School › Polar regions
The polar regions
At the top of the Earth lies a frozen ocean; at the bottom, a continent buried under ice up to almost 5 km thick. Find out why the poles are so cold, why the Sun shines at midnight in summer, how polar bears and penguins keep warm, and what melting ice means for the rest of the planet. Three ages, each with a text, an experiment, a game, a quiz, a printable worksheet and a teacher sheet.
Ages 6–7Brrr! The coldest places on EarthAt the very top and the very bottom of the Earth it is icy cold. Meet polar bears and penguins, find out why the Sun shines at midnight, and make a blubber glove!Ages 10–11The Arctic and Antarctica comparedTwo ends of the Earth, two very different places. Compare the Arctic and Antarctica, discover why the polar regions are deserts, watch sea ice grow and shrink, and test whether huddling really keeps penguins warm.Ages 15–16Polar ice, albedo and sea levelMeasure how surface colour changes heating, follow the ice-albedo feedback, turn gigatons of melted ice into millimetres of sea-level rise, and compare how scientists describe changes at the two poles.