Figure 3. A centerpiece of the Microbial Worlds collaborative experience was a 5-day field trip to Toolik Field Station and Arctic Long-Term Ecological Research site on the North Slope of Alaska. In addition to engaging in structured scientific activities and giving presentations on their artwork, participants had unstructured recreational time hiking and exploring nature together in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (lower left). Participants attended several other single-day field trips, including to the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research site in Interior Alaska with scientists, where they learned about boreal forest ecology and collected a permafrost core sample (top right).
A collection of seven photographs of people on ITOC field trips. A scientist wearing a sun hat and sitting in a canoe on a lake holds a syringe full of clear water up to the sky. An artist smiles while paddling a canoe. Another artist in a canoe looks through a magnifying glass at tiny organisms in a small vial of water. Five artists and scientists stand and sit among spruce trees on mossy ground in the sunshine watching a scientist who is using a power auger to drill into the ground and collect a sample of permafrost. An artist and a scientist bend over a puddle of water in an alpine meadow and collect water in a test tube; there is a large mountain and blue sky in the background. Four artists smile as they look into microscopes and examine photos of microorganisms they’ve taken through the microscopes on their smartphones. Ten artists and scientists are smiling and waving at the camera while sitting in a coach on their way to a field trip.
Photos by Mary Beth Leigh and Debbie Clarke Moderow

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