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Alaska’s Past and Present 

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Healy, Alaska — November 3, 2017 — 8 pages PRICELESS

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and prospectors scrambled to claim the rest of Dawson was rebuilt with bigger buildings,
Same Mountain, Different the land around Bonanza Creek. Reports of the electricity, and sewers, but it was never again
Name find soon spread all over the west of North the big, booming city it had been during the
America. Prospectors that had been living in Klondike Gold Rush.
California since the 1849 Gold Rush hurried Reporter: Danika
north to find their fortunes.
When the Klondike Gold Rush struck, miners Living in the Klondike Gold
traveled on many different routes to get there.
Most prospectors found their way to the Rush
Alaskan coastal towns of Skagway and Dyea. A
few prospectors who had money traveled by In the late 1800’s People came from all over
riverboat from Skagway or Dyea towards the North America and rushed to Canada's North
Klondike but most couldn’t afford such luxury West carrying lots of supplies through
and had to travel by land. The land route was treacherous paths. Only a few of many people
definitely the most dangerous as there were no survived and found their fortunes. There were
railways or paths to carry people across the Murders, Suicides, Diseases, Malnutrition,
mountains. Prospectors were forced to travel Deaths of Hypothermia, and Avalanches.
Mount McKinley’s name was changed to by foot. They carried all of their supplies on I didn’t know life could be so hard until I
Denali because of the following facts. The their backs and on the horses they had bought. researched this topic. One reason life in the
Native Americans and almost all Alaskans One path taken by miners was the Skagway klondike was so hard was because there was no
wanted the name change. Also because Denali Trail, a brutal 50 kilometer trek. Their animals one to protect them like police and ambulance.
means the Great One or the High One which often got stuck in bogs or mudholes. Their Another reason was because the trails were
actually describes Denali pretty well. The only owners could not get them out and left them to dangerous. The very cold, slippery ice, deep
two problems with the name change is many die. Other horses slipped on narrow trails. Soon, snow, and narrow paths took lives of many
people in Ohio disagree with the name change the smell of dead carcasses became people. The stampeders (people who left their
because the President McKinley was from Ohio overpowering. homes to get gold) were not the only ones who
and many Native Americans were insulted by it There were two mountain passes miners suffered, the animals suffered too. Horses fell in
because Denali is part of their language. used to reach the Yukon that were extremely narrow paths, and others got stuck in mud
As Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell and dangerous: Chilkoot Pass and White Pass. The holes and couldn’t get out. Soon the smell of
President Barack Obama work together the extreme cold, deep snow, slippery ice, and dead carcuses became very strong.
mountain is renamed Denali. This is who narrow pathways took the lives of many
renamed it and helped renamed it. The people travelers. Avalanches buried others alive. On
in Alaska helped change the name Obama and April 3, 1898, an avalanche buried dozens of
Jewell are the actual ones that signed papers to people under nine meters of snow. The Royal
change the name. Also Obama made an Canadian Mounted Police were eventually
announcement that the name was changed to stationed in these passes to help the
Denali. And that is how the old name became inexperienced miners travel through, but they
new. could not save everyone. Those who survived
With approval of President Barack Obama the journey headed for the city of Dawson,
the name of the mountain Denali is finally where the Yukon and Klondike Rivers met. As
changed. The name change happened 24 hours miners flooded into the region, the population
before Obama touches down in Anchorage of this small town soared to 30,000 by 1898.
Alaska in 2017. Obama supports the name
change because he feels Denali is more native to
Alaska. Jewell is happy the name is changed
because it's been almost 40 years that people We need things to survive like food, water,
have wanted the name to change the name to and shelter so I wondered what they brought.
Denali. That's how and why the name changed
Tools: Clothes:
from Mt. McKinley to Denali.
2 knives 2 coveralls
Reporter: Kate
2 butcher knives 2 overalls
2 hunting knives 3 heavy undies
Klondike Gold Rush: A 1 handsaw
Prospector's Journey 1 whipsaw
2 axes
In 1896, prospector Robert Henderson was 2 shovels
traveling down the Klondike River when he 1 brace and 4 bits
came across three frontiersmen, George matches
Carmack, Skookum Jim, and Tagish Charlie, who 1 jack plane
were fishing. Henderson talked with Carmack nails
and invited him to claim land near Goldbottom
Creek, where Henderson had already found a Food:
small amount of gold. However, when the trio flour Beef
The Klondike Gold Rush was over in 3 years. Bacon Baking powder
went to investigate Henderson’s site, they were
In 1899, gold was discovered further north in Butter Tea
unimpressed with what they found.
Nome, Alaska. Prospectors rushed north to Cornmeal Apples
While traveling home via Rabbit Creek,
claim land within a short time. By 1901, Dried beef Apricots
Skookum Jim noticed a gold nugget in the creek
Dawson’s population had dropped to 6,000. The Potatos Rice
bed. They all jumped into the water, and began
mad gold rush had ended...but there was still Salt Peaches
searching the gravel at the bottom of the creek.
gold in the Yukon. Mining companies used a Onions Ground pepper
They discovered that Rabbit Creek contained
newly built railway to bring in big machines Bread Ground mustard
more gold than they had ever seen. Carmack,
called dredgers, which dug through the deeper Roast coffee Peas
Jim, and Charlie immediately staked claims
soil to find gold. In the next 50 years, they Beans Vinegar
around Rabbit Creek, soon to be named
processed another $500 million worth of gold.
Bonanza Creek. The news spread like wildfire (continued on Page 2)
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This is only some of what they actually
brought. They brought a lot more than this. The
reason they brought so much was because there
was no stores, and if there were stores
everything would be expensive.
Did you know the Klondike did not just bring
foolish people and miners to the north, it also
brought bandits? One of the criminals was
Jefferson Smith, also known as Soapy. He had a
gang with more than 100 criminals. Soapy met
his end by asking a successful miner for $ 2,800
of gold. Instead of walking away beaten he
rounded the town up and formed a mob led by
Reid Frank, a civil engineer. Reid stood up to
Soapy and shot him in the heart, but frankly
Reid was wounded in the shootout.
Fun Fact:​ Since life was hard, people stole dogs
from the lower 48 states to let them pull the
supplies through the snow. That's how huskies
became our beloved Alaska dog.
Reporter: Savannah
The 1925 Serum Run
Saved Lives
The serum run was a long way to go for all of
the mushers and the dogs. The mushing was
rough.The serum was a medicine to cure
diphtheria. In 1925 in a native village called
Holy Cross the first person to maybe have
diphtheria was found, more people got
diphtheria and they needed medicine. They had
an idea to have two teams meet in the middle
and then hand off the serum. Then they realized
that they needed more than just two teams. The
serum run went from Nenana to Nome. The
serum run saved lives.
The serum run was far and harsh.The serum
run was 674 miles, and took 5 ½ days.
Leonhard Seppala was the person who ran his
dog team the farthest he went 84 miles in one
day, that is a lot for humans and dogs. The
teams ran at about 6 to10 miles per hour. Since
Leonhard seppala’s part of the serum run was
farther than the other mushers and dogs, he
decided to take a not very safe short cut. It was
over the Norton sound. The serum run was hard
for the mushers and dogs, but it was worth it
because it helped people.
Dogs have been with people for a long time.
Humans have had fully domesticated dogs for
more than 15,000 years. A river made good
transportation in summer but in winter they
needed better transportation, so they used dog
sled. Alaska Natives bread sled dogs, the dogs
helped them travel. In summer the dogs could
carry pack saddles. The harness were made of
bearskin. The sleds were made with drift wood.
Dog sleds today are made with different
material. The sleds today are much lighter.
When there was a lot of gold mining going on,
no dog was safe on the streets because it would
probably get picked up by a gold miner to put in
their team. Gold miners also stole dogs in
winter for transportation to go to their mining
claims. The gold miners didn't care what type of
dog it was. The dogs the gold miners had in
there team, mixed with with the dogs the
alaskan natives used are what we now know as
our alaskan huskies. The history of dogs has an
interesting story.
Reporter: Iris
Togo,the dog who helped
Nome
Introducing Togo, the dog who saved Nome.
Nome is a small town in Alaska, and a deadly
disease, diphtheria was sweeping through
Nome like butterflies. Making people sick and
even die, so nome arranged for a relay race
made of sled dog teams! To carry the serum
that would save nome. From nome to get the
serum in anchorage then from anchorage back
to nome.
Togo was a small sized dog about 48
pounds. He had a black, brown and grayish coat
that made him look oddly patterned even dirty
at times. He did not look like a leader of a sled
dog team. His owner was Leonhard Seppala.
When Togo was born small, he was the only
puppy in the litter. Seppala mostly ignored Togo
which made him very mischievous. Togo did
not look like a leader, because he was small and
looked weirdly patterned and even dirty
sometimes, and many more reasons. But when
he was about 8 months old he proved he had a
meaning that was more than a mutt. He proved
he was a true born leader.
Togo’s proven meaning. Seppala was setting
off for a run and left Togo behind. Togo hated
being left behind. So he put his mind to escaping
and halfway succeeded. He jumped the 7 foot
fence and got his leg stuck in the wiring he sat
there like a squealing pig until a kennel helper
came and cut him loose. He sped after Seppala
and the team racing along the trail. Until
Seppala got to his cabin where Togo rested
outside until dawn. In the morning Seppala
noticed his dogs were off to an unusually quick
start. He thought it might be a reindeer up
ahead but then he saw Togo racing along the
trail. He finally caught Togo and had no choice
but to put him in the position of team dog
where he could keep an eye on him. Then as the
day grew on Seppala moved Togo up the team
until he was in position of lead dog next to the
other leader and he ran hard and was focused.
That’s when Seppala found out Togo was a true
born leader.
Reporter: Sierra
All about Balto, and
Gunnar Kassen.
In 1925 Nome Alaska the great run of Balto
and Gunnar Kassen on the 700 mile trail. To
deliver the serum for the sick kids in the
hospital. With a disease called diphtheria is a
disease that will make you cough really hard
and you can die from this deadly disease.The
kids in the hospital needed the dogs to go
because the doctor ran out of anti-toxin.
Balto got chosen because the musher
thought that he was strong fearless and worked
hard.But the musher thought that he was too
slow to run.But Balto han a good sense of smell
and could do things that are tough and could
still go through.And he had a lot of energy and
did not waste it.And was fast in some ways.
The team carried a lot of stuff like food
salmon and tallow and the medicine.And he had
to carry stuff for the dogs like a extra gang
line,rabbit fur blankets that were already sewn
and harnesses. And he had to carry stuff for
himself like sleeping bags,fur robes,two parkas
double hooded ,seal mukluks, and seal pants to
keep him warm. And he had to bring the dogs
and himself and the sled and the medicine.
Reporter: Taylor
All About The Iditarod Sled
Dog Race
The iditarod race is a famous race. The
iditarod is 1,000 miles from Anchorage to
Nome. It starts every year on the first Saturday
of March. The iditarod race is a tradition.The
iditarod is a very dangerous race. The iditarod
is one of the longest races in the world.
Dorothy G. Page and the Redington brothers
are important because they started the iditarod
and the trail. Dorothy G. Page was interested in
dog sledding across Alaska,so she wanted a race
that crossed Alaska. The brothers began writing
letters to remember the old iditarod trail. The
Redingtons were donating one acre to Flat
Horn lake to help raise money for the iditarod
trail and the race. The Page’s and the
Redingtons began promoting to get people to do
the race and watch it start and when it ends.
For some mushers it might take them a long
amount of time to finish the race.Mushers
should take in their sleds a heavy sleeping bag,
an artic parka, an ax, snowshoes,musher food,
dog food,8 booties for each sled dog ,and,then
coats for each dog. Diphtheria threatened and
anti- toxin is a type of medicine that helped the
sickness. There are only 3 check points, the 2
checkpoints are 8 hour ones,and the other
check point is a 24 hour one. You only can have
3 allowable sleds, there can’t bes no more than
3 sleds. The second sled can be used at the
restart in Willow.
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Reporter: Florence
Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race
This is how the history of the Yukon Quest,
was important and how it was created.
First, in 1983 Rodger Williams, Ronn Rosser,
Willy Lips and Leroy Shank had an important
conversation which created the Yukon Quest.
The Yukon Quest was named after the river
‘Yukon river.’’ It is also known as ‘’highway of
the north’’. The first tournament was a
international run.It was a international run was
1,000 miles long with all race talents and race
challenges test. Twenty-six teams were in the
first race. They left Fairbanks in 1983. In a few
days, only 20 teams made it out. The other
members were either disqualified or scratched
from the game.
Sonny Lindner won the first Yukon Quest by
having a good experience from the Iditarod
which Sonny Lindner used to win the first
Yukon Quest, but you could start with 12 dogs,
but you could end with 9 dogs. Sonny Lindner
started with 9 dogs and ended with 9 dogs by
taking good care of them.
Each musher will know certain things to win
the race. Sled dog food is prepared at the first
checkpoint, then at the other checkpoint in the
checkpoints they give hot meals for the dogs.
That is how mushers get food for their dogs. In
a race a musher should have safety items to
keep themselves safe which are a warm coat, a
warm hat and gloves, snow shoes, a shovel a axe
and a handsaw to build a fire, a compass (most
likely a GPS) and a map. A musher would need
these items to keep themselves safe.The
musher picks the lead dog by their experience
and their courage and their control.
Stickeen: A Dog on John
Muir’s Expedition
When I first heard of Stickeen (the dog) I
wondered what he was like. He never hesitated
to do something. He shared the wonders of John
Muir. He liked swimming long distances. He
could be adventurous. He could also move
super swiftly. When I read to the end I found
out.
When I first read Stickeen I questioned why
he was on John Muir’s expedition. He woke up
earlier than everyone. He did what he insisted
to do (which was to go with him). He followed
until he was given permission to come. He
didn’t go back to the tent they were staying in. I
also think that since John Muir said that he was
useless to them, he wanted to show that he was
helpful to them.
When I first read Stickeen I wondered where
he went. He went to a glacier close to Glacier
Bay. He walked around the glacier. He climbed
to the top of the glacier. He saw a lake close to
to the glacier. He crossed a bridge made of ice.
He jumped a field of crevasses. He went over a
seven mile crevasse.
Reporter: Matthew
Alaska Natives: Art, Tools,
Hunting
Scientists think Natives came from Asia, their trading sources and oil, they struck Dutch
probably crossed on the Bering land, or water
craft. I have been interested in art by Alaskan
Harbor again. I wonder that if the U.S. didn't
stop trading with them, would the Japanese not
Native, since I visited a village called Minto five have attacked them?
years ago. Aleuts, one group of Alaska Natives,
I also wondered why did the war start in
were master basket makers. Aleuts made
Alaska. The president stopped giving Japanese
baskets from the sea surrounding them. Aleuts
used materials like seal and walrus intestine, some of their oil. As a result, Japan somehow
beads, dyed skin strips, ryegrass, caribou fur, got offended and bombed Dutch Harbor. The
and feathers. There are many shapes and sizes, bomb was not the best and did little damage.
and I think these baskets are creative. After the bomb, they somehow landed on an air
Some art included carving. Bow drills are strip and they raided it. Also Japan needed a
just one of the many tools used by Alaska
base so they forced land on Kiska to build a
Natives to make the carvings very beautiful. base so they didn't need to go back and forth
Bow drills should put in very specific detail, so
and this happened on June 6, 1942. I wonder if
it would make the artifact pretty cool. Part of
the U.S. had known about Japan forcing land on
the bow drill goes in your mouth, to keep it
steady so it stays still. This may seem Kiska, would the war have been different?
unsanitary but it's perfectly sanitary. In the
end, I think the carvings are one of the most
beautiful things ever.
A few other items used by Alaskan Natives
were fasteners and sacks. Fasteners were used
to close the top of bags so almost nothing can
fall out, and to hold up pants. Another tool is
sacks, sacks sorta acted like a backpack.
Fasteners were on a string on sacks to close the
top.
I knew that Native Alaskans hunted for their
food. I wondered what weapons they used.
Here's some materials for weapons Natives
used to use. One of the many material they
used were arrowheads. Arrowheads are
pointed rocks with serrated or double edged
sides very sharp. Also staffs were used, usually
containing a v-shaped end or ends so Reporter: Cordell
arrowheads, metal, and other items can fit in
this v-shaped crevice. World War II in the
Here's a few names of the weapons and how
they were used. Harpoons were a spear-like
Aleutian Islands: During
weapon, which its end sides is like a dagger, its the War
other end has a rope so when it hits a water
creature such as a whale the harpoon works Many people got killed in World War II in
like a fish hook and stabs into their skin, so it Alaska. 2,300 people got killed because of
could be hauled up. Also spears have a suicide and at the Battle of Attu only 28 soldiers
backwards v shape end, which when you throw survived . The Japanese bombed Kiska with
a spear it whistles through the air hits say a Type 0 planes and killed many people . At the
bear or moose. Here's a few other animals
same time the Japanese bombed Dutch Harbor
Native Alaskans ate: spruce hens (called
Alaskan chickens), roots, salmon, and sheep. In and Alaskan and Japanese people died. The
the end I learned that Alaska Natives could Japanese were unaware of the U.S.A./Alaska air
make very cool weapons and could kill many force and it surprised them and they weren't
animals without any guns, or modern ready for it and it killed many people.
technology. There were many locations that people used
in Alaska during World War II. They went to the
World War II in the Aleutian Islands that's the left hook. They went
to Dutch Harbor and bombed it. And that's in
Aleutian Islands: Before the Aleutian Islands. They also went to Kiska
the War and bombed it with Type 0 planes. They went to
the Aleutians because it was close to Japan and
When I first heard about World War II, I
they went all over the Aleutian Islands.
wondered was there a military or army in
There were many people in World War II in
Alaska before the war? In May 8, 1943, the first
Alaska. 2,600 people died and 28 survivors.
U.S. troop arrived. June 30, 1943, the U.S.
Isn’t that amazing? There were 11,000
uploaded supplies for battle. In August 15,
American troops. That's more than Japan. 5,600
1943, U.S. and Canadian troops landed in the
Japanese escaped that meant that there were
Aleutian Islands in Kiska to search for the
8,200 Japanese troops. Than the U.S.A. bought
Japanese troops who snuck in. The U.S. was not
Alaska and that scared them the Japanese. The
just fighting Japanese they were also fighting
first year many people died. That's sad. That’s
the cold, snow, and ice. Thousands of U.S. army
the end of my third paragraph.
soldiers like land, sea, and air forces got ready
Reporter: Elijah
to go into battle. I wonder if Alaska had had a
small army or defense, would the Japanese
come a lot later?
History of the Great
I wondered why did the war come to Alaska? Alaskan Railroad
On December 7, 1941, Japanese struck Dutch
When I first researched about the railroad, I
Harbor. On July 28, Japanese ships invaded and
wondered what time period they were building
also struck Kiska Harbor. In 1942, Japanese
it in? In 1903, the railroad started being built.
invaded Attu and the Kiska islands. The
They started in 1903 and ended in 1923. The
president stopped trading with the Japanese
railroad started in Seward and ended in
and stopped giving them oil so they could not
keep on building an empire. After they cut off
Fairbanks. First they built 50 miles from 1903
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to 1910. Then from 1910 - 1914 they built 71
miles. So, in all, if you do the math they built
121 miles. After researching this, I felt kind of
bisard that they built 121 miles of railroad in 20
years.
Also, I wondered how many trains go on
the railroad each day? Did you know that the
Alaska railroad owns 863 freight trains! They
also own 44 passenger trains also known as
railcars. The first year the railroad was in
business was 1938. In all of 2015, the Alaska
railroad got 475,034 passengers! After
researching this, I felt kind of astonished about
how much more freight trains than passengers
trains the Alaska railroad owns.
Do you know what the Golden Spike is? I do.
The Golden Spike is a spike that you put into the
railroad. In 1923, Warren G. Harding hammered
the Golden Spike in. Do you know where he
hammered the Golden Spike in? Warren G.
Harding hammered it in in Nenana. Know what
it means? It means the end of the railroad.
YAY! After researching about the Golden Spike, I
wondered why I have not known more about
the Golden Spike because it does mean the end
of the railroad.
Reporter: Addison
The 1989 Alaska Oil Spill
Hi! I’m here to tell you about the Valdez Oil
Spill. When I first heard about the oil spill I
wanted to know the size. Here are some things
I have learned. I learned that oil spilled 11
million gallons of oil. Think on something for a
while. If you left the water running for 3,650
days ​that would equal the amount of oil spilled.
Another way of measuring the amount of oil
spilt, 270,000 barrels of oil spilt. Also 20,000
gallons of oil spilt per hour. And oil spilt 600
miles from where it started. Imagine walking
600 miles from where you live.
Hi! I forgot to introduce myself last time. My
name is Joseph Eugene Stone and I'm here to
tell more facts about the oil spill. When I first
heard of the oil spill I wondered what caused it?
A ship called the Valdez tore it's hull on Bligh
Reef on 3/24/1989. Hazelwood a veteran sailor
sent a junior officer to the bridge alone. The
junior officer planned to turn the ship around to
the normal shipping lane. However the ship
was badly positioned in dangerous waters. So
some people say the spill was the junior
officer’s fault and others say that it was
Hazelwood’s fault.
Hi! I’m gonna tell you more about the oil spill.
When I first heard of the oil spill, I wondered
where it happened? It happened in Valdez. It
also happened on Bligh Reef. Also, it happened
in Prince William Sound. The 4th place it
happened was around the pipeline. Last, it
happened in the inbound shipping lane. So it
happened on Valdez’s Bligh Reef in Prince
William Sound.
Reporter: Joseph
The Animals of the Oil Spill
The 1989 Alaska Oil Spill happened on a nice
March day in Prince William Sound in Valdez,
Alaska. A big tanker called the Exxon Oil
Tanker came to get oil from the pipeline in
Alaska, but then the tanker hit a reef. The reef
tore open the tanker’s hull. 11,000 out of
15,000 gallons of oil came out in a rush. The oil
made the water black and slimy. “We did not
think it could happen,” a crew member said.
The oil kept spreading and spreading and
spreading.
The animals were affected because of the oil
spill. The effect was huge. The oil affected and
killed about 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals,
250 bald eagles, more than 20 killer whales,
millions of seabirds, and billions of salmon and
herring. Many more animals were affected.
Since the tanker hit the reef the tanker and the
reef were really damaged. Most animals died,
swam away, or got really injured. The
populations are still down today.
People saved the lives of animals after the
Valdez Oil Spill. People sprayed rocks off with
long hoses. They also cleaned off beaches. The
people took the hurt or injured animals to a
rescue center. They also put a special bacteria
in the water. Meanwhile, at the rescue center,
people were busy cleaning the animals (mostly
with dawn dish soap). After a while they
released the animals into the wild.
People were affected because of the Valdez
Oil Spill just like animals. When the tanker
spilled the oil, a group of 20,000 people tried to
keep the oil in one spot but that did not work.
That's only part of it. Great commercial fishing
grounds where herring, salmon, crabs, and
other creatures were caught were a disaster.
Their food was gone and their tools were
destroyed. All the fishermen had a hard time
fishing for a long time. The people are today
still affected by the oil.
Reporter: Morgan
Valdez Oil Spill: Effects on
People
During the oil spill some people were
affected because they had to help. Margy
Johnson was one of the people who was
affected. She had to help clean the animals. Joe
Hazelwood knew that if he did not volunteer it
would get worse so he volunteered to help with
anything at a cafe to encourage other people to
help. Governor Steve Cowper helped by making
National Guardsmen help and Tom Cowpland
helped by getting fishermen to help. Walter
Parker helped clean up oil. We are all thankful
they helped with the oil spill.
How are the cities affected? During the oil
spill some cities were affected including
Seward, Kenai, Homer, Klondike, and Valdez.
The oil spill has made people try to find the
toxins in the oil for years since. This was the
biggest oil spill in America. It affected the cities
because they were scared and the animals were
hurt so people can't see them. People were sad
and that is how the cities were affected.
There were many ways the Valdez Oil Spill
affected people. Fishermen could not fish
because the fish were killed from the oil. 11,000
people had to clean up the oil in the
environment and animals. Roger Sampson,
superintendent of Chugach School District,
paired up students with scientists who went
into the field. There was a declared State of
Emergency which means the state helped by
having other people donate money so they
could bring in other people to help. The oil also
affected the food for the environment and
people. This is how the people were affected.
Reporter: Jaidyn
Military in Alaska
​ o you know what the Alaska military is
D
doing right now? Did you know that the military
has been helping with the hurricanes in Texas
and Florida. The military has also been fighting
in Afghanistan. The military is helping with
another hurricane in Puerto Rico. Lots of
troops have been gearing up for deployment or
drop of in Afghanistan. 75 Alaskan troops
marched a 26 mile marathon in Denali National
Park near where I live. The Alaska military has
been doing more than you might think and I
recently found out. Do you know how the
Alaska military trains? The Northern Edge
training exercise is in May every two years.
They train in planes, in ships, and on
computers. The pilots and sailors will test their
skills in simulated combat. The training will
help their ability to respond to crises. There is a
red team and a blue team the teams try to
prevent the other team from hacking into their
system. The Alaska military trains a lot but the
Northern Edge training exercise is the biggest I
know.
What vehicles do the Alaska military use?
The Alaska military uses vehicles like jets,
planes, and helicopters. These are some water
vehicles, destroyers, battleships, submarines,
landing craft, and hovercraft. Their emergency
vehicles are fire trucks and ambulances. The
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tracked vehicles are tanks and tracked
amphibious vehicles. The wheeled vehicles are
rocket trucks, jeeps, humvees, satellite trucks,
wheeled tanks, and armored cars. There are
many vehicles the Alaska military uses but
these are all I could find.
Reporter: Owen
Dinosaur Discoveries in
Alaska
I have had this question for a while, is there a
dinosaur that lives in the Arctic?
There actually is. It’s called an Alaska Sauras.
Did you know that a Alaska Sauras is a similar
height of a twenty foot tree and nearly five feet
wide. The Alaska Sauras is a relative to the
famous Tyrannosaurus in other words T-rex.
These dinosaurs might not be the biggest but
they have powerful jaws, sharp teeth, and walk
on their hind limbs. These creatures live way,
way, way, back in time. To be exact, 67-70
million years ago. The Narbosauras is yet
another relative with similar shaped skulls. The
Alaska Sauras eats any meat it finds. Scientists
think they became extinct because there wasn't
enough food especially in the winter. Wow, the
Alaska Sauras was pretty lucky to live in a
special place like Alaska and don’t forget Alaska
is beautiful place too.
Have you ever heard of an Elasmosaur?
(Ee-laz-moh-sohr) I didn’t until a few weeks
ago. These creatures did not walk on land. They
fit in other dinosaur criteria. These animals had
paddle like limbs that they used for swimming
underwater. These dinosaurs had extremely
long necks. The person who found the
Elasmosaur bones was named Curven Metzel.
Curvin found the fossils up a sixty foot cliff. One
of the Elasmosaur relatives is called the
Paliouras. They were found all over North
Western America, mostly in Montana. ​Earth For
Science​ creator Patrick Druckenmiller went
back to the Talkeetna Mountains in June and
looked for more fossils and he almost found a
whole skeleton. These are the first Elasmosaur
bones and the third marine reptile in Alaska.
These fossils will be in a display at the North for
Science Museum. Well, these creatures are
pretty unique in their own ways.
Wow, think of all the people who have found
dinosaur fossils. In addition to footprints,
researchers found dinosaur imprints, plant
imprints, fossilized pollen, and numerous
impressions of bugs and worms. Denali
National Park is one of the few parks that has
finished a fossil story on a Cretaceous that lived
65-70 million years ago. The first dinosaur
footprint found in Denali was in 2006 by Sushi
Tomsich. It was a Theropod, a three toed meat
eating dinosaur, that walks on it’s hind legs.
Additional discoveries were made in 2006 by
park researchers and graduate students. Also,
citizen scientists participating in field courses
and training workshops showed that Denali
National Park was once shared by additional
dinosaur species, as well as, an array of
prehistoric fish, birds and insects. Several
researchers participated in 2007 discoveries.
Their field work took place at several locations,
such as Double Mountain, Cabin Peak, Mount
Sheldon, and Sable Mountain. For anybody
interested, the Murie Science and Learning
Center will be offering family field seminar and
a guide teaching about dinosaurs. The first
fossil track will be at a display at the Murie
Science and Learning Center. Well, maybe you
will find a fossil or footprint some day like these
people.
Reporter: Isabel
Learning About the
Northern Lights
Hey there reader, want to learn about the
northern lights colors, and how they get them.
Well then, we got all day to talk, so let’s go.
Believe it or not (which you should) the
northern light are actually kinda close to neon
lights. Fact 1, they are both created from space,
neon lights are created from neon gas which
guess what, comes from space. Fact 2, they both
can be created with different colors from
different things, except the northern lights are
more complex. You see the thing is, northern
lights get their colors from sun particles, once
created, the northern lights get their color from
the sun particles from with gas and then that
gas goes into the northern lights, that gas has
the colors and when mixed with the northern
lights they create northern lights with their
color. But now we go to the differences, unlike
neon lights, northern lights change colors, sure
if you see it one day and see it again the same,
then that’s fine, but let me tell you that neon
lights stay the same, sure they change colors
but, they're the same two colors! Northern
lights actually do change because sometime you
might see a color when seeing the northern
lights that you never saw before. Just had to let
you know that. Also the areas where it is
common to see northern lights are these,
alaska, and canada. But if a sun is a active sun
then the northern lights can go all the way to
mexico. But a quiet sun means that they don’t
go as far and are more common to see in the
northern part of the states. In conclusion, the
thought of neon lights being the same colors
(even though they could just change the colors)
seems overwhelming but, hey, you now know
what creates northern lights colors, this was
fun, see you in the next paragraph.
Hello again reader, let’s just get on with
learning about how northern lights are created
shall we? Good. Let’s go. So the northern lights
or also known as auroras, are created from the
sun, to be more specific they are created from
solar wind which comes from our sun. But how
do you make it? You might ask, well it’s as
simple as a biscuit. (Ok it’s actually not). The
first step is that the sun creates the solar wind.
For the second step the solar wind flies or floats
over to earth. Third, the solar wind gets caught
in Earth’s tail like magnetic field. Fourth, the
solar wind particles zoom towards earth faster
than any car has gone before. Then the final
step is that the solar wind forms together and
then you get the northern lights. So in this
conclusion, making the northern lights (which
does itself) is a thing that will blow your mind,
if you did not want to learn about northern
lights before maybe now you do because you
must have so many questions about it.
Now time to learn how the northern lights
sway up and down. So a myth from St.
Lawrence island says this “the lights to have no
colors. Children were warned to stay in at
nights so they wouldn’t be stolen from the
lights. Some children didn’t listen,and they were
carried away. The colors we see now are the
colorful parkas of the children as they dance in
the skies.” Now you might be wondering, what
about that myth is about dancing. Well at first i
thought it was part of the reason on how they
dance, but i know how they do, now. They are
affected by the wind which makes them sway
up and down. And also the adding of sun
particles from the wind blowing. In conclusion,
there is a answer that seems so relaxing of what
answers we’ve had so far. Hopefully you
learned the stuff i was trying to teach you, bye.
Reporter: Paxton
Erupted
When I first heard that there were volcanoes
in Alaska I wondered where? I mean I don’t
want to get roasted! Over the past weeks I have
learned that most volcanoes are on the coast.
But scientists are scanning Alaska and finding
new volcanoes all over. You may have heard of
Mount Katmai. Well it is Alaska’s biggest
eruption and recent studies have shown that it
may still be active.
After I found out were volcanos are, I started
to wonder about how many volcanoes there
are. Well I found out that Alaska has 80
volcanoes and at least 50 of them are active.
Alaska is one of the most violently volcanic
regions on earth so naturally we are
discovering new volcanoes all the time and all
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of them seem to be active. Now that may be
60!!!
Ok, now I know where volcanoes are and
how many there are. Now I'm starting to
wonder about the facts? Did you know that
Mount Denali, U.S.A.’s biggest mountain, used to
be a volcano. Well, it's true. Studies have shown
a magma chamber right under it. Did you know
that there is a pit in Alaska made from an
eroded volcano and the pit has 5 volcanoes in
it? There are way more facts I wish I could tell
you, but for now good-bye.
Reporter: Harper
Alaska Gold Mining
When I first heard about mining I really
wanted to know how many people mine. There
were 4,800 jobs in more than 120 communities
in 2012. In 2016 hundreds of those numbers
dropped to 4,350 in less than 50 communities.
In 2017 there was 342 mining applications and
a lot of miners.
I wanted to know what kind of equipment do
they use to mine gold? So miners sometimes
use something called a gold pan all you have to
do is put it in some water and dirt and then
shake it the gold stays in the pan everything
else goes away. They also use something called
a dredge it separates the rocks from the gold.
When I first heard that their were big mining
companies I wanted to know where they were.
I found that one of the big mining companies is
in Nome. I wondered why they mined in Nome.
I figured out that there's sand in nome. This
sand has a lot of gold in it. There is a tv show
called “Bering Sea Gold” that is about mining in
Nome.
Reporter: David
Coal Mining in Alaska
I was curious about the mining process so I
decided to research it. First, use loaders to
remove the soil and haul it to a soil pile. Next,
drill and blast seam overburden. Then, use
shovels and trucks to haul blasted overburden
to be placed with soil piles. Afterward, drill
and blast the exposed seam. Next, load and haul
the blasted seam to the tipple to be crushed and
sent to market. Then drill and blast seam into
interburden. Afterward, design a blast to make
material fly into previously mined out pit. Next,
make a dragline pad with a dozer. Then have
the dragline dump it out into the previously
mined out pit. Drill and blast seam and haul it
to the tipple to be crushed and sent to market.
After the seam is mined out, drill and blast the
seam into interburden. From the soil side, the
dragline will finish excavating the blasted coal
and into interburden. Drill and blast seam. Haul
coal to tipple after the top soil is seeded and
fertilized. The following year small trees are
planted to reclaim the land. Now that I have
researched it, I now know a lot more about the
mining process.
I wanted to learn more about the
transportation of coal so I decided to research
on how the coal travels. First, the coal is mined
in a 13 step process. Then it gets hauled to a
train. Once the train is loaded, the train goes to
Seward. Then, the coal gets loaded on a carrier
boat. The carrier boat takes the coal to it’s
usual customers. It’s usual customers are
China, Japan, and Chile. In 2015, Usibelli Coal
Mine stopped exporting coal for the rest of the
year. The reason they stopped is because the
port in Seward shut down. Now that I have
researched it, I now know a lot more about the
transportation of coal.
I was wondering what country buys the most
coal. So, I decided to research it. The top 7
countries with the most coal are the U.S. with
25%, Russia with 16%, China 12%, Australia
9%, India 8%, Germany 7%, and South Africa
6%. The coal fields in China are among the
biggest in the world. In 2015, Usibelli Coal Mine
exported 150,000 tons of coal to Japan and
none to any other regular customers like Chile
or South Korea. So, overall the U.S. holds the
most coal out of the top 7. Now that I have
studied how much coal some countries buy, I
now know a lot more about it.
Reporter: Reid
Alaska’s Iron Dog, a
Snowmobile Race
I wonder who made the Iron Dog
snowmobile race? The first race was in 1984. In
1984 the name was Iron Dog Iditarod. Then the
name was Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic. Then it
was quickly changed to Tesoro Iron Dog. But
today we call it Iron Dog.
I wondered where the Iron Dog was? The
race is about 2,000 miles long. Dangers may
come because racers have to go on cracked ice,
railroad tracks and plain runways. It starts in
nome then goes to anchorage.
Why is the iron dog called iron dog? The iron
dog is a snowmobile race and some
snowmobiles are made of iron. Snowmobiles
replaced sled dogs in that race as a joke. The
reason is people are getting more advanced and
using snow mobiles more than sled dogs. These
snowmobiles are called iron dogs they do this
because iron dogs are more mobile. One race
took a week long.
Reporter: Colten
Glacier Bay: One of the
biggest parks in Alaska
​The first question that came to my mind
when I read about Glacier Bay was, how were
the glaciers made? The ice age did it, but before
the ice age it was all water, but as it got colder
and colder it started freezing and then at the ice
age it was all ice. The ice gets stronger every
winter because, the ice melts but when it gets
cold water sticks to cold objects, when it gets
below 32 degrees Fahrenheit the water freezes
and sticks to the ice, then when summer comes
again that water has frozen into ice and has
gotten stronger and a little bit bigger. Although
it has gotten stronger it’s not strong enough
because it melts in the summer and has already
melted 40%. We can’t stop the glaciers from
melting but we can slow it down. People are
trying to find the best way to slow it down right
now.
Another thing I wanted to know is where is
Glacier Bay located? It is near where the North
American plate collides with the Pacific plate.
Since it is that close to that, Glacier Bay has
recorded four earthquakes over 8.0! Those are
huge! Since the North American plate is going
above the Pacific plate it is rising in elevation. If
you look at it on a map it is the southeast of
Alaska. It's to the right of our capital Juneau.
That's where you where find Glacier Bay if you
were wondering.
The last thing I wanted to know about Glacier
Bay is how big it is? It is about 5,130 square
miles and 3,283,000 acres! That's almost the
size of Connecticut! The glaciers alone are 2,055
square miles. If you look at the surface of the
water and glaciers it is 607,099 acres. Most of
the park is land but the water is deep with it
being 1,410 feet below sea level. That's how big
Glacier Bay is.
Reporter: Michael
Sandhill Cranes in Alaska
Did you know that sandhill cranes are close
to being on the endangered list?
This is because when they are sick they are
hunted by a lot of things because they are
weak at that time. Things like crows, foxes,
raccoons, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, ravens,
eagles, and owls. That’s a lot of predators and
they all live in Alaska and some other places.
And even when they are well, they are
threatened by hungry animals. They puff out
their chest like they’re being grumpy and they
also do a ninja kick. They also hiss to threaten
the hungry animals and that’s a lot of reasons
why you shouldn't hunt sandhill cranes, but
also because they are cool to see.
Did you know that over half a million
sandhill cranes migrate each year? And they
also fly over 350 miles each day. But most of the
sandhill cranes take a shortcut through the
6
mountains so they get to their destination a
little faster. Did you know that sandhill cranes
are 3 feet tall and they have a wingspan that is 6
feet wide. “Wow, that is big!’’ They also fly to
different places every year especially when they
are from different places in Alaska. When
sandhill cranes land they will most likely land in
Mississippi, Florida, or most Cuban areas in the
winter and go to Alaska for the summertimes.
They go to these places because they need more
warmth in the winter. I would not blame them
because it gets pretty cold here. Just remember
if you are ever in one of these places be sure to
watch out for the sandhill cranes because they
are sure an amazing sight to see.
Did you know that sandhill cranes eat
berries and frogs? But during the cold times
they eat small rodents like mice and rats.
During the warm times they eat crops like
veggies and lettuce if they find some.
Sometimes they eat cultivated grains. They also
eat insects. I hope they enjoy them but I won't
be joining them at dinner time any time soon.
YUCK!
Reporter: Jazzmin
The Eagle’s State
Eagles can glide really far without flapping
their wings . If the eagles get kind of hungry
they would look for easy prey to eat. Eagles can
glide for 4 to 5 miles. How they are able to glide
so well is the long curved tail at the end like a
rudder in the back of a airplane. The wings
helps them when they land in the nest .
Eagles would have 2 or 3 eggs in the nest.
Adult female eagles would only have baby
eagles if they eat enough food. Eagles
regurgitate or throw up there for food for their
baby's to eat. When the baby eagles hatch they
come out wet and slimey. Baby eagles come out
of there eggs beak first. They would open there
eyes when they are a week old.
Gold and Bald eagles stay in the nest for 75
to 100 days. Golden eagles nest on cliffs and
Bald eagles nest in trees. When they’re in the
nest they do the same thing over and over
again. Bald eagle would make there nest in the
middle of the tree. The eagle is our state bird.
Reporter: Landon
Tri-Valley Viking Warriors
Healy, AK
1784 Russia's leader, Czar Peter the Great,
allowed a company of businessmen to
establish a Russian settlement in Sitka
because he wanted to have power in
the "New World."
1800s In the 1800s, whaling in Alaska
reached its highest point. People from
the lower 48 would come to Alaska to
Alaska Timeline hunt whales for oil to use for the oil
lamps that lighted their homes.
Over During the Ice Age the ocean level
10,000 lowered but as the water went down
years the Bering land bridge became
ago exposed and animals used it to cross
the land.
March United States of America bought
30, Alaska from the Russian. Alaska
1867 became a U.S. Territory. Alaska cost
7.2. million dollars, only a few cents
for every acre.
The natives first came to Alaska and
they fit to the land to survive they
had to try and learn new and more
ways to survive the cold weather in
Alaska. Sometimes they traveled
together, sometimes they fought
tough, hard wars. The cultures they
passed down are still important to us
today.
1880s Some of the first tourists in Alaska are
to waiting for their "expresses " (that
early could four or five people) so they can
1900s go across AK. They wanted to see
what AK was like. Today tourists
usually get rental cars, ride buses,
take the train, or ride with a friend.
1741 Vitus Bering, a
Danish sea captain,
sails and lands on
Kayak Island and
found hundreds of
sea otters which
1880s In this time people from all over the
they killed for their to the
US and Canada came trying to make
fur, for the skin to late their fortune off of gold. They had to
keep them warm during the winter. 1900s travel really far and some had to
travel on foot from the U.S and
1752 Outsiders brought new germs to
to native people such as the flu, small Canada. Some went on boats. Whether
1870 pox, measles and other diseases. As a they traveled on foot or boat they all
result, thousands of Alaska Natives went to Alaska for gold.
died. That brought many changes to
their culture.
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1903 Ships could take stuff to coastal areas
to but not the interior of Alaska, so then
1923 the United States Army built the
railroad.
1900s First pioneers settle into alaska to find
new land and to explore the land that
they found.
1902 Gold was found near the Tanana River
in central Alaska, near Fairbanks.
Felix Pedro was the name of the
person who started the gold rush.
1904 The telegraph system - by 1904
coastal cities were linked by telegraph
cable. The military laid about 2 miles
of wire a day.
1900 Marvel Crosson was the first women
to to receive her plane license from Carl
1929 Ben Eielson. She entered a race that
also Amelia Earhart was in. When she
was crossing Arizona she had plane
troubles and she tried to bail but her
parachute did not work and Marvel
died.
1920 In 1920 they had a race with a sled
against an air plane and it took 22
days to get to Fairbanks
by dog sled, but it took 3 hours by
plane. Many people would own
airplanes in Alaska.
1930s Commercial fishing starts in Alaska.
People fish for money so they survive.
1942 The military helped build the 1,500
miles highway through Canada and to
Alaska. Well known as the Alcan
Highway that we still drive today, it is
important because that is what we
need for transportation today. It took
about nine months to build the
highway.
1950s In the coastal forest of the south
eastern part of Alaska people have
been logging trees since around
World War 1. To promote jobs
through the years, the US Government
decided to build two pulp mills. One in
Sitka and one in Ketchikan.
1968 A pipeline was going to be built.
Alaskan people didn't want to have it
built. They believed it might spill on
the trees and the plants would die.
Then the plant eaters would die. Then
the meat eaters would fight to survive
then the meat eaters would die. Then
the Alaskans would have to move to
another state besides Alaska and start
looking for supplies to start Alaska up
again. Or it would hurt the
environment by getting into the water
animals drink . But lawmakers said
that the pipeline would be able to be
built.
1968 The oil boom it was a time that when
to oil was found and a pipeline was
1977 being built and a lot of frantic activity
was made because people wanted the
high paying jobs that the oil
companies were paying because
people would work in extreme cold in
Prudhoe Bay and Valdez.
1971 The U.S congress passed the ANCSA
which is short for Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act. The Alaska
Natives and their village governments
chose 44 million acres of land they
wanted to own and received almost a
billion dollars to build whatever they
wanted (like hospitals, houses,
restaurants, etc.). They formed 12
regional corporations for Native
businesses and loads of other
projects. Once the Alaska Natives’
land claiming business was all over
and they were getting settled,the oil
companies were coming to their land
to drill their oil. And all of this ANCSA
business happened in the year 1971.
Sure it probably had gone to 1972 or
1973 but they settled.
Mid In the mid 1990's, a lot of people
1990's thought trees were being cut down to
fast,so they said that the forests that
grew in the place of the old ones did
not grow the same for hundreds of
years, also they were not as healthy
for a hundreds of years.
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From the marvelous minds of Tri-Valley
4th and 5th graders, 2017-18