I have met a number of very talented teachers with some incredible backgrounds and we were going through this intense orientation. I was really enjoying the people and learning a lot. But with the change in time zones and jet lag I was falling to sleep "early" by Alaska Time and getting up early too. I hadn't been outside the Hotel for two days. So on Friday after class was over we went downtown to an Italian restaurant. I was elected to drive, since I had lived in Fairbanks before, twenty years ago. Thank heaven for maps. We had a nice dinner and then went to the ice park.
Robert Harris and the PolarTREC teachers visit the ice camp.
The ice park consisted of many ice sculptures carved from blocks of ice that were cut from a nearby lake. Sculptures had come from around the world. We saw designs from ice artists from Russia and China, as well as the United States. Many of the designs were spectacular. The pictures we took do not do them justice. Part of the ice park was designed for kids. There were all kinds of ice animals, a skating rink, igloo, tunnels to crawl through and slides to go down. The ice park was a really fun place.
Cathy Geiger and an Ice Bear.
Being at the ice park was also a good practical test of what we had been learning. The temperature dropped after the sun went down until it was -18 F. The PolarTREC teachers had to adjust their clothes and layers accordingly. Some of use got cold and had some of the lessons we had learned reinforced. But a good time was had by all and it was a good break from the intense classroom work we had been doing.