up their computers to read the RSS feeds, they automatically will receive e-mails as new links are added to the portal.
Directions for subscribing to the feeds are available on ipy.gov's home page.
IPY is a global scientific campaign that began in March 2007. It promises to advance our understanding of how the Earth's remote Polar Regions affect global climate systems, to bring about fundamental advances in many areas of science, and to fire the enthusiasm of young men and women for careers in science and engineering. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is the lead federal agency for IPY and maintains the IPY portal.
Current offerings in the ipy.gov "Explore and Learn" section include links to
- the "NASA Polar Express," the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's storehouse of multimedia information about the Polar Regions of the Earth, the Moon and Mars.
- a collection of images and illustrations of seals and whales maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Mammal Laboratory.
- and a link to NSF's award-winning Web site on the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Other items include a link to
- the NSF-funded ARMADA Project, which allows K-12 teachers to participate in ocean, polar, and environmental science research.
- lesson plans about Antarctica for students in grades 3-5 and 6-8 developed by the Boston National Public Radio affiliate in conjunction with a reporter's visit to the Antarctic Peninsula.
- a U.S. Geological Survey site that contains animations explaining how scientists track animal migrations in Alaska.
The IPY portal also lists Events and Exhibits including a June workshop at Ohio State University's Byrd Polar Research Center on "Teaching About the Cryosphere." A separate section provides images of IPY posters produced by federal agencies and federally funded research centers and links that allow teachers to download the posters for use in the classroom.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Peter West, NSF (703) 292-7761 pwest@nsf.gov
Related Websites
The U.S. government's International Polar Year Web portal: http://www.ipy.gov
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that
supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and
engineering, with an annual budget of $6.06 billion. NSF funds reach all 50
states through grants to over 1,900 universities and institutions. Each year,
NSF receives about 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over
11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in
professional and service contracts yearly.
 Get News Updates by Email
Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
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