Arctic
Photo from NationalGeographic.com
We’ve been enjoying the Scandinavian countries of Finland, Sweden and Norway so we may as well head further north and visit the Arctic!! Even though it’s 110 degrees where we are – visiting via internet is making us feel cooler. The Arctic is governed through mutual representation of the following countries as well as it’s indigenous peoples (Aleut, Inuit, Saami) : Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russian Federation, Sweden and the United States of America. Countries that are actually IN the arctic include: Alaska (USA), Canada, Finland, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden.
ABOUT THE ARCTIC
- Arctic Tundra facts also here
- Wikipedia
- The Arctic Council Intergovernmental Forum
- name might come from ‘near the bear – or constellation Ursa Major or Ursa Minor which contains the Pole star Polaris — or ‘by the north’ arktikos
- nobody ‘OWNS’ the North Pole or Arctic Ocean surrounding
- Arctic Library
- Global Warming vs no climate change – Pro Con debate
- 2 seasons – cold summer and extremely cold winter
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
- permafrost
- Arctic Ocean
- oil, gas, metal ores, fresh water
- lichen, mosses, dwarf shrubs, tundra, grasses
- polar habitat
- weather for kids
ANIMALS
- whales: baleen, narwhal, killer whale, beluga
- seals
- polar bears
- reindeer
- caribou
- birds
- fish
- Arctic hare
- lemming
- musk ox
- snowy owl
- Arctic fox
- Arctic wolf
- wolverines
- ermines, Arctic ground squirrels
Photographs by Michael H. Davies of hot tea poured at -40 degrees at Sunset
View Michael’s incredible photos at his website!
from deMilked
PEOPLE
- in 2015 4-million people live there!
- promoting traditional ways of indigenous peoples
- circumpolar peoples include: Buryat, Chukchi, Evenks, Inuplat, Khanty, Koryaks, Nenets, Sami, Yukaghir, Yupik
- Inuit people
TO DO WITH THE KIDS
- read and watch all links and videos above
- paint northern lights with black construction paper iceburg silhouette
- watercolor with igloo masked out similar to this one inspired by Mindy Dwyer
- black paper – silhouette mask with chalk smudged northern lights or a more fancy version here
- do the ice / blubber experiment from REAL Science Odyssey (gloves + fat)
- black paper, white chalk, drawing with constellation of Ursa Major inspired by Diana Sudyka
- make artificial snow or cheap version here
- make snow slime recipe 1 or frozen glittery snow slime here
- make a polar bear picture with cotton balls
- make polar bear paw cupcakes