Student adventure blends travel with education

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The students at the Keyano College, Fort Chipewyan campus took to the road this February. Instructor Maureen Clarke and her husband Tommy accompanied 10 students to Drumheller, Banff and Edmonton to visit sites of interest.

Clarke said a number of the students had never been south of Edmonton before and the paleontology museum in Drumheller, a ride on the gondola up Sulfur Mountain in Banff and several hours at the Odyssium in Edmonton were highlights of an eye-popping trip.

"For me it was like seeing everything through brand new eyes," said Clarke. "It was a real education experience for them, because it opened up so many doors. It showed them what the rest of the province looks like. It may have given them some ideas for alternative forms of education and the prospects for jobs in other locations in the province and, of course, the mountains. They haven't seen those before."

Clarke said the students were hyped about the trip when they got back. She said they are already talking about another trip somewhere for next year.

"I think that it would be even great to be taking a few more students the next time," Maureen Clarke said.

"We spent all the extra time at the Odyssium. We never even went to the West Edmonton Mall. I asked them if they wanted to go there, but they said No. At that point they did not want to leave the space science centre. Which we all enjoyed. We also saw a laser light show there, where we saw the sky of Alberta and it was really good because it showed the stars and the constellation, and the show even worked in some of the Native legends as to the explanation and origin of the display. They really enjoyed that. I think it was a good trip," she said.

"In a nutshell, travel is an education in itself. You have to experience some of those things before you can really visualize them or think of what they are like," she said.

Clarke said that the students raised most of the money for their trip through bake sales, bottle picking and dances.

"Keyano College in Fort McMurray was good enough to donate the use of two vehicles, plus the gas, so that really helped us out.

"For me, I got a big kick out of watching the students and their reaction to everything, particularly when they saw that 85-foot dinosaur in Drumheller. The way they boiled out of the vehicles, and ran up the stairs."