Polar Explorer

Polar Explorer is a novel new digital learning environment that is currently being developed by a collaborative team led by Debbie Huntzinger (NAU) and includes researchers and learning design experts from Arizona State University’s Education through Exploration (ETX) Center, the University of Arizona, and the University of Colorado at Boulder. In this web-based, immersive environment, students will explore inaccessible polar environments and learn about polar science from their laptops, desktops, or mobile devices. 

The Arctic is a remote, rapidly changing region with extreme variations in temperature and sunlight. Much of the Arctic is underlain by permafrost, a layer of soil or sediment that is perennially frozen. Over the past three decades, the Arctic has warmed at more than twice the rate of the rest of the world and permafrost has started to thaw. Thawing permafrost can release enormous amounts of previously frozen greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, accelerating the pace of climate change. Thawing permafrost can also threaten the food security and clean water of local residents, lead to the erosion of landscapes, the collapse of buildings and roads, and increase the risk of wildfires. In short, climate warming is transforming the Arctic, and this transformation threatens U.S. national security through its impacts on infrastructure, global climate, and public health. 

Given the global impacts of thawing permafrost, it’s important to educate the next generation of leaders about how the Arctic is changing and why these changes have significant consequences for the U.S. and the rest of the world. However, teaching students about permafrost and its consequences is challenging because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the Arctic. Polar systems are also complex, and changes in polar environments occur on many different scales that can be difficult to grasp. Polar Explorer’s interactive, virtual field trips will leverage virtual reality technologies and realistic, scientifically-accurate landscapes and learning experiences so that students can experience and learn about Arctic environments as if they were physically there — regardless of a student’s socioeconomic background, physical ability, or level of academic preparation. Through innovative learning design and virtual reality technologies, Polar Explorer provides a novel and transformative approach for improving STEM education; one that will cultivate a sense of curiosity and connection-to-place and will generate new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning.