Cloquet teacher to explore the land of ice and fire as National Geographic fellow

May 9—CLOQUET — For Kim Broman, a second grade teacher at Washington Elementary School in Cloquet, National Geographic has provided a window into the world of science and culture for her and her classroom.

Now she will experience that research and science firsthand as she embarks on an expedition around Iceland as part of a National Geographic fellowship.

National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions have selected Broman as one of 35 educators from across the United States and Canada to be part of their upcoming cohort of Grosvenor Teacher Fellows. As a fellow, Broman will use the experience to gain firsthand knowledge that she will then relay to her classroom and community.

"I feel super grateful for Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Society for this experience," Broman said. "I like that it's made possible by them for educators to have this kind of experience."

As a teacher, the work of National Geographic has been essential to Broman's classroom. For the past four years, Broman has exposed her pupils to the world through National Geographic's Explorer Classroom series, which allows her students to interact virtually with National Geographic scientists and geographers. Through the program, her students have observed scientists map terrain, tag wildlife and clean microplastics from the ocean.

"It's so cool to be able to bring real people in and show what's really happening today in science and geography," Broman said.

Now, she will be able to directly experience the work being conducted by National Geographic as she travels to Iceland on a 10-day expedition in August.

Broman has been aware of the fellowship for the past 12 years, but it is so competitive she never thought it was much of a possibility. Earlier this year she decided to see what would happen and applied. In February she received a call from National Geographic telling her she had been accepted as a fellow.

"I thought I was going to pass out," she said.

Broman will begin her journey in Reykjavík, the world's northernmost capital, which lies just below the Arctic Circle. During her time there she will circumnavigate the Nordic island via ship with a group of National Geographic researchers and tourists where she will visit waterfalls, volcanoes, blue icebergs, large ice lagoons; observe the area's wildlife; and experience Icelandic culture and cuisine.

"Iceland itself being formed by volcanoes, and all of the different geographical landscapes, to explore the waterfalls and the geothermal areas. ... all of it is really interesting to me," Broman said.

One of the things Broman is most excited about is seeing the puffins, the seafaring bird known for nesting in crevices among rocks and diving in the ocean. Iceland is home to some of the bird's largest colonies.

"It seems simple. But I get to actually see a puffin," Broman said.

Part of being a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow requires Broman to bring her experience from the expedition back to her classroom and community. The fellowship is a two-year commitment with fellows being asked to possibly conduct webinars, participate in meetups, collaborate with Explorer programs and serve as mentors to other educators.

For Broman's part, she is considering creating a story map that details her expedition. She wants to use the experience to teach her students about volcanoes, geothermal heat, glaciers, water protection, waterfalls, geological formations and Icelandic culture.

Because her students are so familiar with the world of National Geographic, they are already submitting questions for her to answer while she is there, which she plans to answer while live blogging on her expedition.

"I don't know what they will use someday, but I love that they're curious and that they can see possibilities in the future," she said.

As an educator, it is that sense of curiosity and mystique she hopes to instill in her students.

"One of the things that I love seeing is that my students are starting to think more deeply about our world," she said.