SUMMER Oceanography Program
The Summer Oceanography Program is a 5-day adventure based in Kaktovik, Alaska. Local students ages 4-17 are immersed in a combination of field, laboratory, and classroom activities to stimulate their interest in science and discovery. Students have the opportunity to explore a range of disciplines including local ecology, environmental chemistry, climatology and more! Older students are invited to spend an afternoon learning research techniques aboard UT's research vessel, the R/V Proteus. These students may assist scientists to collect data for one of UT's ongoing research projects in the area.
See a video about our Oceanography Program HERE
Kaktovik Summer Oceanography Program 2014
What's Next?
Kaktovik Oceanography Program 2015
The 2017 Summer Oceanography Program will take place mid-August, see below for details!
When: Monday, August 7 to Saturday August 12, 2017
Where: Kaktovik Community Center
Who: All students ages 6+ (Students must be located in Kaktovik, AK)
What: Our theme this year is "Exploring Our Oceans "! Humans have explored less than 5% of our world’s oceans and scientists are discovering new ocean species and features daily. Students will experience how ocean exploration takes place by learning field work skills and lab techniques from expert biologists, chemists, and geologists. We will take advantage of our unique location by using Kaktovik lagoon as a natural classroom. We're bringing back some favorite activities from years past including animal dissections, sediment coring, and identifying plankton using a microscope. We are also introducing new lessons on algae pressing, lagoon food web dynamics, lagoon fish habitat preference, measuring groundwater nutrients, and Eider bird tracking. As always, at least one of our activities will feature the latest scientific technology, for example in our coastal erosion exercise, students will learn to determine their location using a handheld GPS and learn to fly a quadricoptor with GPS capabilities! Check our site in the future for an update on future activities and events!
Want to register?
For 2017 registration or questions, please contact:
- Ken Dunton This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Craig Connolly This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Our Story
Ken Dunton first visited Kaktovik as a young field researcher in 1977 when he stayed with Kaktovik resident Walt Audi, an ambitious Alaskan bush pilot, recently featured in Alaska Aviation Legends Aviation Legends. Ken found the Inupiat people of Kaktovik extremely friendly and was deeply inspired by their subsistence lifestyle and deep understanding of the arctic coast. Although Ken continued to make short visits to Kaktovik through the early 1980s as a UAF graduate student from his 27 ft Whaler, the RV Proteus, extended summer stays on Barter Island did not begin until 2007. In 2007 his research team, including taxonomist Susan Schonberg, spent countless hours with the young children of Kaktovik who made regular visits to the Arctic Refuge bunkhouse. The children were fascinated by the organisms (plant and animal) and the lab and field gear employed by the scientists. Elders in the village were also grateful for the attention the young children received and suggested that we develop a more formal science program the following year.
In August 2008, with co-sponsorship from the Kaveolook School and the USF&WS Arctic Refuge staff, we initiated our first K-12 Oceanography Program for Kaktovik school-aged children (check out this article for more details). Our program was led by 6th grade science teacher Cliff Strain and graduate GK-12 Fellow Nathan McTigue in conjunction with our USF&WS funded research program.
In 2011 we initiated a more formal program focused on providing students with hands-on science activities, both laboratory and field oriented. Our effort was aligned with a desire to develop an interactive partnership between university scientists involved in arctic research with K-12 students and teachers in school districts, with focus on issues that relate to arctic living resources and native cultures.
Our current strategy places an emphasis on activities that involve the younger children during the summer months, with a focus on middle and high school students as classes begin in August. Graduate students are central to the organization and implementation of these programs. The success of our program over the past four years (2013-2016) is attributed to graduate students Carolynn (Carrie) Harris, Christina Bonsell, Craig Connolly, and Arley Muth, who are all currently (or formerly) conducting research in the region as a part of their graduate studies.
Both middle and high school students participated on our NSF-sponsored lagoons project from 2011 to 2014. Students established a sampling site in Kaktovik Lagoon each week accompanied by either Robert Thompson or Fenton Rexford, both village elders. During each trip, students collected water samples from multiple depths using a van Dorn bottle, measured various water quality parameters using a YSI datasonde, retrieved small animals from a benthic trap, and were responsible for documenting findings from each sampling trip in a field notebook. Students also participated on short research cruises on the RV Proteus.
Our partnership with the community of Kaktovik continues to emphasize scientific study and discovery with considerable support from the community. With continued support from the USF&WS Arctic Refuge, we hope to continue to provide local students with valuable experiences and access to new technology, especially as these new approaches become available to study the effects of rapid environmental change on arctic coastlines.
Meet the 2017 Instructor Team
DR. KEN DUNTON
UTMSI Professor
- Dr. Ken Dunton has over 30 years of experience conducting research in the Alaskan Arctic
- Dr. Dunton and his brothers Ted and John, take older students on a sampling cruise in Kaktovik Lagoon to collect real data for Ken's research project
CLIFF STRAIN - Lead instructor
Ocean Sciences Teacher, Flour Bluff Intermediate School
- Cliff was the lead instructor for the Kaktovik Summer Oceanography Program in 2011, 2014, and 2015
- The Oceans Program at Flour Bluff, administered by Strain since 1990, just earned a Texas Environmental Excellent Award from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
- Read about this impressive accomplishment in the Port Aransas South Jetty
- Check out this video from TCEQ!
CRAIG CONNOLLY - Coordinator
Graduate Student, UTMSI
- Instructor, Kaktovik Summer Oceanography Program (2015-2016)
- Craig is a PhD student at UTMSI
- His research focuses on the chemistry of groundwater inputs to the Alaskan Beaufort Sea coast
CHRISTINA BONSELL - Instructor
Graduate Student, UTMSI
- Coordinator, Kaktovik Summer Oceanography Program (2016)
- Instructor, Kaktovik Summer Oceanography Program (2014-2015)
- Christina is a PhD student at UTMSI
- Her research focuses on kelp beds in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
Arley Muth - Instructor
Graduate Student, UTMSI
- Instructor, Kaktovik Summer Oceanography Program (2016)
- Arley is a PhD student at UTMSI
- Her research focuses on climate effects on kelp ecology dynamics in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea
Tracy Burns
Former Student, Harold Kaveolook School
- Tracy is a former student at the Harold Kaveolook School (graduated 2012) in Kaktovik, AK
- She is a 5-year veteran of the Summer Science Program
- Check out Tracy's short film which highlights observations of coastal change around Kaktovik
Supporting Staff
Allyssa Morris, USFWS
Will Daniels, Brown University
Greta Burkart, USFWS
volunteer!
- Some years, a volunteer from the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges organization joins the Summer Science Program as a guest educator
Parent Resources
Program details (2011-2016)
- Read the formal program reports: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
- Summer Oceanography Program schedule from 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
2017 Schedule coming soon!
BLOGS
Check out these blogs written by graduate student program instructors
Carrie Harris's blog (Summer 2014+2015)
- 2014
- Packing for the Arctic
- First days in Kaktovik
- Catch of the Day
- Class Photo
- All Things Fish
- Farewell Kaktovik
- 2015
- Strange creatures of the murky depths
- Puffins and glaciers and otters OH MY
- Sea cucumber surgery
- Deadhorse for a day.. or two.. or three
- Life as an Arctic Oceanographer
Christina Bonsell's blog (Summer 2014+2015+2016)
- 2016
- Science Camp Snapshot: Groundwater
- Science Camp Snapshot: Remotely Operated Vehicle
- 2015
- Clay!
- 2014
- Kaktovik Science Program
- Science Camp Snapshot: Erosion Surveys
Will Daniel's BLOG (Summer 2015)
In the News
Click below to see what people are saying about the Kaktovik Summer Science Program and UTMSI's ongoing research in the region!
