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South Pole Adventure!

Teacher spends a month at the bottom of the world.

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PHOTOS OF KATE MILLER (POLARTREC 2016), COURTESY OF ARCUS

Through PolarTREC, Miller saw an opportunity
ate Miller just returned from an expe-
ABOVE: Miller poses
rience of a lifetime — she spent one
at the Ceremonial South Pole. to bring authentic science practices into her high
school classroom. “As teachers, we do our best to
month as a teacher-researcher at the
She’s surrounded by
12 flags representing the
prepare our students for what’s to come. I wanted
South Pole.
12 countries to sign the
to experience firsthand the skills scientists use
Growing up in Beverly Hills, Miller attended
original Antarctic Treaty.
when conducting field research so I could better
religious school at Temple Emanu-El. She
TOP LEFT: Miller received
emulate those for my students,” she said.
went on to earn a bachelor’s of science degree
her official name badge
By visiting Miller’s blog, you can learn what a
in physics from the University of Michigan
and boarding pass in
neutrino is and why the South Pole is an ideal loca-
and later a master’s degree in physics and
Christchurch, New Zealand.
tion for detecting them. Miller also reported on the
mathematics education at the University of
BOTTOM LEFT: Two thumbs
daily life of a field researcher in an extreme, remote
Pennsylvania. Miller now teaches physics at
up from Miller wearing her
location, recording a 20-minute video tour of the
Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va.
Extreme Cold Weather
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and describing
Miller was one of 14 teachers in 2016 select-
(ECW) gear, head to toe.
the effects of high altitude and 24 hours of sunlight
ed through a nationwide search to participate
on the human body.
in PolarTREC, an educational experience in
Miller continues to share her experience both in her class-
which teachers participate in polar research. Projects can
room and through community outreach events. Her expedi-
range from flying in an airplane laboratory that surveys the
changing Arctic ice sheets to diving under the Antarctic ice to tion was recently featured on Arlington’s WJLA-TV and the
Radio Hotline with Dennis Price.
study unusually large sea animals. In each expedition, teach-
Miller hopes that by sharing her experience she can model
ers work closely with scientists, united by a common goal of
what it looks like to be a lifelong learner, reigniting an innate
improving science education.
curiosity in all of us to better understand how our own uni-
In January 2017, Miller traveled to the South Pole to par-
verse works. •
ticipate as a research team member working on the IceCube
Neutrino Observatory, a project looking for sub-atomic par-
ticles coming from some of the most violent and least under-
stood events in our universe (https://icecube.wisc.edu/).
PolarTREC is managed by the Arctic Research Consortium
While on her expedition, Miller engaged K-12 students,
of the U.S. (ARCUS) and funded by the National Science
educators and communities across the United States through
Foundation and additional partnerships. For more
the use of various digital tools including daily journals, mes-
information and to participate, see the PolarTREC website
sage boards, photo albums, social media ( facebook.com/
at www.polartrec.com or contact the ARCUS Project
MillerSouthPole) and a live webcast presentation. This way,
Managers, Janet Warburton and Judy Fahnestock, at
students could experience the expedition with her as a real-
life extension of their classroom!.
info@polartrec.com or call (907) 474-1600.

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Explore Miller’s journals at www.polartrec.com/expeditions/ice-cube-neutrino-observatory-2016.

April 6 • 2017

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PHOTO BY SAMUEL FLIS

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