Max Holmes (center) with school children
in the Siberian village of Zhigansk.

Photo by Amy Clapp

The Arctic is undergoing tremendous changes related to global warming. It is a key component of Earth’s linked physical, biological, and cultural systems, and climate change is both impacting the functioning of the Arctic and altering feedbacks from the Arctic to the global climate system. Scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center, in concert with collaborators from several other institutions in the U.S. and internationally, are creating an innovative program to further research and to educate children – those living in the Arctic and others around the world – about these changes.

The Student-Partners Project (SPP), funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation, will unite students, teachers, and scientists to advance scientific understanding of the role of major arctic rivers in the changing arctic and global systems. By partnering with K-12 grade students and teachers living near the mouths of the largest arctic rivers in Russia, Canada, and Alaska, researchers will obtain the high frequency river water samples that are needed to understand seasonal dynamics and annual biogeochemical fluxes in the river systems. Through involvement in sampling, sample analysis, and data interpretation, students and teachers at the study sites will come to appreciate the pivotal role “their” rivers play in the Arctic System. The data generated will greatly advance scientific understanding, but a final objective – to excite kids about science – is perhaps most important because it is an essential step for creating the next generation of scientists and scientifically-literate citizens.