Arctic Wednesdays 2025: Week 1 Pre-Trip Blog

 

Next week, I’m about to embark on an exciting adventure as part of the Mount Washington Observatory’s Arctic Wednesday program for teachers! As a K-8 science coach in Nashua, NH, I look for opportunities for students to get excited about science in the real world, make connections with real scientists, and find out how amazing the natural world here in NH is. Going up the auto road with the weather team in the Arctic Cat to spend the day at the summit of Mount Washington in January is a REALLY special experience!    

Although I’ve always loved walking my dogs and hiking around Southwestern NH, I only recently started exploring the White Mountains. Over the past few years, I’ve checked off many hikes on the 52 with a View list, and this past summer, I even tackled a few of the 4000-footers. However, I’ve never hiked Mount Washington—my family has driven up the auto road and taken the cog railway, but for some reason, I haven’t been... until now!  

A few summers ago, I dove into reading several Search and Rescue books about Mount Washington, which only heightened my fascination with the mountain’s extreme conditions. It’s such a unique place!  I love to watch the webcams when I am sitting at my desk. My hiking friend and NSD 42 colleague Kate Paraggio attended the program last year so I found out how cool an opportunity it is when I joined her Zoom from her classroom!  I am so glad that I was chosen and thrilled that my district supports my participation.  

I’ve been preparing a lesson for my students all about rime ice—a phenomenon that’s particularly special to the summit of Mt. Washington.  I didn’t even know about this until recently.  As part of the program, I’ll be connecting with at least ten different K-6 classes from Nashua via Zoom, where we will look for rime ice and even try to make some of our own if the conditions are right!  In post visit trips to classrooms, we’ll explore some exciting science demonstrations like supercooled water. I’m crossing my fingers for a gorgeous, blue sky day like today—though, with the way Mount Washington is making headlines lately due to its extreme cold temperatures, I know it will be a thrilling, possibly terrifying experience!

Patty Davidson

K-8 Instructional Science Coach

Nashua School District

Nashua, NH