Inuit homes are not igloos, as most people think. Their homes are tents of caribou skins or sealskins in the summer months and structures dug into the ground and covered with sod, driftwood, and sometimes stone in the cold winter months. Although some Inuit groups used igloos as a winter home, they were usually built as a temporary shelter when hunting or traveling.

If you asked an Inuit what his favorite food was, he probably wouldn’t say pizza. Inuit eat foods that most of us have never even tried. Fish, seals, whales, and the other sea mammals are the majority of what they eat. Other animals they hunt on land are polar bear, fox, and the Arctic bird. But did you know that they don’t even see penguins? That’s because penguins and Inuit do not live in the same parts of the world.

Like anyone, Inuit enjoy games. One game they like is called blanket toss. Several people hold a large blanket made of seal and caribou skins. One person bounces in the middle of the blanket, similar to a trampoline. The person jumping can sometimes jump more than 23 feet into the air. Another game they play is called Nuglugaqtug Left. In this game the players try to poke a pointed stick through a bone hanging from the ceiling. The first player to do so wins.

Travel in snow-covered land isn’t always easy. Dogsleds are the fastest and most reliable way to travel over snow. Inuit and many people living in the Arctic Circle still use dogsleds everyday, even when there are snowmobiles and other vehicles available. If they want to travel on the water, these resourceful people build kayaks out of seal or walrus skins. Kayaks are one of the most highly maneuverable small crafts constructed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the Inuit and their way of life; I know I did. Let’s use some of our new knowledge in the activities below.

Math

•   Inuit used math when they built their igloos. Igloos are made of blocks of ice and are dome-shaped. Geometry comes in handy here: volume, scale and surface area are some mathematical skills you might want to be familiar with before building your own igloo. Try it yourself. Visit the Web site below for step by step instructions on building your own igloo and see if you use math: www.benmeadows.com/refinfo/ Tips/Article1.htm

•   If you’d rather stay indoors where it is nice and warm, you can build your own igloo using sugar cubes, glue, cardboard, and a ruler. The igloo should fit on the piece of cardboard and should be rounded and able to stand on its own. (Parents can visit this site for help: www.youthonline.ca/crafts/ sugarcubeigloo.shtml)

•   Did you know that the world’s most famous dogsled race is called the Iditarod? It covers over 1,150 miles of Alaska’s beautiful land. Draw a map covering the route and mark the elevation of each town you pass through. How many miles could a person travel in one day? How many days would it take to finish the race?