The Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1 December 1959 by the twelve countries whose scientists had been active in the region. The treaty focused on maintaining a peaceful area for scientific inquiry that is aimed to better mankind. Starting with just twelve countries, now over 53 separate countries have joined.

Grade 4 and 5 begun studying the different aspects of the treaties and identified how it enabled cooperation between countries and limited the areas of conflict. We begun by sorting though a list of statements that helped us determine what the treaty did and did not cover. Then we looked at specific terms such as the land use and explained how it encouraged international cooperation without the need for conflict.