Online education centre in Antarctica

It is world's first online education centre in Antarctica that will offer kids a real-time glimpse of life on the ice.

British adventurer Robert Swan sets sail on a polar expedition next week to launch what he says is the world's first online education centre in Antarctica that will offer kids a real-time glimpse of life on the ice.

Swan, who was the first person to walk unassisted to both the North and South poles, hopes to use the small centre, built on a Russian base on King George Island, to teach children about climate change and what they can do to protect the earth.

"The last great exploration on earth is to survive on it," Swan, 50, said in an interview in London before leaving. "We have got to find the heroines and heroes of that exploration."

HT Image

The unmanned base, measuring 40 feet by 10 feet, is built from recyclable material and runs on wind and solar power.

Fitted with a camera on the roof, the base will beam live images of its surroundings to a website that also offers educational material for teachers to use in class.