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Tuition-free expeditions for girls seek applications

January 9, 2018

Meghan Murphy
907-474-7541





Photo by Alexandra Ravelo. A participant in Girls on Ice Alaska learns how to ice climb out of a crevasse on a glacier.
Photo by Alexandra Ravelo. A participant in Girls on Ice Alaska learns how to ice climb out of a crevasse on a glacier.


Inspiring Girls Expeditions is accepting applications through Jan. 19, 2018, for tuition-free summer science and wilderness expeditions in Alaska, Colorado and Washington for girls ages 16 to 17.



Four teams of up to nine teenage girls and three instructors will spend 12 days exploring and learning about mountain glaciers, fjords with tidewater glaciers or the geology and ecology of the high alpine Rocky Mountains. The girls will conduct scientific field studies with professional glaciologists, oceanographers, artists, mountaineers and geologists. The four Inspiring Girls trips of 2018 are Girls on Ice Alaska, Girls On Ice Cascades, Girls in Icy Fjords and a new program, Girls on Rock Colorado.

The programs operate in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks through its College of Natural Science and Mathematics and the International Arctic Research Center.

Expedition details:

  • Girls on Ice Alaska: Girls ages 16 to 17 sleep under the midnight sun and explore an Alaska glacier. Girls from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, Yukon or California are eligible to apply. The tentative dates for the program are June 14-25.

  • Girls on Ice Cascades: Girls ages 16 to 17 explore Mount Baker, an ice-covered volcano in Washington, July 15 - 26. Girls from all states and countries may apply.

  • Girls in Icy Fjords: Pending funding, girls ages 16 to 17 explore Bear Glacier and its marine environment near Seward, Alaska, while also learning to kayak. Girls from all states and countries may apply. The program will run in August, but specific dates are to be determined.

  • Girls on Rock Colorado: Girls ages 16 to 17 explore the geology and ecology of the high alpine Rocky Mountains. Girls from all states and countries may apply, but preference will be given to local girls. The tentative dates for the program are July 19-Aug. 1.


Photo courtesy of Claudine Hauri. Girls in Icy Fjords participants pause during a kayak trip near Bear Glacier on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.
Photo courtesy of Claudine Hauri. Girls in Icy Fjords participants pause during a kayak trip near Bear Glacier on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.


All Inspiring Girls programs help girls learn about the natural processes related to glaciers as they develop critical thinking skills and explore the connection between science and art. Participants design their own experiments and work as part of a team. Girls participate in these programs tuition-free through small grants, gifts from individuals and support from the National Science Foundation, the Alaska Climate Science Center, UAF and Recreational Equipment Inc.

Applicants for programs that do not receive full funding will be considered for other Inspiring Girls expeditions.

MORE INFORMATION: apply@girlsonice.org

APPLICATIONS ONLINE: http://www.inspiringgirls.org/