Setting sail for Alaskan adventures in science

ST. REGIS – Education and fun will be combined as the St. Regis Science Club explores the final frontier during an Alaskan cruise this May. The trip is being called North to Alaska 2014 and will be done through Holland America Cruise line. The 22 kids and 18 adults will go on the cruise from May 3-10. This makes up approximately half the science club, which is open to students in grades seven through 12. The students will be expected to take advantage of the learning opportunities presented by the cruise. The glory of the great outdoors, from the Alaskan and Canadian tundra to the depths of the Pacific Ocean, will become a classroom as the group searches the area for knowledge. The students will examine everything from the formation of the area’s landmass to the history and culture of the native tribes. “We’ll see a lot of stuff,” said Chris West, the science teacher at St. Regis. “We’ll see whales, dolphins, bears and all kinds of things. We’ll see different people and cultures, it’ll be fun.” The cruise’s television will be another outlet for the kids to learn. The students will need to follow a program, which gives information about the water conditions around the ship. They will also catalogue information about each port as well as everything they see and learn. The kids will be busy throughout the trip. They will meet every day so the group can catch up and talk about what they did. West got the idea for the cruise after she took the senior class on a similar trip last year. The positive feedback gave her the idea for this year’s trip. “I got to thinking ‘I want to do this with my science club,’” West said. She got in touch with the cruise director from last year’s trip and started planning a new one. They were able to get a small discount this year by putting four people in each room. To cover the high cost of a cruise for 40 people, the students held fundraisers. The classes sold cookie dough, candy and had a bake sale. Some students held their own bake sales or ran booths at bazaars in their own fundraising efforts. Donations to the club were also able to help the students with the costs. A grand total of $450 was needed for each student’s ticket while adults needed $812 for theirs. Another step was needed before going as everyone needed a passport to enter international waters and Canadian ports. As a source of more chaperones, a few students will be going with their whole family. To add to the list of chaperones, according to West, seventh graders are only allowed to go on the cruise if a parent or guardian accompanies them. Fundraising for the trip began around October 2012. Some students contributed to the fund but graduated before the trip. While some students were upset they could not go, everyone in the science club understood the money would be pooled together to support the group. For some of the seniors, the money they raised was set aside in an account. After graduating they were able to request the money go to pay another student’s way on the trip. West said the student could usually nominate who got the money. For the last 11 years, the club has gone on a trip. In the past they have gone to the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park and Redwood National Park. They have also explored the length of the country by traveling down the Pacific Coastline. These trips are a big benefit to the student’s education, but the trips have also touched their lives. Growing up in a small community some kids do not always get to explore beyond the mountains of Mineral County. These trips give them a valuable chance to see and learn about the greater world around them. One student went on the trip and had never been out of the mountains. West said he was awe struck by how far he could see without the mountains around him. “He had never been out of the mountains here and just had never been anywhere,” West said. “That really got to me…It’s a chance for these kids to see something of the world.”