Jean Pennycook is a scientist who lives in Antarctica from November through January. We recently Skyped with her on Tuesday, January 7. We learned that it is now summer in Antarctica, just the opposite of us.
Even though it is summer, it is still very cold. Ms Pennycook lives in a heated tent and has to wear at least three layers of clothing. There is no plumbing so she has to use a bucket for a toilet. Her water arrives by helicopter so that she has good, clean water to drink and wash her hands. She keeps bottles of soda and water available in case the helicopter is late or cannot make it through bad weather. She does also have warm food to eat and lots of things she likes such as candy and cereal.
Why is she there? She is there to observe the lives of penguins. During the time she lives in Antarctica the penguins, which are birds, change colors from black to brown or lighter shades of blonde. They only lose their feathers when they get older. It is the feathers that keep the penguins warm. They have so many feathers that you can fit 100 of them into a space the size of the circle in an OK symbol. Penguins only live on ice. Once things get warm and the ice breaks up, they move to another location. They need to be close to the water so they can find the fish they have to have for food.
Ms Pennycook bands each penguin so that she can identify each one as she learns more about them. The bands can stay on the penguins for many years. While she is there, Ms Pennycook does not touch them except for when she has to weigh them, and when she does that, she wears rubber gloves. She also wears those gloves to protect herself from getting sick if the penguins has a disease.
We really enjoyed talking with Ms Pennycook and learned a lot about so many things.
