Winter 2008 - Subscribe here.

It rained 22 out of 31 days in January here in the San Francisco Bay
Area. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains is over 100 inches
deep, which promises no drought this coming summer. Things may not be faring so well in the Polar regions, where changing conditions make
life difficult for the creatures that live there. Find out more in
ICE STORIES below.


CONTENTS
1- ICE STORIES: DISPATCHES FROM POLAR SCIENTISTS
2- EXPLORATORIUM AT NSTA
3- PI DAY
4- NSDL EXPERT VOICES

1- ICE STORIES: DISPATCHES FROM POLAR SCIENTISTS
http://www.exploratorium.edu/poles/index.php
Meet penguin biologists, glaciologists, cosmologists, geologists, and
marine scientists working in Antarctica and the Arctic. We've given
them cameras and asked them to document their adventures, in real
time, so you can follow their research, ask questions, and share in
their discoveries as they occur. In celebration of the International
Polar Year (2007-08), and with support from the National Science
Foundation, this experiment, gives you an up-close-and-personal look
at research in extreme environments through the thoughts and
experiences of the scientists working there. We'll post their photos,
videos, and blogs on this site.

The science covered by these first-hand reports is diverse and
includes the geologic history of climate change, the current breeding
behavior and changing demographics of Adelie penguins, the deployment
of a powerful new telescope at the South Pole, the fast-evolving
science of ice-sheet dynamics, and responses of a polar marine
ecosystem experiencing dramatic warming.

2- EXPLORATORIUM AT NSTA
The Exploratorium invites you to visit our Exhibit Hall booth and
meet us at the annual NSTA conference in Boston, MA, March 27-29,
Booth 1156. Our entertaining Teacher Institute staff will be sharing
and demonstrating cool activities you can use in the classroom and at
home, using simple, inexpensive materials. Extended Learning Group
staff will show free online resources from the award-winning
Exploratorium Web site.

3- PI DAY - 20th Anniversary, Friday, March 14
http://www.exploratorium.edu/pi/
From San Francisco to New York, in museums, universities, classrooms,
and in the privacy of one's own home, (and of course on Second Life),
people are celebrating Pi. It's the 20th anniversary of the
celebration of Pi Day, an international holiday that originated at
San Francisco's Exploratorium.

At the Exploratorium, we'll gather around the Pi Shrine to perform
pi-related rites and eat ritual food - maybe apple or pizza pie -- in
honor of this special number. People will sing Pi Day songs, bead a
pi string (a physical manifestation of the never-ending value of pi),
and circumnavigate a pi shrine. Pi Day celebrations culminate,
appropriately enough, on March 14 at 1:59 p.m. That's the third
month, the fourteenth day, at 1:59 p.m., corresponding to the first 6
digits of Pi. And as an added bonus, 3/14 is also Einstein's birthday.

If you can't come to the Exploratorium, join us in Second Life or
check out all the cool Pi activities, limericks, posters, and more on
our Pi website.

4- NSDL EXPERT VOICES
http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/
Expert Voices uses Weblog (blog) technology to support collaborative
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
conversations among content experts, scientists, teachers, and
students from key NSDL audience groups: K12 teachers, university
faculty, librarians, and library builders. Moderated conversations
are designed to tie NSDL resources to science news and add context
for resources that enhance discovery, selection, and use.

Blog discussions include:
- Scientists who are sharing research tips that tie data collected by
citizen scientists from all over the country
- Teaching and learning in "Bringing the Field to the Classroom--Birds"
- In-depth STEM information about current news for teachers to use in
sharing stories with their students at the "NSDL News Topic Center:
Current Science Information"
- An online discussion with a publisher, a commercial search engine
company representative, and video game experts about the promises and pitfalls of using new media for scholarship.

You can learn more about NSDL Expert Voices and how to participate at
http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/about/.