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Announcing the 7th Annual
Ice-Out Contest for Walden Pond!
- Announcing the 7th Annual Ice-Out Contest for Walden Pond
- Try This!
- How to Enter the Ice-Out Contest: Challenge Question #5
- Ice-Out Records for Walden Pond
- Walden Pond Update
Announcing the 7th Annual Ice-Out Contest for Walden Pond
When do you think the ice will melt
on Walden Pond this spring? Famous naturalist Henry David Thoreau, a Concord Village resident of the 19th century,
wrote of simplicity, economy of living, finding your own way in life, and watching the natural environment around
you. He lived out in the woods in what is today Walden Pond State Reservation. Thoreau kept ice-out records in
the mid-1800s and recorded them in his celebrated book, WALDEN.
"Standing on the snow-covered plain, as if in a pasture amid the hills, I cut my way first through a foot of snow, and then a foot of ice, and open a window under my feet, where kneeling to drink, I look down into the quiet parlor of the fishes..." Henry David Thoreau, from WALDEN
Try This!
As you prepare your prediction for ice-out, you might wonder: Why did Thoreau choose to go live in the woods from July 1845 to September 1847? In his writings about Walden, he explains: "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
As a class, discuss what you think he meant. Write in your journal about how YOU might attempt the same goals Thoreau had, but in 2001.
How to Enter the Ice-Out Contest
You're invited to place your guess! The deadline is February 28.
- Look at the ice-out records below, kept by Thoreau for Walden Pond in the mid-1800s.
- Calculate the average date the ice melted over the years he kept records. (Don't forget to consider the recent data too.)
- Next, read the latest news from Walden below. And pay attention to the temperatures in Massachusetts over the next few weeks.
- Finally, place your guess by responding to this question:
Challenge Question #5
"When do you predict ice-out will occur this year on Thoreau's Walden Pond?" (Please give an exact date, rather than a range of dates.)
(To respond to this question, please
follow the instructions below.)
Remember: The deadline is February 28!
You'll hear from us the day the ice goes out, so watch for the news! We'll announce names of the contest winners,
too. If you don't hit Walden's ice-out date, not to worry. You'll have five more chances to predict ice-out dates
in the remaining observation posts. See other ice-out contests coming in 2001:
Ice-Out Records for Walden Pond
These are the dates the ice went out at Walden Pond as collected in the 1800s by Henry David Thoreau:
1845 April 1
- 1846 March 25
- 1847 April 8
- 1851 March 28
- 1853 March 23
- 1854 April 7
... and as collected in the past six years by Journey North students:
- 1995 March 18
- 1996 March 23
- 1997 February 22
- 1998 February 26
- 1999 March 1
- 2000 March 9
Walden Pond Update
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"Hello, Journey North students! All is winter here! The temps have been colder than normal...in the teens. We have had more snow this past January and February than we normally do. On February 5 we picked up another new foot of snow. The ice fisherman reported yesterday that we had about 12 inches of ice on the pond...that's a lot for us. Today is 35 degrees with a lot of rain.
"One of the best times to visit the ice on Walden is during the early morning when there is total silence except for the great creaking, cracking and thumping noises the ice on the pond makes. I have had the pleasure of listening to Walden's song many mornings and so did Thoreau. He wrote, "The pond began to boom about an hour after sunrise, when it felt the influence of the sun's rays slanted upon it from over the hills; it stretched itself and yawned like a waking man with a gradually increasing tumult, which was kept up three to four hours."
How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question:
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-spring@learner.org
2. IMPORTANT: In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #5.
3. In the body of the message, give your answer to today's question.
Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
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