Expedition Tracking on a Big Wall Map we will supply

This is a good way to teach about maps, political geography, latitude, and longitude, and share in our trip. If you request it, we will send you a beautiful, large glossy wall map of Arctic North America and the flags of the U.S. states and Canadian territories that we will travel through. The planned expedition route has been pre-marked on the map and push-pins will be provided for students to mark our daily position . This website will be the primary means of getting our updated latitude and longitude and a description of where we are ( Home) as well as what is happening along the trail (Trail Tales) . Students can also track us on-line using (Track Our Trip) using a map we will be updating daily.

We have a limited number of maps and we hope to mail these to classrooms by the end of January. If your class already appears on the contact list, you will be mailed a map packet automatically. If it does not and you wish to participate in this part of the journey, contact Dave Andersen (Base Camp Manager).

We will be posting daily dispatches (Trail Tales) on the website as well. Prior to the start of the traverse, these will sporadic (as events of interest happen ), but once we are traveling they will be daily. The updates will tell where we are, what we are doing, will include history, weather information, and science and cultural topics. When possible (we will be communicating via satellite phone during the trip) we will send pictures and sound clips. Throughout the trip, Dave Andersen, our Base Camp Manager, will be available by phone and email in Fairbanks. Dave has been over much of the route himself and knows a lot about Northern topics. Call or contact him!

The daily dispatches will be geared to students . Our hope is that by simply following our progress on the map and reading the daily dispatches, teachers and students will get to share the fascinating history, landscape, people, and places of the North American Arctic with us.

Lastly, for classes that are highly interested in learning about maps and latitude and longitude, we will "bag" a confluence (a crossing of a whole latitude line with a longitude meridian) and dedicate it to the kids in the class. For more information on this intriging and unusual sport, see http://www.confluence.org/

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