Smeerenburg, Amsterdamøya and at sea near the 80° Latitude line!

The morning began with a polar bear taking a stroll along the beautiful shoreline of Raudfjorden. Later in the day we got a true taste of the squishy tundra as we explored the ruins of a 17th century whaling shore station, Smeerenburg.

This week seven “Young Explorers” travelled on board National Geographic Explorer to Arctic Norway. Working with Grosvenor Teacher Fellows, Amy Blonn and Ani Smith, they reflect on the day using poetry. We invite you to see the archipelago of Svalbard and its wild inhabitants through the eyes of these children, ages ranging from 6-13.

Polar Bear
white muscular hollow-haired
bounding swimming lumbering
ferociously snacking on seals
Ice Bear

Group Poem by the Young Explorers: Zoe, Worth, Cyrus, Saskia, Aaron, Matthew, and Elijah


Walrus
brown gigantic
sliding swimming bouncing
lazy sea animal
Arctic sloth

by Matthew, age 12


Intelligent
Creative
Elemental

Brawny
Enormous
Active
Rambunctious

By Matthew, age 12


Ringed Seal
slippery streamlined swimming
feeding escaping
laying there on the iceberg
pinniped

By Saskia, age 9


Reindeer
Sneaky fast
Trots eats looks
The ungulate king of the north
Ice deer

By Aaron, age 12


Moon you never see
Ivory-tusked walruses at 11:30 p.m.
Darkness that never comes
Never setting all the way down
Indigo sky you never see
Going to bed with shades closed
High in the sky
Tundrian sky

Sky watching
Under the sun
Neglected moon

By Zoe, age 12


Orca
fast black and white
swimming jumping feeding
they are fast!
killer whale

by Cyrus, age 6


High in the Arctic
In between Spitsbergen and Nordaustland
Northerly waves
Lesser in latitude to Lågøya
Opening to the polar pack ice
Price to pay for hooded seals being eaten
Even colder than Longyearbyen
Not your everyday destination

By Aaron, age 12


Reindeer
Strong agile
foraging bounding sprinting
scavenging the slopes of Svalbard
caribou

By Zoe, age 12

Winter resistance
Always ready
Looking for danger
Really powerful
Uses tusks to haul out
Sucking ability

By Worth, age 12