Questions & Answers Wk 13
Every week Team GoNorth! answers ten questions related to the module topic from student explorers -- so stay tuned and submit YOUR questions!
The first time Europeans found the Bering Strait and Alaska was in 1728 - and it was by a man from Denmark (like Mille). His name is Vitus Bering! What is often not told, is that Vitus Bering had been expelled from Denmark, so he was working as a ship's captain for the Russian Czar. The Russians then called Alaska theirs and that's how Alaska was first Russian before it was sold to the U.S in 1867.
In addition to to receiving the credit for having discovered Alaska, he also discovered the body of water that divides it from Russia. Both the strait and sea are named after him: The Bering Strait and the Bering Sea.
Why is Vitus Jonassen Bering an important person?
Wendy
Homecroft
4 Grade Grade
St. Paul Minnesota
We think the only place a polar bear may have access to fruit is if it lives in a zoo. Polar Bears eat lots and lots of meat!
Go to the Climate Zone and look at a GREAT research report by Jake at Rush Creek Elementary School! You can learn all about Polar Bears, including where they live and what they eat, thanks to Jake's report.
Thanks Jake!!
Do polar bear eat fruit? And where do polar bears live?
Darkee
homecroft
4 grade Grade
mn
We found the following information about Knud:
World-renowned explorer Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen was born in Jakobshavn, Greenland on June 7, 1879. He was the first person to traverse the Northwest Passage by dogsled when he crossed the ice sheets of Viscount Melville Sound. Rasmussen also disproved the existence of Peary Channel and Independence Bay.
Of Inuit (his mother's side) and Danish descent, Rasmussen became fascinated with native languages and ways of living, including the arts of sea kayaking and dogsled riding. Much of his life became devoted to ethnological and cultural studies throughout Arctic North America. Establishing a base supply station in Thule, Greenland in 1910, he attempted to visit as many known Inuit groups as he could. During his travels he made meticulous notes and sketches, collecting an impressive amount of Inuit artifacts and compiling hundreds of Native legends and songs.
Rasmussen sought confirmation of his theory that native Inuit people were derived from the same stock as the native North Americans, having originally migrated from Asia 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. His research also focused on Inuit culture and their ways of adaptating to the harsh Arctic environment. In 1902-1904 he participated with on an expedition with experienced people like Jørgen Brønlund, Harald Moltke and Mylius-Erichssen. In 1910 he and Peter Freuchen established a trade station in Thule at Cape York. He made several more expeditions during the years between 1912 - 1919.
From his Thule station, Rasmussen led five expeditions from 1921 to 1924 exploring some 29,000 miles of arctic North America. His famous "Great Sledge Journey" resulted in the collection and description of Inuit folktales, songs, and poetry. For that effort he was appointed doctor of honor at the University of Copenhagen. In 1932 he went on his last expedition, from Thule to southeast Greenland for archaeological and ethnological research.
Author of many books, his translated works include Greenland by the Polar Sea (1921) and Across Arctic America (1927) in addition to several ethnologic studies of the Inuit and Greenlandic people.
courtesy of: Arctic Explorers - All Things Arctic allthingsarctic.com/exploration/rasmussen.aspx
Why is Knud Rasmussen important?
Terajae
Homecroft
3rd? Grade
St Paul
Dogs, like people, can have a bad day and we can best judge a Polar Husky's mood by their ears and tails!
Ears and tails up = Happy! Lets go!
Ears and tails down = Sad... I wanted to pull with Sable today.
Ears back, tail up = POLAR BEAR! LOOK OUT!
And sometimes we cannot tell they are in a bad mood by their ears or tails at all... Sometimes the Polar Huskies will act like they do not hear commands, like running faster when asked to slow down, just to show they are a little cranky that day. It would be like you not listening to your parents or your teacher when they ask you to do something. You still respect them, you just might be tired or having a bad day at the moment.
And like people... they will try to act like nothing is wrong at all... "Who me?" ;-)
I was wondering, if any dogs pout on the trip? Also, do any of the dogs make faces when they do something bad?
P.S. Beacon is sooooooooo CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Almasa
Walt Disney
4th Grade
Chicago, IL
In September when it began to get a little cooler, we began doing training runs with the dogs. Because of the season there wasn't any snow, so we couldn't use a sled... so we used a 4-wheeler!
The dogs were put into their harnesses, attached to the main line, which was then connected to the 4-wheeler. We put the 4-wheeler into Neutral and the dogs pulled us. As it got cooler, we are able to go further and further.
Once there was enough snow on the ground we were able to switch from the 4-wheeler to a sled. All the while, increasing the distance we would run to help the dogs build their endurance.
As for getting use to the weather... Polar Huskies love the Arctic... no training necessary for that! Their big paws, thick dual layered coats and mighty spirits are at home in the ice and snow.
I was wondering what type of training do you have to the dogs first before using them in the Arctic? I mean you have to at least train them a little before they are used as sled dogs?
Loulou
walt disney magnet school
4th Grade
Chicago Il USA
Answer provided by
GoNorth! Team Member: Paul Pregont
The main purpose is to help with Ground Truthing the satellite data. They have looked at the crystals to help better understand how the crystals impact the passive radiation measured by the satellites, so this is what they are learning.
Mr Clay's Class:
Has NASA found any thing about the snow pit samples in the last three years?
the Week 13 Chat
Eden Lake Elementary
Answer provided by
GoNorth! Team Member: Paul Pregont
Sometimes the front team is moving slower and the back team moves faster because they are chasing the front team, so we do that to balance out the
speed.
Mr Clay's Class:
Why did you have a team of 7 and 9?
the Week 13 Chat
Eden Lake Elementary
Answer provided by
GoNorth! Team Member: Paul Pregont
At the start we had deep snow and warm weather in Sweden, we also had hard conditions in Norway with deep snow.
Bonnie of Team Lightning:
What place on the expedition did you find hardest to travel through?
the Week 13 Chat
CRES
Answer provided by
GoNorth! Team Member: Paul Pregont
No we were glad to have a pretty uneventful trip as far as any injuries or illnesses were concerned.
Lightning Rox:
Did anyone get sick or hurt?
the Week 13 Chat
CRES
Unfortunately no. We haven't been to that part of the North Pole. Our trips always begin after Christmas so we are never in the same place as he is.
Our paws are crossed that one of these years either our path with cross with his or we will make it to his area of the North Pole and meet him!!!
Have you seen Santa Claus?
Beck
Neill
1 Grade
Crystal, MN, USA
