For a second year, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H will connect K\u201312 students in Maine and around the country to UMaine researchers in the field as part of its Follow a Researcher program.<\/p>\n
The program aims to give students a glimpse into a scientist\u2019s world by providing live expedition updates and facilitating communication between the youth and scientist. It is offered by UMaine Extension with support from UMaine\u2019s Climate Change Institute (CCI) and the Maine 4-H Foundation.<\/p>\n
From Jan. 14 through Feb. 13, participants will watch as Kit Hamley, a graduate student at CCI, travels 300 miles off the southeastern coast of South America to the Falkland Islands, home to some of the world\u2019s largest penguin, seal and seabird colonies.<\/p>\n
Hamley, who is pursuing a master\u2019s degree in quaternary and climate studies, is researching an extinct species of fox called the warrah. The animal was the only native terrestrial mammal in the Falklands at the time of European arrival in the 1760s, Hamley says, and the last one was hunted to extinction in 1856. Using field and laboratory techniques, she hopes to learn how and when the animal arrived in the Falklands.<\/p>\n
Educators and students will be able to communicate with Hamley through live Twitter chats during her expedition, as well as classroom visits before and after her trip.<\/p>\n