Endurance crew courtesy of RGS-IBG
This week marks the first anniversary of the discovery of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, in the Weddell Sea. Following the discovery, we produced a series of free, tailored teaching resources that explore not only the Endurance22 expedition that found the ship, but also support the creative and cross curricular teaching of both Shackleton’s story and the continent of Antarctica.
The Endurance22 expedition aimed to locate the wreck of Endurance, the lost ship of polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, and departed for Antarctica’s Weddell Sea from Cape Town, South Africa, on 5 February 2022. The expedition team successfully located the wreck of the Endurance on 5 March 2022.
The Society has since worked with Endurance22 to produce free resources for Key Stage One and Two geography and history lessons, which draw on the polar maps, photographs, documents, and artefacts in the Society’s Collections.
These resources allow pupils to explore changes in polar exploration from the early 20th century to today and the different motivations for why people visit Antarctica, as well as the continent’s unique frozen environment.
The resource Shackleton’s Endurance - A story of adventure and leadership explores Shackleton’s voyage and the Endurance crew, comparing their experiences to those of the current day Endurance22 team. A strong ‘parallel lives’ element runs through the resource, allowing students to immerse themselves in the experiences and daily lives of Shackleton’s men and compare them to those of the crew of the Endurance22 expedition vessel S.A. Agulhas II.
The interactive timeline Shackleton's life and expeditions takes students through Shackleton’s life and achievements, highlighting not only his skill in exploration but also other key aspects of his life and work.
Students are also taken through a set of instructions to make their own model of the Endurance from a paper plate!
Finally, the Teaching Ernest Shackleton as a significant individual in primary history at KS1 resource provides context and detail for the teaching of a variety of significant historical figures, allowing students to compare and contrast their personal characteristics, motives and achievements.
View the Endurance22 resources and our collection of Antarctica resources.