Sunday, March 25, 2001 Dear Steve, Thank you very much for reading my script and annotated bibliography. It means a lot to me to get a teacher's opinion. I wanted to let you know that I was chosen at my school to go on to the Regionals event on Thursday, and was chosen again there to go to State at the University of Minnesota! I was one out of three entries that was chosen to go on. I feel very lucky to get to compete so many times! I think I will continue to work on adding to my bibliography since the State competition is not until May 5th. I will be really excited to let you know how things go there. I hope you and Alfy will be able to come to the Awards! I'm sorry we weren't able to get you a scholarship for a plane ticket. I am very excited to go myself because I have been working on this History Day project about her. It is always a very inspiring ceremony. If you are not able to come to Minnesota, I will be sure to send you a video copy of the Awards so you can show it to your students at school. I would be very honored if you posted some of my paper on your website. Thank you again for your feedback. Hope to see you in May, Mackenzie Cramblit :-) Dare to Dream: How Ann Bancroft has Inspired and Encouraged School Children and Women through her Antarctic Explorations Mackenzie Cramblit, Junior Individual Performance Research Description: When I learned that this year's History Day topic is Frontiers: People, Places and Ideas, my initial thoughts about my topic, Ann Bancroft, were provincial. I thought of Ann as someone who crossed only physical boundaries. As I researched, I realized Ann has crossed many frontiers. My performance focuses on how Ann Bancroft has integrated education into her Antarctic explorations, and illustrates frontiers of people, places and ideas. Ann Bancroft was the first woman to go to both the North and South Poles; simultaneously being a frontier of people and places. The unique educational program she created crossed frontiers of teaching. I chose this topic because it has local, national, and international connections, and because I have met Ann and heard her speak. Ann lives and was born in Minnesota. Interest in her first Antarctic expedition was nationwide; 250,000 children used her curriculum. She is an international topic because her latest expedition has been followed by school children in forty-six countries through the Internet. The thesis for my topic is: How has Ann Bancroft inspired and encouraged school children and women through her Antarctic explorations? This thesis statement presents both a question: how did she inspire and encourage, and an argument: Ann did inspire and encourage school children and women. My thesis focuses on the physical frontier of Ann Bancroft's explorations, as well as the educational frontier she has created. I began my research at the History Center in St. Paul, which had limited resources. The Internet was a valuable resource. Ann's website for her latest expedition, www.yourexpedition.com, was one of my most helpful sources. Information included the curriculum, diary entries, and links to websites of the curriculum's participating schools. I contacted one of the schools and students responded to my questions posted on their website. Through their website I was also able to interview the students' teacher, Steve Feld. Also through the Internet I was able to access the St. Paul Pioneer Press's archives. I interviewed four people, including Sally Johnson, a member of the Ann Bancroft Organization's Board of Directors. Sally was a very valuable resource to me, as she shared her private collection of books and videos about Ann with me. Many of the books she lent me were primary sources, as they contained essays by Ann. Ann's actual words and reflections were helpful in developing my thesis and my performance. Sally also let me borrow one of Ann's teammate's polar fleece jackets from the first South Pole expedition, to use in my performance. I interviewed Judy Mahle Lutter, President of Mepolmene Institute in St. Paul, whose organization received the first Ann Bancroft Award in 1997, and Jennifer Krueger, a seventeen-year-old who received an award last year. By interviewing two award winners, I got a better idea of how Ann Bancroft has inspired girls and women. My research and interviews show that Ann Bancroft has crossed many frontiers and overcome many obstacles and indeed inspired school children and women through her Antarctic explorations. Interviews Feld, Steve. Online interview. 11 Feb. 2001. I contacted Mr. Feld through his students' website, /13681/data/links/antartica.htm. Initially, I had planned to just interview his students, but a teacher's point of view on the curriculum was a different twist to my thesis, and it proved that Ann Bancroft has inspired more than just school children and women. "DARE TO DREAM: HOW ANN BANCROFT HAS INSPIRED SCHOOL CHILDREN AND WOMEN THROUGH HER ANTARCTIC EXPLORATIONS." Mackenzie Cramblit Individual Perfomance, Junior Division (As you are entering, pulling a sled-turn to the audience) Hi! My name is Ann Bancroft. (Hands on hips) Have you heard of me? The explorer and teacher? I am the first woman to reach both the North and South Poles without the assistance of motorized transportation. Through my expeditions to the South Pole I have developed an educational curriculum, called Dare to Dream to teach children to follow their dreams. I also founded the Ann Bancroft Organization to recognize the outstanding achievements of girls and women in Minnesota. I use the challenges I have faced as a student and as an explorer to teach and inspire women and children. (Sitting down in chair with ENDURANCE) As a child, I loved (emphasize) playing in the outdoors and camping out in my backyard. When I was twelve, I read Endurance the story of the traverses of Sir Ernest Shackleton who explored Antarctica in the early 1900s. (Show book) I was drawn to the beautiful pictures of the frozen landscape; it resembled Minnesota. I wanted to be in those pictures; I wanted to be on that ice; I wanted to know what this expedition at the bottom of the world was about. (Putting away book, standing up-looking off into the distance-take off hat) Yet, when I look back, my defining moment of courage was (turn) not at either Pole. (Turn back around) I endured a wilderness far more savage than any I have ever experienced (huge pause-make it suspenseful)– school. I have a hard time reading; ultimately I learned it was because I am dyslexic. (Walking over to computer) Students at John F. Kennedy High School have developed a website that compares my Antarctic journals to those of Leonardo da Vinci. Here's a note from one student: "What I mostly enjoyed about following the expedition was how they never gave up no matter how bad things got. They were patient enough to want to accomplish their dream." And another: "Its inspiring to know that if you set your mind to do something you are able to do it. It only takes a little bit of effort." When I get back to Minnesota in May, it will be time for the annual Ann Bancroft Awards dinner that recognizes the accomplishments of girls who have crossed frontiers in their own lives, through volunteer work and community service. Like these girls, I have faced and overcome many frontiers. I am the first woman to reach both the North and South Poles, and I am the first explorer to integrate education into my expeditions through the Internet. Through my expeditions, I have taught elementary school children and women what it means to follow your dreams, (SLOW DOWN) and I hope that by knowing that, people learn that their passions create their own frontiers in history.