PolarTREC (Teachers & Researchers Exploring & Collaborating) has set up its Virtual Base Camp for the 2008 expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. At the Base Camp web site, you and your students can follow the progress of the expeditions, ask questions of the scientists and the participating teacher, view photo alums, and access learning resources sorted by grade level, podcasts and video files.

 On board a research vessel or at inland research centers, K-12 teachers are part of scientific projects. Generally, 12 projects are scheduled per year; eight in the Arctic and four in the Antarctic.  Among the expeditions you can visit virtually this summer are:            

Bering Sea Benthic Studies, currently underway, March 27 - May 6.  

Greenland Atmospheric Studies,  June 1 - July 15, Summit, Greenland.

Arctic Tundra Dynamics ‘08, June 8 - July 8, Barrow, Alaska.

 Changing Tundra Landscapes, June 14 - July 10, Toolik Field Station, Alaska.  

Bering Ecosystem Study ‘08, July 3 - 31, Bering Sea. 

High Arctic Change ‘08, July 8 - August 6, Svalbard, Norway.  

Kuril Islands Biocomplexity ‘08, July 11 - August 23, Kuril Islands, Russia.

 Ocean Dynamics Beaufort Sea,  July 16 - August 21, Beaufort Sea.  

Nuvuk Archaeology Studies, July 17 - August 15, Barrow, Alaska. 

PolarTREC  is an educational research experience, funded by the National Science Foundation and managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S., in which K-12 teachers participate in polar research, working closely with scientists as a pathway to improving science education.