K-12 Schoolyard Program
Our Schoolyard LTER program focuses on Barrow, Alaska the nearest large town to Toolik Lake. We foster a strong link with this local community because of its historic involvement with science and its interest in, feeling of ownership of and responsibility for North Slope science. Activities at Barrow over the past 20 years have included:
- Weekly lectures by researchers on a wide range of scientific topics.
- A K-12 science inquiry-based program that replicates some of our experimental and monitoring activities in tundra and lakes
- Until 2014, each year 1-4 LTER personnel visit Barrow to lecture in the “Saturday Schoolyard” and in the public schools. However, our partner in this program, the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC), recently dissolved and closed. Efforts are underway to collaborate with the Utgeavik Inupiat Corporation and the Barrow Native Heritage Center to reestablish this program, now in collaboration with the Environmental Literacy Program at Colorado State University.
- In summer 2015 a graduate student and REU working with the ARC LTER participated as instructors in summer “Schoolyard” science programs in the villages of Kaktovik and Arctic Village, Alaska, organized by USGS and USFWS.
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![]() ![]() K-12 Teachers visit Toolik Lake to participate in summer field and lab research. The goal of the program is to provide teachers with experience in scientific research that will inform their teaching and will provide them with access to data, methods, and other materials that they can use in their classrooms. In cooperation with the Environmental Literacy Program at Colorado State University, each summer we host 2-10 K-12 teachers. Funding for RETS comes from a variety of sources, including ARCUS, PolarTREC, NSF, and the ARC LTER Schoolyard Program. |
Graduate and Undergraduate Courses |
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) and Graduates![]() |