Camp instructor and student.

Students in the small, isolated Eskimo village of Kaktovik on the north coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge rarely have an opportunity to enjoy summer camps so common in the Lower 48 states. But this August, 12 Kaktovik students participated in a 4-day Science Camp where they were captivated by creatures living below the Arctic Ocean. Operating from Arctic Refuge’s bunkhouse, the Kaktovik camp was a joint effort by the Refuge, the University of Texas, and Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges.

Camp participants came from grades 2-5 for hands-on opportunities to learn the ecology of lagoons around their remote village. Scientists experienced in working in the lagoons provided fish and invertebrates for students to identify and study their anatomy, physiology, and life history. Students learned such creatures are food for the birds, fish, and marine mammals villagers harvest during subsistence hunts. High point for campers was studying various organisms under high-powered dissecting scopes. Students also enjoyed fish printing and other art activities, even a tasty meal of sea creatures.

The learning wasn’t all in one direction, however. Camp teachers from outside the village as well as outside Alaska, learned a lot from the students as well, both about the arctic environment and about life in a small village on an island in the Beaufort Sea. The students also led their camp teachers on a tour of their school and science classrooms.