This post features student writing by Sarah C.

Wow it was such a jam packed day!

We started bright and early and left the farm at 7:45 to go get pancakes. After a delicious breakfast we made a quick stop at the grocery store where we split up and collected food for lunch and dinner.

Then we all gathered in the van and headed out to the Museum of the North. The museum included a history of Alaska, ranging from the native groups to the wildlife to even the Japanese invasion in World War II. After a quick glance at the museum and a marvel at all it had to hold, we participated in a group scavenger hunt through the displays. Questions included easier ones such as “what is a snow shoe made of” to harder ones like what a certain native phrase translated to. After the hunt we viewed a documentary about Alaska in the harsh winters and how people adapt to the tough surroundings.

After the museum we settled in the center of a grassy, yet hilly, park and had a picnic with a pair of archaeologists. While munching on snacks and sandwiches we got to listen about what it was like to dig in this mysterious, mostly unexplored land. Then they answered our questions about what it like to deal with native groups and how they go about finding a space to dig in the first place.

Then we headed over to a lab to speak with a biologist and learn about mammal brains. Carla excitedly informed us about her work with Alaskan ground squirrels and their hibernation habits. Her final goal is to develop a drug that would send humans into a similar temporary state in order to reduce the side effects after heart attacks and strokes. After that, she took us into her lab and we compared and contrasted the sizes and certain aspects of certain mammals’ brains, including humans. Some people in the group even opted to touch, and even hold, the different brains.

After leaving the lab we made a pit stop to grab ice cream and then headed over to Mary and Tim’s house (friends of Tom, co-owner of Calypso Farm), who were nice enough to invite us over the day before. Mary and Tim showed us around their large, completely handcrafted property that included the house, a smoke shed for salmon, a garden, and even Tom’s woodworking shop. Mary even showed us her hand-weaved birch bark creations. Through Mary and Tim we truly learned what it meant to rely on your own in Alaska.

Finally we headed back to the farm to cook dinner. While it was cooking we chopped more wood and even tried our best to cut some grapes with the axes. After that didn’t work we instead hurled the grapes in the air and attempted to catch them in our mouths. Many of us became pretty successful with the high scored being 20 grapes!

After that we ate a delicious meal, had our nightly meeting. and settled down for a well deserved sleep after this long day.

More photos soon!

— Sarah