Our Story

A large icebreaker ship is frozen in the sea ice, with various people and equipment on top of the surrounding ice.

The idea for Data Puzzles originated from the MOSAiC Arctic research expedition. MOSAiC, which stands for Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, was the largest Arctic research expedition ever undertaken, involving over 500 scientists.

During the expedition, an icebreaker ship was deliberately frozen into the Arctic sea ice, where it drifted with the ice for a full year. From this base, scientists collected a wide range of data about the changing climate system. Their research spanned multiple disciplines, including sea ice, the ocean, the atmosphere, and ecosystem processes, all of which were observed from research camps set up on the surrounding sea ice.

While some of this data was already incorporated into longer curriculum units, educators expressed a need for more data and a greater variety of Arctic-related information. In response, Data Puzzles were created—concise, engaging packages that use data collected from the MOSAiC expedition to bring the Arctic research to classrooms in a more accessible way.