Request Boats by Sept. 2nd - Float Your Boat

The International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) Float Your Boat team invites polar educators to apply to participate in the Float Your Boat project during the upcoming school year with learners of all ages in both formal and non-formal settings. 

Float Your Boat is a project for community members and students to learn about the Arctic Ocean –  its circulation, its sea-ice cover, and how it’s changing. https://www.floatboat.org/

How it works: 

1. Polar Educators request 8-inch-long wooden boats, stamped with a number and web address. OR - you can make your own boats using the specific specifications and Float Your Boat team support (contact us before you begin).

2. Polar Educators teach learners about the Arctic Ocean circulation, sea ice, and how it is changing. Here are a few lesson ideas to get you started. (We continue to expand this page.) 

3. Learners decorate boats and then educators return them to UW Polar Science Center.

4. Float Your Boat organizers ship your boats to icebreakers and science teams who will visit the Arctic Ocean sea ice during spring and summer.

5. The crew deploys your boat on an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean, along with a GPS buoy during the buoy field season (mid March - mid-September). 

6. Everyone can track the drift of their boat by following the location of the buoy as well as the icebreaker vessel locations as they are underway in the Arctic Ocean. 

7. Boats will eventually may end up in the North Atlantic Ocean when the ice drifts out of the Arctic and melts setting each boat on its own voyage.

8. Someone may find your boat on a distant shore and report their find through the website (typically years from now).

9. Float Your Boat organizers will contact you and let you know! (read stories) https://www.floatboat.org/stories

    

We are excited to invite you to apply to participate this year. Please complete the ‘Request for Wooden Boats’ form by September 2, 2024 our priority deadline. https://www.floatboat.org/request-wooden-boats

Before sending boats to you, we will reach out via email to confirm your participation. 

We look forward to seeing your request application forms coming in soon. 

Best Regards, 
Sarah

Sarah Johnson, Ignatius Rigor, and Dave Forcucci
IABP Float Your Boat Team
University of Washington Polar Science Center
arcticfloatboat@gmail.com