As our days here at McMurdo drag on waiting to head out into the field, we find ourselves searching more and more for entertainment to pass the time. Luckily there is no shortage of pastimes provided by the good people of McMurdo. One of the more obscure and random ways of passing the time comes out  of an NSF-sponsored program called Antarctic Artists and Writers in Residence, which funds US civilians working in the humanities to carry out projects in Antarctica. One recipient of such funding a number of years ago was the painter David Rosenthal. During his time in Antarctica, among other things, he provided art classes in which he taught painting techniques to interested McMurdo residents. The resulting paintings, some of which hang in the galley, are copies of original Antarctic scenes painted by Rosenthal, and were completed by groups of several people each working together on a single painting. The paintings are quite well done, particularly considering the teamwork involved, but what makes them truly unique is that each painting contains a single hidden M&M. So when the standard recreational activities, such as hikes, movies, bar hopping, games and reading, start to pale, there are always M&M hunts to fall back on.
One of the paintings is shown below, along with a close-up of the area containing the M&M. Shannon is our resident team expert in M&M identification, having first spotted both of the two we have managed to find. Hopefully her skills in this area will translate over to meteorite identification once we are out in the field. In the meantime, there are more paintings to scrutinize…