Float Your Boat is an outreach project of the International Arctic Buoy Programme. It is a project for community members and students to learn about the Arctic Ocean – its' circulation, its' sea-ice cover, and how it’s changing. Participants learn about the Arctic Ocean and sea ice, decorate a small wooden boat, and then watch via an online map, their
After two years of anticipation due to Covid-19 derailments, I spent 12 days in Utqiaġvik, Alaska as the education officer with the International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) from March 28-April 7, 2022. This was the 2022 IABP Utqiaġvik Spring Deployment under the National Science Foundation Award #1951762 Collaborative Research: Coordination, Data Management and Enhancement of the
The Science of the PolarTREC “Sliding Glaciers” Expedition
PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a program in which educators from the United States, both formal and informal (i.e. educators in museums, science centers, etc.) spend 3-6 weeks participating in hands-on field research experiences in the polar regions. The goal of PolarTREC is to invigorate polar science education and
I spent a month on a boat in the Arctic as part of the 28 member Science Team that lived and worked alongside the 53 member Crew of the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St. Laurent, a 392 foot icebreaker out of St. John's, Newfoundland
The Importance of Teachers Experiencing Science Expeditions##
It is a teacher’s job to take a subject and make it come alive for our students. Doing field research broadens a teacher’s horizons where they learn more about science and themselves by facing new challenges and accomplishing tasks such as collecting field data and learning about the world around them. This trip
This mini exhibit explores the science behind climate change and introduces current climate change research to the public. Panels cover the topics of changing climate, ocean acidification and sea level rise, giving examples of how data is collected and current research in these fields. The exhibit also provides websites for further exploring climate change impacts.
The report is written by teacher participants upon return from their field expedition portion of the PolarTREC program. It summarizes the benefit of the expedition to the teacher, a description of activities, and a summary of how teachers plan to link this experience in classrooms and communities. This is a public document that will be posted in teacher portfolios and
This lesson describes how decomposition happens, and the role of microorganisms in this process. The animation, which runs for 3:23 minutes total time, covers information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one suggestion for working your students through the animation. By actively taking notes during the animations, students can engage in a dialogue with the
The purpose of this lesson is to highlight the importance of the structure of a leaf at its implications for how it decomposes. The animation, which runs for 2:03 minutes total time, covers information that students may or may not be familiar with. Here is one suggestion for working your students through the animation. By actively taking notes during the