University of Alaska Fairbanks sponsors Earth Day Symposium for students across Alaska

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The University of Alaska Fairbanks sponsored an educational symposium for students across Alaska with the Global Learning and Observations for the Benefit of the Environment (GLOBE) program for Earth Day.

Since 1996, GLOBE has worked to not only educate K-12 students on environmental awareness, but also to foster a love for science and mathematics in kids.

Elena Sparrow, Program Director for GLOBE explained, “Global learning and observations to benefit the environment was the program to do it, where our students learn about what’s happening, then they can share it with others, parents, and everybody else at school. So we thought that was a good way of getting people thinking of, ‘How can we study this and what decisions do we have to make?’”

Students from across Alaska gathered in Fairbanks on Earth Day to present studies they had conducted their schools regarding environmental science. “The goal is for them to learn from each other,” Sparrow elaborated, “because they’re already learning science, technology, engineering, and math, and are in the process of doing globe investigations and many different aspects of the earth. So what a wonderful opportunity for them to study that their own STEM learning, but also learning from each other from other communities all over Alaska.”

Sparrow went on to say that for many of the students attending, their love of science only continues to grow thanks to events like these, including one young Fairbanksan, Iris Bright, who enjoyed conducting experiments on the changing of the leaves.

“I like GLOBE a lot,” Bright said. “It has given me opportunities to look at ice and notice the leaves on a daily basis. So I love to do this a lot. I just like doing the experiments and helping others research. I want to be a scientist when I grow up.”

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