It’s a Field Trip!!
Today we were rewarded for being diligent, hardworking students. We piled in the van and went on a field trip. Teachers like field trips as much as students!! We had two destinations; the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North and the Reindeer Research Program. You know you’re in Alaska when the exhibit sign outside a museum is made of ice!
At the Museum of the North, even the current exhibit sign is made of ice.
The Reindeer Research Program, started in 1981, focuses on developing a viable reindeer industry in Alaska. Using reindeer that originally came from Russia, they have developed a breeding program at the Farm as well as working with native villages in the Seward Peninsula as they create viable reindeer herds for meat production and sales.
How are reindeer like a group of PolarTREC teachers on a field trip in Fairbanks? Well, while we were well bundled against the cold, the reindeer were a little more subtle in how they dealt with the near-zero temperatures. We were covered in multiple layers of clothing, designed to trap warm air in the fibers within and between the layers. The reindeer have fur made up of hollow hairs that help trap warm air and keep them warm. We all wore a variety of foot-insulating devices—boots with thick soles and wool socks. The reindeer accomplish the same task with their hooves of keratin and counter-current circulation, which brings warm blood to the feet and helps warm up the cooled-down blood as it returns to the heart. As we stood outside watching the reindeer I pulled my neck gaiter up over my mouth and nose to pre-warm the air I was breathing. The reindeer don’t need neck gaiters—instead they have a built-in nasal heat exchange system that helps warm the air that enters as they breathe. Best of all, they have what some scientists think might be a built-in communication device for traveling in herds during low-visibility situations; a clicking sound emanating from above their foot when they walk. As George Aguiar, Reindeer Farm Research Technician and tour guide extraordinaire pointed out to us, once you are told about the clicking sound, that’s all you hear as they walk by.
Here's a reindeer skull--if you look closely you can see the multiple nasal passages that allow warm exhaled air to mix with the cold air that is being inhaled. It's a great way to pre-heat that cold air!
One thing they definitely don’t have in common with us is their diet. The reindeer at the farm are fed a special blend of grains and fishmeal in an attempt to determine a mix that is both nutritious and cost-effective. PolarTREC teachers have, so far, eaten a far more varied diet during our stay in Fairbanks. As a special treat, the reindeer are given lichen to eat. They came to us for their lichen treats—sort of like kids following the ice cream wagon!
The reindeer eat lichen right out of your hand.