Barrow

Barrow is the northernmost community in the United States. The population is approximately 4500 people, with about 60% of the residents being Inupiat Eskimo.

There are no roads that connect Barrow to other villages. The only access is by plane, with the exception of a barge that comes in the summer. We have a small hospital, a community college, two grocery stores, several restaurants, and a recreation center.

There is a separate elementary, middle, and high school. We will be teaching at the middle school in Barrow. The school houses students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade.

When we arrive in Barrow in a couple weeks, there will be 24 hours of daylight. The last sunset was on May 10 and the next one is on August 3. Because of our far north location, the sun is always above the horizon in the summertime.


This is a picture of Barrow:

General Site Info

Just some information for people new to the site:

*This site is geared for both teachers and upper grade students who want to know more about Alaska, especially the arctic. There is a link at the top right for students in lower grades, especially K-3. There, the text will be easier to read and there are links with games and activities for students to explore.

*The links to the right are geared mostly for teachers, but many of them also have activities and information for students to explore.

*If you visit the site, we'd love to hear from you! Just click on the comments below the post. At the bottom of the other comments is a spot for you to add one. If you don't have a google account, you can post your comment under anonymous, but you can sign your name to the comment if you choose. Or you can email us at tundrateacher@yahoo.com

*No question is a silly one! Ask away!

You're Going Where?

Yes, that red dot at the top is Barrow. That is where we are headed. We just bought our plane tickets, and are scheduled to leave during the first week of July. It will take approximately twelve hours of flight time total to get from the east coast to Barrow.

We needed to pack up our belongings and mail them up to our apartment. There aren't any roads that connect Barrow to other cities, so a moving van is not an option. So all of our things will be packed into thirty or so boxes and mailed. Then we keep our fingers crossed that we receive them all!

Driving up was our original plan. We were excited to make the road trip and get to experience driving through Canada and parts of Alaska that we hadn't yet seen. However, our two dogs are joining us on our journey and they have recently become extremely carsick after five minutes in the car. So we figured that twelve days probably wouldn't work well for them.