Touring Antarctica
An Internet WebQuest
on Antarctic

created by Camilla Elliott - Linking for
Learning

Introduction
| The
Quest | The
Process & Resources | Conclusion
| Teachers

Introduction

Antarctica is one of the last unspoilt environments on Earth,
relatively untouched by humans. As modern technology permits more and more
people to visit this beautiful wilderness, the risk of damage and pollution
becomes an increasing threat. Can we afford the costs of increased human
activity in Antarctica? In this class you will work in teams to establish the
environmental impact of increased tourism in Antarctica from the point of view
of a number of interest groups and present your conclusion as to whether or
not this planned tour should be permitted to go ahead.

The Quest

A new tourist company, 'Antarctic Tours', wants to establish
monthly trekking tours in the Antarctic for four months from November to the
end of February. They plan to take 400 trekkers to Antarctica during this four
months each year. The Australian government has requested that an
Environmental Impact Team explore the impact of this tourism proposal on the
animals and natural environment of Antarctica. The Environmental Impact Team
will be made up of a Tour Operator, an Environmentalist, a Scientist and a
Politician. This Team will present a report to the government with
recommendations to either support or argue against giving the go ahead for
'Antarctic Tours' to begin operations in November this year.

The
report must be supported with factual information relating to each interest
group and present a valid argument to support the views of all stakeholders.
The completed report will be presented to Australian government representives
and be used to decide if the venture is to be allowed to go ahead.

The Process and Resources

In this WebQuest you will be working together in groups. You will
use the webpages that have been provided but may also use general book
resources from the library collection. Each group will consist of eight (8)
students who will divide into pairs and take on one of the roles of either
Tour Operator, Environmentalist, Scientist or Politician and complete the
quest task.

Once each pair has researched and developed an
Environmental Impact Statement in relation to their role, they will come
together as a group to develop a conclusion and recommendation to be presented
to the government on behalf of the whole team.

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Students in pairs
(from your group) complete an introductory exercise using the links in this
phase to get an overview of tourism now and in the past. Use this electronic
note-making sheet to record your evidence. Email your completed
sheet to your teacher to be given your specific role for the webquest.

Guidance for visitors and tour
operators

Explore these
photographs of Antarctica on Flickr

Statistics of visitors to
Antarctica

What's
it like in Antarctica?

A
brief history of Antarctica

Effective waste
management practices

Conserving Antarctica's
plants and animals

Antarctica:
Environmental Issues & Management

Penguins
and other Antarctic animals

New
Zealand use and management of Antarctica

Classroom
Antarctica

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:
1.
Divide into groups of eight students per group (or approximately as instructed
by your teacher). Each group will then divide into pairs with each pair to
take on one of the four roles of Tour Operator, Environmentalist, Scientist
and Politician. These pairs will come together after they have researched
their role to develop an Environmental Impact Report on behalf of their team
based on the findings of each role.

2. Read through the files selected
for your chosen role. You may also like to use some of the general sites
provided or some allocated to one of the other roles. You must use the sites
located within this Webquest.

3. Take notes in your workbooks. Remember
to take note of the URL of the sites you use for your bibliography.

4.
Once you have researched your role, use the 'Environmental Impact Report'
sheet provided to help you develop an opinion on your role with your partner.

5. Join back into your eight member team to focus what you've learned
into one main opinion that answers the Quest ie: From your role as a Scientist
etc. What do you consider would be the environmental impact of the proposal of
'Antarctic Tours' to provide 400 trekking positions to Antarctica over a four
month period from next November - February.

Tour
Operator

As the tour
operator you will be wanting your project to get approval to go ahead. You
are intending to prepare your tourists well so that they will be responsible
tourists. Use these questions and Internet sites to assist you in developing
an argument to support your decision to take 400 tourist trekkers over a
period of four months.

1. What preparation will you give the
tourists regarding their environmental responsibilities?

2. Check the
breeding seasons of land-based animals. Will the timing of you treks
coincide with any of the animal breeding seasons? What effect will this
have? What precautions will you take?

2. What rubbish will leave
behind from your food, vehicles and human waste?

3. How do you plan
to dispose of your rubbish?

4. Are there trekking tours to
Antarctica already available? Why should you be allowed to take so many
extra people to this wilderness area?

Traveling
in Antarctica

Lonely
Planet: Facts for the Traveler

The
Antarctic Tour Operators

What lives in
Antarctica?

Conservation
in Antarctica - protecting the environment - getting travel permits

Some
experiences awaiting Antarctic visitors

New
Zealand tourism activities in Antarctica

Southern
Life

Environmentalist

As an
Environmentalist you are concerned at the number of tourists already
visiting Antarctica. Use these questions and the Internet sites provided to
develop a report about the impact of trekking tourists on the wildlife, the
plantlife and the general environment. Use your report to either support or
refuse the proposal of 'Antarcic Tours' to establish monthly trekking tours
for 400 tourists over four months.

1. What animals, plants and
features would be threatened by this increased land-based tourism to
Antarctica?

2. Is this threat a problem or could it be managed? How
could it be managed?

3. Why should we look after Antarctica? What's
so special about it?

4. Develop some guidelines that you would
propose for trekking tours giving attention to such details as (a) time of
year, (b)length of stay, (c) support vehicles used, (d) disposal of rubbish.

Guidance for visitors to the
Antarctic

Agreed Measures for
the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora

Antarctica
animals

Antarctic
wildlife

Why is wildlife disease
in Antarctica a concern?

Terrestrial
Ecosystems

Antarctica
- Greenhouse effect and climate change

Antarctica
- Environment

Tourism
in Antarctica - human impacts

Protecting the Antarctic
for future generations

Scientist

You have been
involved in scientific research in Antarctica for twenty years. Over that
time you have seen a huge increase in the number of people visiting the
region. From your position as a Scientist you may feel that increased
tourism is threatening important research projects. Use the following
questions and the sites provided to produce a report indicating the effects
of scientific research to support your argument of science being more
important than tourism:

1. What sort of experiments do scientists
conduct in Antarctica?

2. Does this work have much of an impact on
the environment? For example, what sorts of vehicles are used? Do you
disturb the wildlife? Do they leave pollution?

3. Is it important
that Antarctica be kept as a research area? Why?

4. Will these
proposed trekking tours affect any scientific projects? In what way?

Living and working in
Antarctica

Rules that working
scientists observe to protect the environment

Antarctica
Community

Science in Antarctica :
Antarctic research

Casey Station - Life
& scientific activities - Australian

Casey Station
photos on Flickr

Mawson Station - Life
& scientific activities - Australian

Mawson
Station photos on Flickr

Macquarie Island -
Life & scientific activities - Australian

Davis Station - another
of the Australian bases

Heard Island Base - Australian

Scott
Base - managed by the New Zealand Antarctic Institute

Politician

Antarctica has no
universally recognised owners and, therefore does not belong to any one
country. As a Politician you receive pressure from all groups using and
working in Antarctica. As you want to get re-elected at the next election,
you are keen to keep everybody happy. Use questions and the sites provided
develop a report on the legal obligations of people who use Antarctica for
any reason.

1. What treaties and laws are in place to protect the
region?

2. What is the purpose of these treaties and laws?

3.
How many tourists have been to Antarctica in recent years? Should we worry
about the numbers?

4. What actions would you suggest that would
enable the trekking to continue in harmony with scientific and environmental
activities? Can they all exist together?5. Could tourists be involved in
useful projects to preserve our Antarctic heritage? Can you suggest a
project?

Australians
in Antarctica - 2 pages

Our Treaty
obligations

Introducing
the Madrid Protocol

History
: the Antarctic Treaty

Australia's heritage -
Mawson's Huts

Why
should we care about Antarctica

Antarctica
International

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

You have all researched the Environmental Impact from a number of
viewpoints. Now group members come back to the larger WebQuest team to develop
a Team Report. You won't all agree but must be able to work as a group to come
up with a final recommendation regarding the Environmental Impact of the
proposed trekking tours.

Each team will present a report to the
government with recommendations to either support or argue against giving the
go-ahead for 'Antarctic Tours' to begin operations in November this
year.

Each team will present their report in the form of a poster to
the class as if they were presenting it to a government representative. The
poster will be divided into four parts to represent each of the four roles
with each Tour Operator, Scientist, Environmentalist and Politician explaining
their findings and recommendation. One spokesperson will present the overall
team conclusion.

The final recommendation of your WebQuest team should
be written out and attached to the poster.

Phase 4 - Real World Feedback

Once reports are
presented to the class you will complete the attached assessment rubric to
check what you have learned by completing this WebQuest and consider what you
would do differently if you did it again.

Your teacher will then give
you instruction on sending a summary of your findings to the schools contact
at the Australian Antarctic Division.

Send your email to: Australian Antarctic Division

Conclusion

Through the investigations you have conducted in this WebQuest you
now have a greater understanding of the impact of humans on the Antarctic.
News items regularly appear on television and in the daily newspapers. Watch
out for them and be aware of what is happening in one of the world's last,
relatively unspoiled wildernesses.

©Content
Camilla Elliott, [email-masked]
Originally developed
1996. Last revised 10 April, 2008
Edited in template from
http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/