Polar Exposition

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When professor Stephanie Pfirman tells her students at Barnard College what it takes to succeed as a polar explorer, she does so with the deep knowledge of one who has triumphed. Still, she acknowledges that it's tougher for women.

The veteran of arctic adventuring points to an episode when she spent one month as the lone female aboard a small boat with 30 explorers as an example of just how much males dominate the discipline.

It can be difficult for women to even get into the field, which adds another obstacle en route to either pole.

But on March 10, when Pfirman helps kick off New York City's two-day celebration of International Polar Year (IPY), she'll be hoping at least a few more femmes follow her lead. The event, which will be held at Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History, includes lectures, performances and film shows by top Arctic and Antarctic scientists, as well as an interactive science fair.

"I'm really trying to get them to be more adventurous," says Pfirman of her women students. "What I'm trying to teach them is leadership, and how to make the most of different situations."

So how will aspiring adventurers know if they've got the stuff to be the next Ernest Shackleton, the famed (but thwarted) explorer of the South Pole from the early 20th century? ...