Michael Slosarz, age 10, of Indianapolis, Indiana, for his question:

Is it possible to live comfortably at the North Pole?

A person would need a lot of special equipment to live comfortably at the North Pole. And he would need very different equipment for different seasons of the year. In winter he might be able to dwell in a sturdy, wind proof house firmly anchored on a sheet of ice or hard, frozen snow. Naturally, lots of warm clothing and plenty of cozy blankets would be needed. So would some sort of heating system. Since the sun does not rise through the six winter months, a dependable lighting system would be a must.

It would be wise to build our house at the North Pole on a raft or on floatable pontoons. This is because the North Pole happens to be located on the sea bed, right in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. Actually it is about two miles below the surface waves. In winter, the surface is crusted with thick, solid ice. But during the sum¬mer season, most of the ice melts. Then our cozy North Pole home would either sink or drift away with the tides and ocean currents.