Road Trip
I have been secretly looking forward to today since I saw the orientation schedule. After a little work on our journal pages, we prepared for two wonderful outings to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks! Our first stop was the Museum of the North. Coming from the East Coast, I had no idea of all the wonders that make Alaska such a unique and fascinating place. If you want to learn about the interesting history, wildlife, and artistry of Alaska, a good place to begin is the Museum of the North.
Here are a few of the wonderful things I saw and learned about.
In the Gallery of Alaska, there were so many exhibits on the organisms and people that have made Alaska home.
The Museum of the North had an outstanding collection of wildlife, including this polar bear.
Wolf display at the Museum of the North.
Check out this ivory cribbage board. Wow!
Upstairs, I saw beautiful artwork done by native artists, including the people of Haida Gwaii, a culture I learned about with my students at Millsboro Middle School. I love the relationship between this statue and the light. Another highlight was 'The Place Where You Go to Listen', which is a room fitted with sensors listening to the Earth. The room makes sounds in response to natural energies, from sources like sunlight, earthquakes, and even the aurora borealis.
What a beautiful statue! It can be found in the art exhibit at the Museum of the North.
Next, we were off to the University of Alaska Reindeer Research Program.
The PolarTREC teachers visited the UAF Reindeer Research Program.
What a cool place! We spent some time indoors looking at the feeding program and learning about some of the challenges in raising reindeer in Alaska. I learned a lot from our tour guide, George, who shared these fun facts.
Did You Know?
- Reindeer are domesticated animals, like dogs.
- Reindeer are shorter, heavier, and slower than caribou (wild reindeer).
- Reindeer antlers are velvet (soft and fuzzy) cartilage at first and then harden as bone.
- Reindeer shed their antlers every year.
- Reindeer have an adaptation in their nose to warm the air before it gets to their lungs.
- Reindeer can eat snow to get their freshwater (instead of drinking)
- Reindeer have hooves that serve like snowshoes and can be used to dig like a shovel.
I can't imagine carrying twelve extra pounds on my head, and that's only one antler. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Brown.)
Want to learn more? Check this out!
The real highlight was getting close to the reindeer and feeding them a little snack.
Feeding lichens to the reindeer was a real highlight of our trip to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
What a day! Guess what? Tomorrow looks just as exciting.
Mike
P.S. Did you guess yesterday's mystery picture? It's so cold here in Fairbanks that when you park your car outside, you plug it into electricity and a little heater keeps the engine warm. This way the fluids don't freeze and the car can start, even when it's subzero. Yesterday's picture showed a car and its plug.