Palmer Station Live Calls to Classrooms Kickoff for 2025

This week, we successfully relaunched our Palmer LTER Live Calls from Antarctica videoconference series with scientists at Palmer Station, Antarctica and classrooms around the country!

After a year off, due to the limited number of research staff on station last year, we kicked off our new videoconference series on January 23, 2025, with students from:

• New Millennium Academy (Brooklyn Center, MN),
• Tequesta Trace Middle School (Broward County, FL),
• Lincoln Middle School (Kearny, NJ),
• and Neptune Middle School (Neptune, NJ)

These classrooms participated in an engaging live video teleconference with Palmer LTER graduate students Maya Thomas and Mya Sharpe.

During the call, Maya and Mya shared insights about their research on penguins, zooplankton, and phytoplankton in one of the most unique and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. The students had the opportunity to ask questions directly to the scientists, learning about the importance of Antarctic organisms and the critical role they play in the Antarctic ecosystem and global environment.

Students’ curiosity spanned a variety of topics, including asking the scientists how they use DNA in their research, and whether there might be any impact of the recent Los Angeles fires on the ocean around Antarctica. One student asked about their favorite instruments – Maya’s is a 5-gallon bucket she can carry zooplankton in and conduct experiments, while Mya loves using the IFCB, a fancy Imaging Flow Cytobot that can take tends of thousands of photos of phytoplankton each hour. The discussion helped to excite and inspire student’s interest in science, while connecting their classroom learning to real-world scientific research.

This videoconference series is part of the Schoolyard LTER program, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and aims to bring the wonder of Antarctic science directly to classrooms across the United States. The program highlights the collaborative efforts of scientists and educators to spark interest in ecological research and foster a deeper understanding of the natural world.

This first event was just the beginning. Palmer LTER scientists will lead five more videoconferences as part of this year’s field season. These sessions will continue to connect students with the incredible work happening at Palmer Station, offering a unique window into the lives of researchers studying the southernmost reaches of our planet.

Recordings of past calls are available on the Palmer LTER Videoconference Archive page. We encourage educators and students to explore past calls to learn more about the science and scientists in Antarctica.