Exeter 5th Grade Page

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The fifth graders at Exeter Consolidated School have mush on their minds. The students have been busy researching the 95 mushers who are busy running the Iditarod Race in Alaska. Called the Last Great Race on Earth, the Iditarod takes place once a year in Alaska and consists of a grueling 1121 miles through tundra, ice and mountain passes. Brave men and women along with their trusted athletes endure 10 plus days in sub zero temperatures for the chance to win this race.

The Exeter fifth graders have been busy profiling the 95 mushers, along with researching mushing terms, the Iditarod history and keeping track of the latest statistics. They have been able to take part in live video-conferencing (using equipment we received as part of a RUS Grant last year) with the Bering Straight School District in Alaska  that included an interview with legendary Gary Paulsen. The students will continue to take part in the live conferencing throughout the length of the Iditarod including interviews with veterinarians at the checkpoints, musher statistics and Iditarod finale. Students have also been able to track the mushers that have been given GPS devices for this sole purpose using Google Earth and Iditarod Insider. Check out the links below for more information.

Here are some videos taken on March 6 showing a video-conference in session. We were one of 30 schools watching from around the world (The movies are in Apple QuickTime format):

Intro from Moderators

The students watching.

The moderators showing Google Earth and a web site on the screen.

A view of the video-conferencing unit.

You can see the Iditarod Trail on your home computer in Google Earth by downloading and installing Google Earth on your computer and downloading this file to your desktop and  double-clicking on this file.

The Anchorage Daily News - check here for the condition of the dogs and updates on the race.
http://www.adn.com/

Home of the official Iditarod site.
www.iditarod.com
 

This school interviews many of the mushers.
http://www.bssd.org/

These folks originate the video-conferencing session we watch.

http://mushing.bssd.org/