Page 24 The Earth Scientist

© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

The Polar Bear Challenge is 21-day statewide event hosted by Utah’s Hogle Zoo. It is 

designed around the concept that polar bears and people want the same thing – a healthy 

planet. The Zoo is home to a female polar bear that is an ambassador for her species and a 

tangible way to teach the public about climate change. The Polar Bear Challenge provides 

teachers and students with a means to lower their carbon footprint by making small 

changes in their daily lives and lowering their impact on the planet’s natural resources. The 

Zoo challenges each class to make the changes for at least 21 days (the time it takes to start 

a new habit). Classrooms that make the greatest differences receive prizes from the Zoo 

and every participating class benefits polar bear conservation efforts and makes a positive 

impact on slowing down climate change. Pre- and post-survey results over the past five 

years have shown an increase in student understanding of climate change science and how 

their actions can make a difference.

Introduction

Polar bears are an iconic species in many ways. They are top predators in their ecosystem and are a 

powerful symbol of the strength and endurance of the Arctic. They are charismatic and treading on 

thin ice – making them an iconic symbol of the effects of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem.

Utah’s Hogle Zoo became an Arctic Ambassador Site in 2007 for Polar Bears International (PBI). 

PBI’s mission is to conserve polar bears and the sea ice they depend on. Through media, science, 

and advocacy, they work to inspire people to care about the Arctic, the threats to its future, and the 

connection between this remote region and our global climate. 

As part of a conservation/education outreach program sponsored by PBI, the author had the 

amazing opportunity to see polar bears in the wild. It was in October and the bears were waiting 

for the sea ice to form in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. That year, the sea ice was six weeks late in 

forming and the bears were using up what was left of their fat reserves waiting for the ice to form so 

that they could head out to hunt. We were seeing the effects of climate change in action.

This trip resulted in a desire to create a program that would make a difference with regard to carbon 

footprint reduction. The program needed to generate action within the Hogle Zoo’s community, to 

The Polar Bear 

Challenge: 

Local Impact on a 

Global Issue

Christine Schmitz, Education Curator

Utah’s Hogle Zoo
Volume XXXII, Issue 1 Page 25

© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

make a difference for the future of polar bears, and to positively affect both the people and wildlife 

of Utah. Rather than start a large community campaign, the choice was made to focus on the audience the author knew best – kids and teachers. 

As an informal educator, I knew that children, when given the opportunity, are excellent environmentalists. In fact, they are often the driving force behind motivating their parents to change their 

actions. The challenge was to create a program that students and their teachers could participate in, 

without adding a lot of extra work to the teacher’s plate.

Taking on the Challenge

The first step was to design a program that aligned to the Utah Core Standards for Science. The 

overarching Science Core is the same for each grade level: students are to be able to apply scientific 

processes, communicate scientific ideas effectively, and understand the nature of science. To do so, 

they must be able to use the processes of scientific investigation (i.e. framing questions, designing 

investigations, conducting investigations, collecting data, drawing conclusions), 

communicate effectively using science language and reasoning, and understand the 

nature of science. Using these standards, a program was created where students could 

take action, while developing skills that met the Science Core. This would help teachers 

meet their teaching goals for the year and provide their students with a “real life” activity 

to collect data, calculate results and an opportunity to share their project with the 

community.

In 2010, the Polar Bear Challenge was launched to elementary schools in the 13 school 

districts that surround Hogle Zoo. Teachers began by having their classes calculate 

their carbon footprint. Then they worked with their students to explore ways their class 

could reduce their energy consumption. The class was then asked to choose an action 

– many chose multiple actions – and make those changes at their school or in their 

homes (Figure 1). To participate in the challenge, the classes needed to carry out their 

carbon footprint reduction actions for a minimum of 21 days over a two-month period. 

At the end of the 21 days, the class recalculated their carbon footprint. Teachers then 

Figure 1. Student reducing 

energy consumption through 

recycling

Figure 2. Polar Bear Challenge winners from Harry S. Truman Elementary School, West Valley, Uta
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© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

submitted the class’ write-up of their project, data and results, along with six to ten photographs of their students doing the project and/or a video. Hogle Zoo staff reviewed each of 

the projects and the results, and the winning classroom was selected. 

The winning students and teacher received Zoo tickets, t-shirts and a large framed photograph of a polar bear, along with $500 of books for their library related to the Arctic, polar 

bears and actions children can take to make a difference for the environment, as well as 

an outreach visit to the entire school from some of the Zoo’s animal ambassadors (Figure 

2). Two classrooms were selected as runners-up. These classrooms received Zoo tickets, 

photos and a classroom visit from the animal ambassadors for their efforts. The first year 

of the Challenge, approximately 800 students and their teachers participated.

In 2011, the Polar Bear Challenge was selected as a recipient of a grant through the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Steward program. The money 

provided the opportunity to create an information packet to help teachers to create their plan, as 

well as develop curricular materials and point to web resources to help 

teachers integrate the challenge into their classroom activities. Students 

were given pre- and post-tests in order to see, if by participating in 

the Polar Bear Challenge, students understood the science of climate 

change and how their actions impacted the issue both positively and 

negatively (Figure 3). During the five years the challenge has been carried 

out, student scores between the pre to post-tests have increased by ten 

percent or more. The results indicate that students not only have a much 

better understanding of climate change but that they also feel that they 

can make a difference.

The grant also allowed for the expansion of the program to secondary 

schools in these districts by helping to provide additional teaching materials and prizes. Unfortunately, not as many students have been seen 

to participate in the program as have been consistently seen from the 

elementary schools. Based on a follow-up survey, middle school teachers 

in Utah have a harder time fitting the challenge into their curriculum 

since they don’t teach about climate change. However, we may see 

interest in the program increase beginning this year — the new Utah 

Science Standards may be adopted and the grade eight standards include 

teaching about climate change. The Polar Bear Challenge will provide 

teachers with curriculum as well as with an action project for their 

students without a lot of additional training or work on their parts.

Program participation has continued to grow overall and has averaged 

about 2,300 participants in the last two years. Some of the student 

projects have included: students working with their school district food 

service companies to serve meatless Monday lunches, getting rid of 

plastic ware, starting a school composting program, bike-and-walk to 

school programs (Figure 4) and no-idling campaigns (Figure 5). Often 

teachers and students choose not only an in-school program but also 

a project that students can complete at home. These have included 

monitoring what goes into their trash and making sure it gets recycled, 

turning off the water when brushing their teeth and unplugging all 

electronic devices not in use at their homes. Students learn how these 

Polar Bear Challenge Curricular 

Materials

Resources: 

http://uhzpolarbearchallange.org

polar-bear-challenge-resources/

Web Links: 

http://uhzpolarbearchallange.org

polar-bear-challenge-resources/polarbear-challenge-links/

Figure 3. Graph illustrating the results from the pre- and posttesting of student understanding of climate change before and after 

participating in the Polar Bear Challenge

Figure 4. Student reducing energy consumption by biking to 

school
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© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

actions reduce energy use as well as how much energy is used 

to produce the various products. Often, teachers provide feedback that the students have become much more conscious 

consumers.

In 2015, another grant through the NOAA Climate Stewards 

Education Project was approved and an app that will help 

teachers calculate their carbon footprint data in a more standardized way is in the process of being created. Although 

the curriculum provides the teachers with reputable online 

calculators, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s 

Carbon Footprint Calculator, not all data has been calculated 

correctly and often takes quite a bit of the Hogle Zoo staff’s 

time to recalculate. When completed, the app should not only 

provide a standardized method of calculation, but also help 

classes build their portfolio to make their school a GREEN School in conjunction with the Utah 

Society for Environmental Education’s GREEN School Program.

Going the Distance for the Planet

Teachers that participate in the program for multiple years, often expand their efforts. Teachers 

view participation as a way to encourage students to put their ideas into action and to measure 

the results. For example, Elizabeth Nafus, a second grade teacher at Harry S. Truman Elementary 

School in West Valley, Utah has participated in the program for three years. 

The first year, under Nafus’ and her second graders’ leadership, the whole school began a recycling 

program – both at the school and at home. Students studied what could be recycled, set up appropriate recycling bins and collected the recycling in each classroom weekly. They also set up reusable 

item bins so that extra pieces of paper, pens, pencils, etc. would have a second life. Her class received 

an honorable mention that year.

The next year, her students studied how disposable water 

bottles are produced and chose to rid their school of them. 

The students worked to find donations of reusable water 

bottles and then provided each student in the school with one 

(Figure 6). They then calculated the amount of carbon they 

prevented from entering the atmosphere from the reusable 

water bottles, the energy it would take to fill them with water 

and the energy it would have taken to deliver the bottled 

water to their school. Again, her students received an honorable mention.

The third year, her second grade students were determined to 

win. The class decided that their emphasis that year would be 

to get the students, and their families, to replace plastic and 

paper shopping bags with reusable bags. The students and their teacher sought donations from 

local businesses and each student in the school was given reusable shopping bags. The students 

then recorded the number of times they were used during the challenge. Students used math skills 

to determine how many plastic and paper bags they stopped using and the amount of energy they 

conserved. That year, they won! 

Figure 6. Energy reduction 

campaign in which every student 

was given a reusable water 

bottle

Figure 5. Student note from a No 

Idling Campaign
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© 2016 National Earth Science Teachers Association. All Rights Reserved.

Each year, “we tie it back to polar bears and mention climate change,” Nafus said. This 

program is changing the school and their community. Four years later, students are 

still bringing their recycling to the school because they may not have recycling available 

where they live. Recently, a parent offered to donate bottled water for a school event. His 

daughter said, “NO!” Instead, they brought pitchers of water and paper cups. This year 

Nafus’ and her students are thinking about how they can create a “No Idling” campaign 

at their school and in their community – helping to reduce emissions and improve the 

quality of the air they breathe.

Conclusion

Over the course of the Challenge, the Zoo’s education staff have also created more 

in-depth teaching materials. This has culminated in Climate Care teaching kits 

and curriculum for elementary school teachers in our targeted school districts. The 

curriculum and supporting materials compare Utah’s habitats and wildlife to Alaska’s 

– using black bears and polar bears as iconic species. The goal is to help students better 

understand how interconnected these unique ecosystems are and how our actions can 

positively, or negatively, affect the animals, plants and people who make their homes 

there. To learn more about our Climate Care Kit, receive any of the teaching materials 

including pre- and post- tests, or more information regarding the Polar Bear Challenge 

please visit the website (http://uhzpolarbearchallange.org) or feel free to contact Utah’s 

Hogle Zoo’s education staff at http://www.hoglezoo.org/contact_us. 

About the Author

Christine Schmitz is the 

Education Curator at Utah’s Hogle 

Zoo. She has worked in informal

science education for over 30 

years. She holds a bachelor’s

degree in biology from Scripps 

College and a master’s degree in 

Curriculum and Instruction from 

Portland State University. She

can be reached at cschmitz@

hoglezoo.or