7 Immersive Activities for Young Explorers in Iceland
Iceland is known for its otherworldly landscapes, lava fields, icebergs and bird-watching galore. But nature isn’t the only thing that will keep your kids intrigued on a voyage to this subarctic wonderland. There’s also rich Viking history, mystical folklore featuring elves and trolls, and a quirky cool language with words that can reach over 40 letters long. All of these elements combined will kick your child’s imagination into overdrive.
Recently, National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions launched the National Geographic Explorers-in-Training program in Iceland, an interactive curriculum that teaches young travelers how to explore like scientists and tell the stories of their surroundings through photographs, drawings, video and more. An exclusively designed Field Notebook helps reinforce lessons that will last long after disembarking.
We spoke with Anna Kayes, a certified field educator who highlighted just some of the amazing activities kids might participate in on select itineraries.
Study Wing Types with Paper Airplanes
Up to 60% of the world's Atlantic puffins can be found in Iceland during the breeding season so families traveling from May to September will spot these charismatic creatures in all of their black-and-white glory. Puffins have a number of unique adaptations that help them thrive out on the ocean, including a distinct wing type that lets them “fly” underwater to catch herring and other small fish. By building paper airplanes, kids will learn more about different wing types and how they can impact a bird’s ability to fly, hunt or nest. Photo: Ralph Lee Hopkins
Get a Crash Course in Birding and Binoculars
Mastering binoculars is more than just knowing which lens to use—especially when many bird species have countershading, an evolutionary device meant to confuse predators as well as make it hard for humans to spot them against Iceland's rocky cliffs. To help kids learn to identify more than a dozen seabirds—from kittiwakes and snow buntings to Arctic terns and northern fulmars—certified field educators will explain how to properly adjust their binoculars and how to follow bird movement by scanning and sticking to a specific point. Photo: David Vargas
Explore Geology with Delicious Desserts
Some of the most exciting facets of Iceland revolve around geology. But the concept can be hard to grasp for developing minds—unless you’ve got an enticing model. That’s where the Cookie Crumble comes in. By looking at how cookies break and crumble, young explorers can learn about the plate tectonics of places like Thingvellir National Park, the only spot on earth where two tectonic plates are spreading apart above sea level. “This absolutely massive landscape is condensed into their hands in an approachable way,” say Kayes.
Ice Cream in Action: How and why glaciers advance and calve can also be challenging. On some departures, young explorers have the chance to build the ultimate ice cream sundae glacier using toppings to simulate the formation and flow.
Help Track Whales as a Citizen Scientist
Icelandic waters attract a variety of whale species and your family will have the chance to spot them from the ship’s bow in places like Húsavík, which is said to be the “Whale Capital of Iceland.” Kids can capture photos of these migrating marine mammals and with help from their certified field educator upload them to Happywhale—a global database that IDs and tracks cetaceans based on fluke images (think of them as whale fingerprints) sent in by citizen scientists around the world. The data that comes back might show how far that particular whale has traveled and “it really helps build a connection to the wildlife we are seeing,” Kayes says.
Photo: Eric Guth
Make a Music Video
Iceland has a reputation for music–and not just because it is Björk’s homeland. Guests aboard voyages with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions will be treated to performances by one or more of the other local musicians gaining notoriety in this tiny island nation. Afterwards, kids can collaborate with a certified photo instructor on a video project that documents a portion of their voyage and pairs it with a musical soundtrack. On the final night of the trip, the young filmmakers debut their work on the big screens in the ship’s lounge and then take home their thematic short film as a souvenir that keeps on giving.
Try on a Blubber Glove
Whales and other Arctic marine mammals survive the chilly ocean currents thanks to layers of protective blubber. Kids will set up a real hands-on experiment that lets them experience how this adaptation works. After filling a bucket with cold water, everyone will try to guess how long they can keep their hands submerged with and without a special glove. The actual times are sure to surprise them. When the testing is done, they can toast to a successful experiment and warm up with a round of hot cocoa.
Decipher the Icelandic Language
Icelandic is one of the oldest spoken languages (and one of the hardest to pronounce!) in the world—its roots go back to Old Norse, a Scandinavian language used by the Vikings. It’s particularly unique since the majority of words are native—they haven’t been borrowed from other languages—and then adjusted with suffixes and prefixes to create context. Once kids get a lesson in Icelandic using their field notebooks, they can start to spot recognizable terms like “Jokull” for glacier and “foss” for waterfall as they're exploring on shore.
Photo: David Vargas
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