Teachers to top Kilimanjaro to live science

DENVER - Cody Jorgensen has never been out of the country. She's not a big hiker. Yet, in a matter of days, she will summit the tallest mountain in Africa for the sake of her students.

"I want to be able to prove myself that I could do something that I never thought I could do," said Jorgensen, 3rd grade teacher at Valley View K-8 in Adams County. "Then, hopefully take that back to my kids an experience."

Jorgensen is getting her master's degree at the University of Colorado Denver. She and 17 other teachers, also graduate students, are heading to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro which stands at 19,340 feet.

Associate Professor Mike Marlow teaches science education at UC Denver. Marlow says the point is get teachers to live science before teaching it.

"They can get stories," said Marlow. "Stories tend to help these teachers engage with their students. And, so that's our primary purpose."

The group leaves June 26 and will spend two-and-half weeks summiting Kilimanjaro and traveling through the Serengeti.

"The science that they've done has been in a classroom, has been in a lab," said Marlow. "When we're out in the field, the science becomes much more holistic."

The exploits of Jorgensen and the other teachers will be captured by a documentary crew. ACME Industrial Imagination has created a series called "Inspire Me!" Brad McLain is the director. He says he wants to share their story with teachers around the nation.

"One of the reasons we want to do the film series in the first place is to inject that emotional content into science education," said McLain. "We're also gonna follow them back in their classrooms to find out what they do with that experience and how do they use it to motivate and inspire teachers."

Jorgensen hopes her trip will help her students buy into her science lessons.

"I'm gonna be experiencing some science that I would've never had the chance to experience," said Jorgensen. "A lot more knowledge than I had before about shrinking herds, of animals, the melting glaciers."

Teachers plan to build different lessons and curriculums in geology, volcanology, botany, biology, and environmental science.

They trained in Colorado by climbing 14ers and going on extended hikes through Rocky Mountain National Park.

"I'm really excited, but I'm nervous, too, at the same time," said Jorgensen.