Stem at the Poles! PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is currently accepting applications from both educators and researchers for the PolarTREC program. "By including a PolarTREC educator, the research team gains a trained and enthusiastic helping hand in the field, an expert in communication and outreach to share their science, and connections between the science and the education communities."
Share your knowledge and passion for science! Researchers can host a PolarTREC educator (formal or informal) in the field and share their knowledge of polar research in both formal classrooms and informal educational settings around the world. By including a PolarTREC educator, the research team gains a trained and enthusiastic helping hand in the field, an expert in communication and outreach to share their science, and connections between the science and the education communities.
Researchers funded by NSF and working in the polar regions can apply to host a PolarTREC educator on their scientific expeditions in Antarctica in the 2020 field season (usually October 2020 - February 2021 in Antarctica.) Researchers do not incur any additional costs to their project but can gain a lot from the inclusion of an educator on their project. And, our funding reimburses schools for any incurred substitutes. We also work with ASC on all the logistics.
Applications for a field-based research experience in the polar regions for 2020-2021 will be accepted from both U.S. informal science educators as well as formal U.S. classroom teachers (teaching in grades 6-12). Informal educators should have the primary focus on outreach to middle and high school students and/or professional development for their teachers. Applications will be to participate in field research learning experiences during the 2020 (usually Arctic) or 2020-21 (usually Antarctic) field seasons. The Educator application deadline is Monday, 7 October 2019. The teacher & informal educator application is available at https://www.polartrec.com/educators/application
We need Researchers! Researchers that work in the polar regions are encouraged to submit an application to host an educator (at no additional cost to you!) during the 2020-2021 field seasons (~October 2020 - February 2021).
If you are interested in hosting an educator on your research project, please fill out the application (https://www.polartrec.com/researchers/application) or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
More information about candidate criteria, application forms, researcher application questions, and program requirements for both teachers and researchers is available at http://www.polartrec.com/. The Researcher application deadline is Monday, 14 October 2019.
Application Deadlines
The application period for Educators to apply to participate in PolarTREC ends Monday, 7 October 2019 at 5:00 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time.
Researchers interested in hosting an educator should contact program staff as soon as possible at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Researcher application deadline is Monday, 14 October 2019.
Informational Webinar
To learn more about the PolarTREC program, we encourage you to attend the informational webinar for the 2020-2021 PolarTREC field seasons.
This event will take place on Wednesday, 11 September 2019 at 1:00 PM AKDT (11 AM HST, 2 PM PDT, 3 PM MDT, 4 PM CDT, 5 PM EDT). The webinar, given for both educators and researchers, will give an overview of the PolarTREC program, its goals, and objectives, program components, the application process, and will address frequently asked questions.
You can register for the webinar here.
If you are unable to attend the webinar, we will post an archive online soon after the event. Anyone who has registered for the event in advance will receive instructions on how to view the archive. You can also download a PDF of the presentation at the same location.
Additional Information
Further information about PolarTREC, including program goals, requirements, and frequently asked questions, is available at: http://www.polartrec.com
Or, contact PolarTREC managers at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.