|
|
RGS Christmas Lecture
Just before Christmas some children from Crofton Hammond School were lucky enough to attend the children’s Christmas lecture on Antarctica at the Royal Geographical Society in London.
The Geographical Society was founded in 1830 as an institution to promote the advancement of geographical science and the founder members of the Society include Sir John Barrow, including those of Charles Darwin, David Livingstone, Scott of the Antarctic, Ernest Shackleton and Sir Edmund Hillary.
Statue of Ernest Shackleton outside of the RGS
Today the Society is a leading world centre for geographical learning - supporting teaching, education, research and scientific expeditions, as well as promoting public understanding and enjoyment of geography.
The children were accompanied by Leading Airman Steve Paris-Hunter from the ENDURANCE KAYAK 66 SOUTH expedition as he is a Fellow of the RGS.
The lecture was a great success, but rather than take our word for it, some of the children have written up their own accounts of the day.
By Martyn & Ruth
The Royal Geographical Society lecture was very good.
We particularly liked holding the 40,000 year old Antarctic ice. We also liked seeing the people in all their layers of Antarctic clothing. At the lecture we watched amazed as a man poured - 40° C. water into a cup and it froze instantly. We watched a video of a man going into 0° C water. When he got out he was very pale and shivery.
After the lecture we went into a small tent that they would live in. It was very small and cramped but two men could stay in it for a maximum of two months.
We would like thank Steve Paris-Hunter for taking us to the lecture as we and our families had a great time.
From Alexander and Sarah:
The lecture was fantastic and there were lots of good bits (too many to explain in fact!) Probably the best bits were the brilliant movies and the amazing experiments.
The best experiment was rubbing an antiseptic wipe on one hand and putting a glove on the other. This showed how cold Antarctica was.
Our favourite slideshow was the one at the beginning where there were photos of the HMS Endurance and the helicopter. Our favourite movie was the man who was in the cold bath for one hour. It was marvellous to watch but probably not much fun for him. We also liked finding out about what animals live in Antarctica
The final experiment was a boy from the crowd who put on the very large gloves and tried (and failed) to pick up a fifty pence piece and a chocolate bar. We enjoyed holding the 40,000 year old ice. After the talk we went to the tent where it was crowed but was good fun.
We would like to thank Steve Paris-Hunter for organising the tickets and giving them to Crofton Hammond Junior School.
|
