51 years of learning about Alaska’s resources
In a place as vast and varied as Alaska, there is no limit to the recreational, educational, and commercial opportunities the state provides to its residents. But how do we learn to make the most out of living in Alaska? This year from May 13-16, the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska did their part by hosting their annual Outdoor Week in Anchorage and inviting over a thousand fifth and sixth-graders from Anchorage School District to Campbell Creek.
Figure 1: Students work through this year’s paleontology station, where they used portable dig boxes to look for fossils and recorded their findings to compare with others. Photo by Charlie Ebbers, BLM.
Since 1974, students from the Anchorage School District have flocked to Campbell Creek and BLM’s Campbell Creek Science Center for a week of outdoor education focused on connecting with Alaska’s resources. The organizations that BLM partners with—various state, federal, and local groups—as well as the types of lessons offered at Outdoor Week change a bit from year to year. This year, stations included wildlife safety, archaeology, birding, fly fishing, paleontology, land surveying, and gold panning.
It’s important for students—especially in Alaska—to have a well-rounded knowledge base when it comes to topics of outdoor recreation and safety. Stations focused on archaeology, land surveying, and gold panning also have the added bonus of exposing students to an activity that could someday turn into a career path with the BLM or other similar agencies. Perhaps unsurprisingly, gold panning is consistently the favorite station among students.
Figure 2: John Hoppe, a BLM geologist and mineral examiner, shows students the proper method for gold panning and the flakes of gold in his own pan. Photo by Jordan Oldenburg, BLM.
“Gold panning was the most exciting activity because it made them feel special, but the other activities offered significant learning opportunities,” a 5th grade teacher from Mountain View Elementary reflected. Several teachers expressed happiness with the variety of hands-on experiences offered during Outdoor Week. If the gleeful shrieking is any indicator, students were also happy for a reason to get outside and try new things in the woods and water of Campbell Creek. It’s not just the students that enjoy Outdoor Week. BLM staff look forward to the event each year and love the chance to be involved in their community.
James Whitlock, BLM’s mining inspection and enforcement lead, explains what he loves about Outdoor Week: “Outdoor Week gives me the opportunity to talk about where precious metals and minerals come from, why mining is important to support our modern world, and the responsibility we have to reclaim the environment after we mine. Watching kids make the connection that the gold they find in their pan came from natural geologic processes is very rewarding.” Whitlock also loves the chance to educate students on the many things gold is used for, from the chips in our smartphones to the visors of astronaut helmets.”
Figure 3: A student reaches to pluck the piece of gold from their pan. Photo by Jordan Oldenburg, BLM.
Watching a student pan for gold and find it all on their own never fails to make people smile, but BLM encourages students to take something away from Outdoor Week—and no, we’re not just talking about their piece of gold. Alaska is overflowing with extraordinary resource potential. Whether it’s fish or gold or natural gas it’s important that we teach the next generation of Alaskans to recognize the value of Alaska’s resources.
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