Dear Dave,

Have you ever seen a penguin? Do you like living in Antarctica?  Do you like to travel?   Have you ever seen a bird?

Yes, I have seen lots of penguins.  We have two types of penguins in this area, the most famous being the Emperor Penguin.  Our other species is the Adelie penguin, which is a lot smaller than the Emperor.  During the summer months a land bird known as a Skua also visits us.   Below are pictures of the three kinds of birds that I have seen here.

I really do like living in Antarctica.  There are so many things to see and it is so different from home.  Traveling is one of my favorite activities.  We have an amazing world to explore and learn about.  I hope to add some pages here soon about my other trips.   

 Dear Dave,

How many layers do you need in the winter?  Do you have Halloween or any other celebration?  Why aren’t there any kids there?  Is it to cold for the kids?   How much ice do you get in the summer and winter?Sincerely,   Zoe

Hi Zoe,

You saw on my last page of questions that we do have a party on Halloween.  We also have a big celebration at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. 

Unfortunately there are no kids at our station.  Every one who comes down has a specific job here.  McMurdo is not like a real town where you can come and go, as you like.  We have to fly a very long way to get here and once we arrive there is only enough room for the people doing work or science.  Some days it feels very strange not to see anyone under 18 years old.

Our ocean here is frozen solid right now.  The ice is actually about 13 feet thick. It is so strong that we are able to drive our big trucks on it.  What is more amazing is that we also use it for our airport and can land airplanes on the ice.

For ice to get so thick and strong it obviously must get very cold here.  In order to keep all of us safe and warm we ware many layers of clothes.  In the picture here you can see all the clothes we are given.  Sometimes we have to put them all on at the same time.  Fortunately it is not always that cold.  From December to February the temperatures here are very similar to yours in Ripton.  Keep looking at the weather page and compare our weather with yours in Vermont.