“Whales, poo and Antarctica all make the world go round!”

For National Science Week 2023 we invited you to join us and the excellent Dr Vanessa Pirotta to talk about whales. 50 school classes from all over Australia joined us for this one-hour interactive session. It was so much fun and we all learnt many facts about whales.

Here are just some reminders of why Whales are amazing! They:

✅ are the largest animals on Earth 😳

✅ have the biggest babies 👼🏼

✅ keep the oceans healthy with their poo 🌊

✅ can talk to each other over hundreds of kilometres 🗣️

✅ love living in Antarctica! 🇦🇶🧊❄️ 🌊

In this special Junior Antarctic Dialogue session we asked:

✅ Why do whales go to Antarctica?

✅ Why are whales important for our ocean? (Clue: poo )

✅ If we could talk to a whale, what would she tell us about Antarctica?

✅ What is it like to grow up to be a whale scientist?

Here are some resources to learn more about whales and Antarctica:

Around and Around, Up and Down: Motion in the Southern Ocean

The Important but Mysterious Antarctic Krill

Illuminating the Living Lanterns of Antarctica

Why Krill Swarms Are Important to the Global Climate

Exploring Antarctica’s Active Mt. Erebus

Sleeping Humpback

Sleeping Sperm Whale

You can download the Antarctic Science Foundation’s Ocean-Land-Bio Infographic here.

Enjoy the recording and the materials, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Antarctica offers us the answers.

Let’s ask the questions together.

Want to get involved in Antarctica by becoming a supporter? Click HERE

Presenter:

Dr Vanessa Pirotta is a wildlife scientist and science communicator. Her research uses innovative technologies for wildlife conservation.

Vanessa’s zoological background has taken her around the world for wildlife research. Notable projects Vanessa has worked on include leading pioneering research in collaboration with industry experts to develop custom-built, waterproof drones to collect whale snot (lung bacteria) for an assessment of whale health. Vanessa is also a primary investigator on a major wildlife trafficking detection project with Rapiscan Systems, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and Taronga Zoo.

Host:

Andrew Kelly is the CEO of The Antarctic Science Foundation, which connects supporters with researchers to enable catalytic scientific research on the Icy Continent. Across two decades, he has witnessed the power of generosity by facilitating transformational gifts to Youth Off The Streets, The Smith Family, The Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS), the Society of St Vincent De Paul and Children’s Medical Research Institute. Andrew trained as an economist before commencing a career in banking with Macquarie, Bank of America and Westpac. He has competed at an elite level in road cycling and is an Observer at the Australian Antarctic Science Council. His favourite role is being a Dad.