Intrepid Science Blog

A year ago we started a conversation with Google and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia about the possibility of offering two berths on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013-2014 as a prize for Google 4 Doodle. For those not familiar with this competition, Doodle 4 Google is a school contest offered across different countries every two years or so. The challenge for children is to redraw the Google logo inspired by a question or statement. Prizes vary around the world; the top doodles in Australia and New Zealand usually win some fantastic technology for the classroom. This year, Google and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wanted to do something a bit different: they wanted to bring Antarctica to the school children of Australia and New Zealand as never done before. Besides the technology, the prize would include a berth for the teachers of the winning schools on the expedition and our discoveries would be beamed home using Google+, Hangouts on Air and YouTube. It was dizzy...

A century ago Mawson and his fellow explorers travelled the world, exciting the public with tales of endeavour and discovery in Antarctica.  Newspaper reports, books, lecture tours, interviews, records, radio and films were all used to capture people’s imagination. The efforts of these early Antarctic explorers to publicise their findings were remarkably effective. The blend of research and exploration was a high point in science communication. The reports of derring-do, extreme conditions, curious wildlife and heroism in the south combined to make scientific exploration headline news one hundred years ago. It was an amazing time, experienced by remarkable people.  The accounts from yesteryear still resonate today; capturing the imagination few – if any – other periods in the history of exploration are capable. And yet with the media available today we have an opportunity to strike up a conversation with a far greater number of people. Thanks to Google, we are trying jus...