On March 3, third grade students in Mrs. Besaw’s class toured an Alaskan igloo, howled with sled dogs and raced on a dogsled – without ever leaving the classroom.

Through videoconferencing, the students talked with Alaskan mushers, or dog sled racers, about the famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Commonly referred to as “Iditarod,” the annual race begins the first Saturday in March and mushers and their dog teams cover 1,049 miles in eight to fifteen days.

Mushers Charlie, Christina and Richard talked with students about their personal experiences training for Iditarod. Both Richard and Charlie had at one time placed second in the Iditarod and Junior Iditarod races, respectively.

Students asked questions about the dogs and races and were shown pictures of the terrain. They were able to “meet” the different sled dogs and learned that they are a mix of a husky and a hound for a combination of speed and endurance.

“It takes a special dog to be a sled dog,” said Musher Christina. “We look for dogs that are enthusiastic and we start training them as puppies.”

Together, the mushers are training 34 dogs for racing, although only 16 can be used on the sled at one time. Students learned the different calls used by mushers to instruct the dogs during a race. They learned that “hup hup” means to start; “gee” means to turn right; “haw” means to turn left; and “whoa” means to stop.

“There are ropes on the sled to connect the dogs, but no reigns,” Musher Richard told the students. “You can only use your voice to direct the dogs, so you have to have trust between yourself and your dog team.”

With the help of a video camera, students joined Musher Richard on a sledding trip. The students yelled, “Hup hup!” to get the dogs running, and watched as the musher and his dogs veered left and right, through snowy fields and in between trees.

After the race, Musher Christina asked the students if they could guess the three reasons dog sleds are used in Alaska. The students were correct with their answers:

• Racing, such as in the Junior Iditarod and the Iditarod;
• Freighting, or to carry supplies from one community to the other;
• Recreation, or simply for fun!

After thanking their new friends – and howling goodbye with the sled dogs – the students were treated to a surprise visit from two friendly huskies, Maddie and Kita.

The dogs belong to Superintendent Roy Reese, who told students some interesting facts about huskies. The excited students enjoyed watching Kita sniff around their classroom – and year-old Maddie stole kisses from as many students as she could.