Skype In My Classroom: Chemistry students grade 8 met famous American scientist

That week my chemistry students met a very popular American scientist who is researching in the Antarctica every year from November until January during the breeding session of the Adeli penguines: Jean Pennycook. We set up this meeting for the third time now. And the whole session was a great success, as the years before.

During the participation in an international science project with schools around the world iniciated and let by the States Ministry of Education in Malaysia, the students commonly gathered a lot of information about global climate change and its impact. Using Edmodo, Padlet, Skype and Google Hangout they shared their information throughout this first phase.

During the second phase the students got more information by their chemistry teacher. Jean chosed a certain nest from her penguine colony and started to document the progress of breeding by taking pictures on a regular basis. The students always had a direct view into every day life of these climate change bio- indicator birds.

In the third phase they met Jean this week in a video conference who is working with Adeli penguines in the Antarctica, far from any civilisation. Straight from a tent next to the birds she reported about her work, gave information about the impact of climate chance in this vulnerable area. She answered a lot of questions about her person, why she once decided to become a scientist and why she has been doing this great job.
She invited the students to help her doing her official scientific research - from the distance.

The students had prepared a lot of questions they gathered throughout the last months concerning her person, about penguines, about the influence of climate change to these birds.

The common students' group and their flag

The Germans students created a penguine flag they sent to Jean. She will put that flag next to the nest for 24 hours.

They did the preparations of the flag.

Student' flag is now next to the animals for the next months.

She will give the flag to the American McMurdo research station in the Antarctica where the flag will run up for 24 hours again.

She will send this unique flag back to Germany finally.

Jean Pennycook, originally a biology teacher at an American middle school, MA in Education and BS in Biology and Chemistry at different universities in California, successfully expanded the students' knowledge and experience in connecting them to her science research. These young learners got to know a lot about how scientists work and how much abstinence they sometimes have to practice.

Of course, the German kids wanted to know how she will celebrate Christmas very far from everything. And she gave them all information what she kept in mind celebrating Christmas next to 200 birds and no men.Including these two little penguines in her hand, dressed as Santa Claus'.