HAVE YOU HEARD _ Field trips are more relaxing when you don’t have students and today was field trip day for the 2025 Iditarod EDU Winter Educators Conference! The day was filled with hands-on experiences that help everyone understand the race from a different perspective. Today was more “in the eyes of a musher…” as we started at Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla, AK. Mushers and veterinarians were using the parking lot and working together to complete vet checks. Each musher can bring 20 dogs to be thoroughly checked by the vets, but they will start the race with 16 dogs.
Mushers bring their dogs out of their truck/trailer and attach them to the side of their vehicle where the dogs then wait to be checked by the vet. Remember, these dogs are extremely used to people handling them, petting them, putting them in a harness, putting on dog booties… the list goes on and on. This means the dogs LOVE the extra attention they get from the teachers and trust me, they get a lot of love while they are patiently waiting for their turn to be checked. One thing that always sticks out when looking at a team is the difference in coat colors with huskies. Sled dogs are not the stereotypical white/grey/black husky that many think. If your students are going to follow a specific musher, have them closely look at the dogs and the differences. They will start to notice the leaders first and if the musher swaps out their positions throughout the race.
While visiting Headquarters, we were able to see Matthew Failor (veteran), Dane Baker (rookie), Riley Dyche (veteran), Jason Mackey (veteran), Michelle Phillips (veteran), and Emily Ford (rookie). A big “thank you” to the mushers who took a moment to talk with students when teachers were video chatting with their class back home. It means the world to the teacher and their students! A special moment for me was when Emily Ford said hello to my homeroom class in Indiana. The student who is following Emily during the race was over the moon excited!! I always hear people say that they learned about the Iditarod in school… don’t forget to be that teacher and make it memorable!
We spent the afternoon at Alaskan Husky Adventures: Home of the 17th-dog and Team Matthew Failor! Matthew is an Iditarod veteran who first ran the race in 2012 and has run every year since. He and his beautiful wife, Liz, own and operate Alaskan Husky Adventures outside of Willow, Alaska. Dane Baker works with Matthew and will be running the Iditarod as a rookie this year. We started our time at their kennel with the dogs, then had a special Q and A session with Matthew and Dane. It was neat hearing the different perspectives of the race from a veteran and a rookie, especially considering the re-start move to Fairbanks and how that has impacted their initial race plans. Your students can follow both Matthew and Dane along the trail, discussing possible strategies, making inferences based on their experience, comparing their speed/position, and seeing where they choose to take longer rest periods.
Matthew also showed us the dogsled he will be using and some of the gear in his sled. Did you know that the plastic runner along the bottom of the dogsled can be changed to a better plastic for different temperatures or ice vs. snow? If a musher wants to maximize their race given the temperature or weather conditions, they would choose to change the plastic. This is a great lesson on friction! Along with the mandatory gear required, Matthew will be carrying a pop-up tent since the conditions might be extra windy, especially along the Yukon River. A huge thanks to Matthew and Liz for their support of Iditarod EDU and letting us visit their kennel!
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