[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 49 (Tuesday, April 28, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E681-E682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE WEEK OF APRIL 26-MAY 2, 1998 AS NATIONAL SCIENCE AND 
                            TECHNOLOGY WEEK

                                 ______
                                 

                    HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 28, 1998

  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to say a few words in honor of 
the 14th annual National Science and Technology Week.
  During this week the National Science Foundation performs its most 
important public outreach activities of the year; getting children 
excited about science and technology. This year's theme for National 
Science and Technology Week is ``Polar Connections.'' It draws 
attention to the scientific research being performed in the Arctic and 
in the Antarctic.
  The North and South Poles are truly unlike any place on the planet. 
As Chairman of the Science Committee, I've had the opportunity to 
travel to Antarctica to visit NSF's South Pole Station, and I can tell 
you that it is a remarkable place. The men and women who perform 
research at the South Pole work under conditions that make the winters 
in Wisconsin look comparatively easy. For example, in 1989 researchers 
from the University of Wisconsin measured temperature variations at the 
South Pole ranging from -7  deg.F to -117  deg.F. The South Pole 
receives less than a foot of snow per year, yet it is covered by an 
ice-sheet that is nearly two-miles thick. Geographically it is 1.5 
times the size of the continental United States and a year's worth of 
supplies must be fit onto the one supply ship that ventures to 
Antarctica once a year. When the sun goes down on March 21st, it 
doesn't come up again until September 21st.
  This week's activities were not designed simply to draw attention to 
the Poles, but rather to the work being performed there. The North and 
South Poles are unique, natural laboratories and offer matchless 
opportunities to study our environment.
  Highlighting the combination of the important and unique research 
being performed at the Poles and the harsh and dangerous living 
conditions there is, in my opinion, a great way to make children 
curious about science and technology. When children are introduced to 
the conditions at the Poles, they may wonder: How can anything survive 
in such cold conditions? How do you study geology when the ground's 
under two miles of ice? How do you get everything you need to the South 
Pole? How do you fit a year's supply of goods on one ship? Getting kids 
to ask these questions is the goal of National Science and Technology 
Week. I think that ``Polar Connections'' is a terrific theme for 
National Science and Technology Week, and I am confident that this 
year's activities will be a great success.
  I must add that just as they did last year, the National Science 
Foundation has once again set up it's ``Ask a Scientist or Engineer'' 
phone-bank at 1-888-718-3026. The phone-bank will be open on Wednesday, 
April 29th, from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. This year's e-mail address is 
[email protected]. More information about National Science and Technology 
Week can be found at NSF's web-page at www.nsf.gov.
 Mr. Speaker, I encourage my fellow Members to strongly support this 
program, and join

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with me in celebrating National Science and Technology Week.

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