GoNorth! Mission Statement

GoNorth! is committed to adventure learning as an innovative online educational approach to motivate student learning. It's purpose is to embed the approach in the K-12 classroom, delivering standards-aligned curricula to build academic excellence and improve geographic, naturalm and social science literacy for all students. GoNorth! will enable teachers to use advanced interactive telecommunications and technology as teaching tools to do the following:

» Provide innovative educational opportunities that excite and inspire youth.
» Foster worldwide collaboration on environmental and cultural issues among student and the general public.
» Encourage respect, interest, and knowledge of and across cultural boundaries.
» Generate environmental understanding, awareness, and stewardship.
» Support appreciation of human diversity and traditional values.

What's Up!

GoNorth! is a free adventure learning project for the K-12 Classroom anchored in social and natural science curriculum. Utilized by more than three million learners, participation includes teachers in 2900+ schools - across the 50 US states and worldwide on six continents.

Over a five-year period our team of educators, scientists and explorers are dog sledding LIVE to five circumpolar Artic location - 2006 through 2010. A 300+ page curriculum & Activity Guide is developed each year reflecting the expedition's current Arctic locale and indigenous culture. The online learning environment delivers comprehensive resources about the region of travel, collaborative opportunities, live field updates and field research fundings synced real-time to the curriculum. Field research relevant to the understanding patterns of climate change is conducted in collaboration with NASA, USDA, the National Science Foundation, and University of Washington.

5 Questions

GoNorth! sets out to explore five central questions in its study of the Arctic, while each annual program is driven by an environmental question relevant to the particular Arctic locales and its people.

» What is the Arctic? What makes it unique?
» Wha are the Arctic people, their traditions and their knowledge?
» How do we affect the Arctic, and how does the Arctic ecosystem affect life on earth?
» What part can we take in protecting the environment and the life of traditional people?
» Will a commitment to sustainability make a difference in our lives?