Send a flag to Antarctica!
Our Antarctic Flags scheme gives schools the opportunity to supplement lessons about Antarctica with the chance to send a flag design to be photographed in Antarctica.
Are you a school teacher or individual interested in sending a flag to Antarctica?
Are you studying the frozen planet or the poles? Do you want to learn about Antarctica and the people who work there? The UK Polar Network are offering you the opportunity to learn more about this and to design and send an Antarctic flag out into the field with a fantastic team of polar researchers! The aim of this initiative is to inspire new generations about the Antarctic and Antarctica Day. The idea is that following a lesson(s) on Antarctica, your students design a flag for the Antarctic – as it does not have its own – based on what they have learnt. Read below for our class plan and resources.
Are you a researcher travelling to Antarctica this year?
If you are heading to Antarctica or any of the surrounding Antarctic islands this winter (November – January) please get in touch, we would love your help! All we ask is that you take some flags (however many you are willing to take) sent to you as a pdf or jpg and photograph them in Antarctica as proof that they have made it there. How you choose to do this is totally up to you, you can be as creative as you like! We will then ask you to please send them back to your contact on the UKPN committee who will sort out sending these back to the schools.
What is the Antarctic Treaty?
On December 1st 1959, 12 nations signed the Antarctic Treaty, a document declaring that Antarctica would be off limits to military activity and setting it aside as a place for peace and scientific discoveries.
Why celebrate Antarctica Day?
As of 2010, the 1st of December has been celebrated each year to mark this milestone of peace and to inspire future decisions. We hope to extend the celebrations worldwide through our Antarctic Flags initiative; giving new generations the opportunity to learn about the Antarctic Treaty and to share, interpret and cherish the values associated with Antarctica!
Resources
We have school resources, including a PowerPoint on how you can introduce the Antarctic and Antarctica Day to your classroom before having your students send their flags south. Instructions in other languages including French and Spanish will also be available soon.
Following a lesson(s) on Antarctica, your students can design a flag for the Antarctic – as it does not have its own – based on what they have learnt. We would like to emphasise that we can only accept a maximum of one A4 page per school or classroom so you could get your students to design their own flags and then select your ‘top five’ (with the winner being sent to us). You can combine flags together into one page also.
Please ask your students to consider their design and colour choices as they want to be able to see that it is theirs from a distance (remember that it will be surrounded by lots of bright white snow!). We then ask you to send us a pdf of your flags (ideally scanned in as sometimes photos are difficult to see) and we will match them up with a flag bearer who will take them with them on their journey to Antarctica. A photo will be taken of the photos in Antarctica and you will receive this, as well as a certificate letting you know where your flag(s) travelled to.
In 2024 we had schools and researchers from over 20 countries involved in the Antarctic flag initiative. We are now ready to launch the 2025-2026 project and we cannot wait to receive your submissions! To sign up and register interest please complete the following form https://forms.gle/7W5W629N1QR7qcXP9 . This form will close on the 2nd October 2025 and all schools who have registered interest will be sent joining instructions for the project. If you have participated in this project before please feel free to get your flags started, however – if you are a new participant you may wish to wait for the joining instructions to come through.
In 2024-2025 we had 313 schools taken part and over 1000 photographs were sent back to schools from Signy, Rothera, South Georgia, Halley and the Pensacola Mountains. Schools that have previously entered will be sent a link, but won’t automatically have a place. We will have capacity for 350 schools for the 2025-2026 school year.
Any other questions?
Please get in touch with us at antarctica-day@polarnetwork.org. Make sure to follow us on our social media accounts (Twitter and Facebook) where we will be counting down to Antarctica Day and regularly uploading photos!