(Virtual) Natural History of Alaska

This class has been postponed until the 2025 Spring 365 SMART Academy. If you wish to attend in the spring, please email summer@alaska.edu and we will place your child on a pre-registration list. 

Grades: 7 - 12

Dates: September 17 - December 17

Zoom Times: Tuesdays, 9 am - 10 am

Cost: $300 (includes this textbook!)

The tuition includes a textbook, weekly Zoom sessions with Dr. Smith, virtual field trips, virtual labs, and weekly lessons and activities via Google Classroom. This class meets for 14 weeks. You will likely spend 3-5 hours per week on this course. Talk to your homeschool about earning high school credit for this semester-long course.

Learn about Alaska's natural history with UAF Professor Emeritus Dr. Ronald Smith. This class, designed especially for homeschool students, will cover landscape features, migration, ice ages, plants and animals of the boreal forest, ecosystems, aquatic habitats, marine fishes, and climate change. You will be introduced to Alaska's Cretaceous dinosaurs, Ice Age Alaska with its megafauna, and modern landscapes, including boreal forests and tundra. You will learn details of the life histories of the major tree, mammal, bird, fish, and shrub species of the Far North. You will study the progression from one plant and animal community to another caused by disturbance events such as fire and land clearing. Finally, an introduction to the future of Alaska in times of climate change is included. 

Assessments will be given at your homeschool. 

You can email us with any questions about the course at summer@alaska.edu.