Cruise Ships

Legos and playing outside are what this boy loves and he also likes messing around on the computer plus penguins. In Antarctica early next month is where this first grader will be seeing his beloved birds in the wild as they waddle on the ice and feed their newly hatched chicks. For their trip to the Antarctic Peninsula, he and his parents will be accompanied by an internationally known explorer and filmmaker.

Only a handful of children his age have ever stepped onto the continent. Much jubilation is not only experienced by this boy but also by his friends. Their behavior can be justified by the fact that his classmates are coming too. Through an Internet linkup, they will be able to join the expedition without incurring many costs. Even other students will be able to view the live video coverage for the trip.

In order for questions to be raised and answers to be given live, the pilot youth program uses a site. This is an experience where the teachers are planning on coming up with grade level activities building on the boy’s dispatches. Weather will be given to the first graders while fourth graders get geology and fifth graders get forces in motion.

This is adventure for the entire family. According to his mother, he loves nature so the trip will be really good and she also said that she will be the voice of reason here. As said by the boy, if you have a little motivation your dreams can easily be fulfilled.

There is nothing unusual about a webcast. But this interactive experience with kids will be a first for the explorer, who was the first American man to ski to the South Pole and the first to ice bike 250 miles across Antarctica. From science to extreme skiing, the pursuits they had since 1999 on over a dozen trips to the continent were ideal for adults. When it comes to the exposure to such vast knowledge, he thought about how the youth would benefit from his experiences there. It was a year ago when he wanted to have a program for kids.

Antarctica has been promoted as the adventure destination by the March of the Penguins movie and this makes the timing for the trip great. Maybe destiny brought the explorer and the boy’s mother together. It was years ago in a local university when the mother and the 42 year old explorer attended a local university together but lost touch until she heard about his website from a mutual friend.

Buenos Aires, Argentina started the 14 day expedition and this is where the boy made his first live dispatch before going south. As they boarded a 100 passenger cruise ship, they and a number of Toronto travelers went through the Drake Passage and the Antarctic Peninsula. Encountering adverse sea weather, the 600 mile, 30 hour ride became the most dangerous part of the entire expedition.

It was in crossing the Drake Passage that they were able to witness dolphins, elephant seals, and whales. There are adjacent islands that ice prevents travelers from reaching and they will go to these via rubber boats after arriving at the peninsula. They will be visiting scientific research stations and penguin rookeries as well. The explorer even knows the secret location of a colony of emperor penguins, the largest of the 17 species of penguins living in Antarctica and the ones made famous in March of the Penguins.