Steve Spangler’s Science of Iceland Adventure

SAMPLE FUNDING REQUEST LETTER

As a STEM teacher, I am constantly searching for ways to enhance my students’ learning experiences and to stay informed and up-to-date on the latest developments in my field. One opportunity that I am particularly excited about is the Science of Iceland trip led by Steve Spangler in June 2025.

This one-of-a-kind professional development experience takes teachers along the south coast of Iceland to explore the country through the eyes of some of Iceland’s most knowledgeable environmental scientists, naturalists, and outdoor guides. The goal of the trip is to create an experience where educators like myself can get an up-close look at Iceland’s amazing ecology, innovations in renewable and green energy, food science, architecture, education system, and better understand this science-rich treasure.

As a STEM teacher, the most influential connections I make with my students involve real-life stories and first-hand experiences. I am particularly excited about the opportunity to learn more about Iceland’s incredible advancements in renewable and green energy strategies and to use this experience to help inspire my students to think differently about the impact of human actions on the environment. Additionally, the chance to engage in hands-on, immersive learning experiences, professional development opportunities, and cultural enrichment experiences would be invaluable for me as an educator and would allow me to bring new insights, strategies, and techniques back to my classroom.

The Science of Iceland curriculum was initially inspired when the Spangler outreach team visited Iceland to learn about the country’s innovative renewable energy practices and unique geology. The Spanglers have partnered with Iceland travel experts Ólafur Júliusson and Erla Aöalsteinsdóttir, who will introduce me and other teacher participants to some of Iceland’s top ecologists, environmental scientists, mountaineering guides, and fellow educators on our journey throughout the country.

One of the highlights of the educational experience will include a journey inside the Þríhnúkagígur volcano (don’t worry… it’s dormant). Some 120 meters below the surface, I will have the opportunity to explore the fantastic geology of a volcano that has not erupted in over 4000 years. I will also suit up with Leifur Örn Svavarsson, well-known as Iceland’s most experienced mountain guide, for a hike across the Sólheimajökull glacier to see the rapidly changing conditions due to climate change.

Despite the numerous benefits that this trip would provide, the cost of attendance can be a significant financial burden for educators like myself. That’s why I am reaching out to you to request financial support for my attendance on this trip. The grant money would help to cover the cost of the trip, including airfare, lodging, and meals, as well as any necessary equipment or materials.

I am convinced that participating in the Science of Iceland trip would be a valuable opportunity for me as a STEM teacher, and would have a positive impact on my students’ learning experiences. I believe that this trip would not only enhance my own understanding of the natural world, but would also allow me to bring new and exciting perspectives back to my classroom, making my lessons more engaging and interactive for my students. I kindly ask for your support in making this opportunity a reality for me.

Thank you for considering my request.

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PRESS RELEASE TEXT

Teachers Explore the Science of Iceland with STEM Celebrity Steve Spangler in June 2025

DENVER – Emmy award-winning television host and STEM educator Steve Spangler will host a learning adventure for educators and science enthusiasts. This one-of-a-kind professional development experience takes teachers along the south coast to explore Iceland through the eyes of some of Iceland’s most knowledgeable environmental scientists, naturalists, and outdoor guides.

The trip is scheduled for June 4-12, 2025, and will depart out of Reykjavik.

“Our goal is to create an experience where educators get an up and close look at Iceland’s amazing ecology, innovations in renewable and green energy, food science, architecture, education system, and better understand this science-rich treasure,” says Renee Spangler. She has been helping to create professional development opportunities like this with her husband for the past 20 years.

The Science of Iceland curriculum was initially inspired when the Spangler outreach team visited Iceland to learn about the country’s innovative renewable energy practices and unique geology. The Spanglers have partnered with Iceland travel experts Ólafur Júliusson, Erla Aöalsteinsdóttir, Leifur Örn Svavarsson, and Sigrún Hrönn Hauksdóttir who will introduce teacher participants to some of Iceland’s top ecologists, environmental scientists, mountaineering guides, and fellow educators on their journey throughout the country.

“As a STEM teacher, the most influential connections I make with my students involve real-life stories and first-hand experiences,” said Ellen Peterson, Executive Director of the STEM Learning Center in Gillette, Wyoming. “I’m most excited to learn more about

Iceland’s incredible advancements in renewable and green energy strategies and to use this experience to help inspire my students to think differently.”

One of the highlights of the educational experience will include an incredible journey inside the Þríhnúkagígur volcano (don’t worry… it’s dormant). Some 120 meters below the surface, teachers will explore the fantastic geology of a volcano that has not erupted in over 4000 years. Participants will also suit up with Leifur Örn Svavarsson, well-known as Iceland’s most experienced mountain guide, for a hike across the Sólheimajökull glacier to see the rapidly changing conditions to climate changes.

Steve will share highlights of the experience live on NBC affiliates throughout the journey, and his social media followers can track the journey on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Follow @stevespangler for details.       

MEET THE TEAM OF EXPERTS

Erla Aðalsteinsdóttir
Erla is an outdoor enthusiast, biologist by education and born and raised at her family farm close to Reykjavík. Managing the family farm is her main occupation, which includes running the luxury villa Kleif Farm, where she gets the opportunity to meet guests from all over the world. Horseback riding has been a passion of hers since a young age and still is. Her motto in life is staying fit and always being prepared for every adventure that may happen, whether it is hiking in the mountains, rock climbing, mountain biking or ski-touring. Above all, quality time spent with the family at the farm is most important to her.

Ólafur Thor Juliusson
Óli is a co-owner and founder of Inside the Volcano. From a young age, he has been part of the Rescue Squad in Iceland which has given him thehis knowledge and passion tofor working outdoors. He is an experienced mountain guide, certified ski-touring guide and spends his free time going rock climbing all around the world or pushing his mountain bike to the limits. Growing trees and fixing pipes at his family’s farmland also makes the perfect day for him. He and Erla are the proud parents of three grown girls.

Leifur Örn Svavarsson
Leifur is a polar specialist and has been a guide since his teenage years. He is one of Iceland’s most experienced mountain professionals.
Leifur enjoys being outdoors, “with the wind in my hair where I can concentrate on one thing and nothing else clouds my mind.” He enjoys guiding, which allows him to share his love of the outdoors with interesting people from all around the globe.

In addition to guiding in Iceland and Greenland, Leifur has extensive guiding and mountaineering experience across the globe. He is one of the few people in the world that has completed “The Explorer’s Grand Slam” which involves climbing the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents and has reached both the North Pole and South Pole. If that were not impressive enough, Leifur is the only person in the world who has accomplished this twice.
When not guiding he says, “I like to take my family skiing in Northern Iceland or on a climbing holiday to Kalymnos or Thailand. I also enjoy fast technical tracks with friends in the colorful Icelandic mountains.”

Sigrún Hrönn Hauksdóttir
Sigrún has been working in tourism for over 15 years alongside her husband Leifur. To- gether they have guided groups through Greenland, Peru, Nepal and Jordan, as well as all over Iceland. In these diverse destinations Sigrún has used her background in teaching and anthropology to find a balance of cultural activities and mountaineering to design their trips. Sigrún has a true talent of making a perfectly executed trip feel effortless and enjoyable. She will always know where the nearest local cafe is, where the next hot pool is, and the story behind each abandoned farm along our route.

Steve Spangler
Steve Spangler is a best-selling author, STEM educator, and Emmy award-winning science communicator who finds the most creative ways to inspire the next generation of STEM educators. Spangler hosts a variety of hands-on workshops and institutes throughout the year to provide teachers with best practices and instructional strategies to increase student engagement and build connections to real-world experiences. In addition to the Science of Iceland experience, Steve and his team host the Science at Sea – Alaska experience with their travel partner Holland America Cruise Line. But Spangler may be best known for over 2,100 television appearances as a STEM expert and his science experiment videos on social media that have more than 1.5 BILLION views. 

DOWNLOAD THE PRESS RELEASE AS A PDF

We are collecting a deposit of $2,500 per person to hold your spot on the trip.

This deposit (less a $200 processing fee) is fully refundable up until November 1, 2024. With only 50 spaces available, this deposit means that you are indeed serious about attending this experience. If we (Team Spangler) cancel the trip before November 1, 2024, no processing fee will be withheld and you will receive a refund of your full deposit.

The remaining balance of your registration fees will be automatically charged to the credit card used at registration on February 1, 2025.  

Due to advance planning of this trip, here is how the cancellation policy will work:

If you cancel between November 1, 2024 and January 31, 2025, you will be eligible for a 50% refund of your $2,500 deposit.

If you cancel between Feb 1 and March 15, 2025, you will be eligible for a 50% refund of the full payment collected.

No refunds will be issued after midnight (Mountain Time) on March 15, 2025.

We are aware that many unforeseen factors can result in the cancellation of a trip. We are working closely with the hotels, bus company and travel experts in Iceland to help ensure full refunds in the event of another outbreak similar to what we experience with COVID.

We’re excited that you’re interested in being a part of this new adventure. We also want to thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we gather all of the interest forms.

The first step is to complete the interest form.

If we have more than 50 people who are seriously interested in moving forward by putting down the deposit, we will use a lottery system to select our participants.

No, you don’t have to, but most folks recommend doing so, especially when traveling overseas. First, your regular medical coverage/insurance may not cover you outside the US. Traveling without this insurance means you will have to pay for emergency medical treatment expenses upfront if you become ill, injured, or require minor or major medical attention, including the remote possibility of an emergency evacuation. If you are a Medicare beneficiary, you should purchase travel insurance because medical coverage does not exist outside the US.

Plan on booking your flight to arrive in Reykjavik on or before June 4, 2025 at 4:00 pm. Please note that many US flights fly overnight to Iceland and therefore arrive the following day with the time difference, which means you need a departure date of June 3, 2025.

We have witnessed some issues when airlines cancel or delay a flight leaving the passenger(s) unable to arrive on time.

Our kick-off party is at 7 pm on Wednesday, June 4. Our final group event is late into the evening on, June 11th. There are no planned events on June 12th, so your first departure flight opportunity is the morning of June 12th.

Keflavik International Airport (KEF) is the name of the international airport near Reykjavik. Visit www.isavia.is/en/keflavik-airport to find flights or learn more about the airport. The drive time from Keflavik Airport to Reykjavik is approximately 45 minutes.

It will vary tremendously depending upon a lot of factors (gas, oil and the airline industry are only the beginning). If you get your seats early (more than 250 days out) you will likely get your best deals as airlines typically sell their least expensive seats first…and they only have a couple at that “least expensive” rate. Also, your cost will vary depending upon where you live and even what time of day you choose to leave. I have seen tickets range from $950-$1700 per person (luggage fees may or may not be included). You may also have frequent-flyer tickets you can use…but book those quickly…they are usually the first seats to go! You also might check into using different airlines to come and go as that may save you some cash (using IcelandAir to get there and United Airlines to return, for example).

There are several transportation options for getting from the airport (KEF) to the Center Hotel Plaza in Reykjavik. You will need to make your reservation for this transfer BEFORE leaving the US.

One suggestion is Flybus Airport Transfer at https://www.re.is/tour/flybus/.  This is a bus that costs about $70 USD round-trip per person. (2024 pricing)

I also like Airport Direct but just know that their pricing is listed in Islandic Krona (ISK) and you will need to use an app like XE to convert the funds when comparing pricing between these two companies.

Gray Line Airport Express at https://grayline.is/airport-bus-transfer also offers a similar service, but has less schedule availability.  Their service will cost about $155 USD. I would recommend choosing the service that takes you to our hotel, not to the bus depot.

Blue Lagoon has an airport bus combo with their spa time, if your flight is leaving later in the day.

Taxi prices can run as high as $200-$400 USD from the research we have seen.

Uber is illegal in Iceland and therefore not an option.

A great blog post to learn more about airport transfers is at FullSuitcase.com.

At the request of our travel guides and coordinators in Iceland, we only accept children ages 16 and up.

Steve and Renee Spangler traveled to Iceland in 2019 to scout locations, visit hotels and to pull together a team of naturalists, geologist and other experts to lead the adventure. The duo returned to Iceland in September 2021 to put the final touches on everything. Steve and Renee will be traveling with you.

Everyone will travel together in a luxury motor coach (okay, that’s a nice way of saying big bus). This is the best way to see the country. We have planned plenty of stops during each day’s journey. We will rotate the seating each day to ensure each person is guaranteed a great view while traveling along the beautiful scenic landscape of Iceland. We even have a system to ensure everyone gets a chance to sit in different seats on the bus each day. Trust us… it works.

We have selected five hotel stays for our nine-night trip. Nights one and two are at the same Reykjavik hotel. Nights three and four are at the same hotel in Vik. Nights five and six are near “The Golden Circle.” Night seven is on Vestmannaeyjar Island. Our culminating hotel nights are back in Reykjavik.

This experience is limited to 50 participants. This number is based on the size of the motor coach and the available rooms at each of the hotels.

No, but a lot of your time will be scheduled. This will not be like Science at Sea, where there were blocks of time for you to roam the ship on an “at sea” day. We leave each hotel right after breakfast, pack a lot of activities, and drive each day. You will have limited shopping time as we maximize our exploration time.

You are HIGHLY encouraged to pack light. According to the tour bus guidelines, you are allowed to bring one suitcase per person with the dimensions of 30.5 x 22 x 12.5 inches (77.5 x 56 x 32 cm) and weight not exceeding 66 pounds (30kg). You are allowed one personal sized carry-on bag which must be small enough to store in overhead bins or under the seat in front of you on our motor coaches. Carry-on bags should not exceed the dimensions of 12 x 11 x 6 inches.

The tour bus company will not be able to make accommodations for a second suitcase or any luggage exceeding these limits. For safety reasons, wheeled carry-on bags are not suitable as hand luggage on motor coaches.

Also regarding luggage, you need to be able to carry your own luggage up at least two flights of stairs. European hotels, in general, have small elevators that run quite slowly.

Daily life is casual and relaxed, so dress for comfort and pack layers like you did for Alaska. It will likely rain during our trip. Bring your swimsuit as we have an excursion on the first day to one of the amazing thermal spas in Reykjavik. You will also want to bring good hiking shoes. I’ll provide a more specific packing list later.

Yes, as we are at several hotels for 2 nights. You should be able to hand wash your items in the sink upon arriving, and hopefully, they will have time to dry before we leave.  Make sure to pack your own laundry soap. Because Iceland’s hotels are small and operate with a small staff, they will do laundry for you, but it is not cheap!

Cameras are a very personal preference item. We just travel with our iPhones and find the photo quality great. If you would rather travel with a larger SLR camera, go for it.

Electrical plugs differ, so you will need a universal travel adaptor suitable for Iceland. Iceland uses the standard “Europlug” socket with two round prongs. For these plugs, you can use adapter types “C” or “F.” Electricity in Iceland is 230 volts with alternating electric currents of 50 cycles per second. Be sure to check each device you wish to bring as each will list its voltage range. You may need a voltage converter as well as the plug adaptor. It is best to bring a dual voltage curling iron and shaver.  All of our hotels have hair dryers provided.

YES. You must have a valid passport. Your passport should be valid for at least six (6) months beyond your planned date of departure from Iceland. However, you do not need a Visa.

Iceland luckily has one time zone.  We all live in different states, so to make things easiest, I will answer for the Mountain Time Zone. Iceland is 6 hours ahead of the Mountain Time Zone when we are in Daylight Savings. If the current time in Denver is 8:21 pm, the time in Iceland is 2:21 am. Click here for a time zone map.

The average high temperature in June is 48°F (9° C) but can go as high as 59°F (15°C) or more. The average low temperature is 42°F (5.5°C). Always be prepared for rain in Iceland, however June generally has the lowest rainfall of the year. Just so you know… sunrise is approximately 3:30 AM and sunset is approximately 11:30 PM.

No problem. By all means, make whatever plans you wish before June 4^th and/or after June 11^th.  Remember that our final event is the evening of June 11^th.  We will drive you back to a hotel in Reykjavik for the evening of June 11^th  as part of our experience.  We have no plans for the group at all on June 12^th because flights back to your home can leave at any time that day and it is difficult to plan for varying itineraries.

Our 2022 and 2023 groups highly recommended extending your stay rather than traveling in earlier, if given the choice between the two.  They liked knowing what they saw and making plans to explore more after they knew what our trip was.

You obtain Icelandic Krona, the local currency, at exchange bureaus, banks, airports, and major hotels in Reykjavik, or you can use your ATM/Credit/Debit card to obtain local currency. Most of the areas we will travel to accept major credit cards. I recommend knowing the PIN for TWO credit cards you bring. Also, be sure you are not charged foreign exchange fees from your credit card companies. Iceland also accepts Apple Pay in many areas. If you want some foreign currency before you go, call your local American Express office, larger bank chains, or an international bank and take cash for the exchange.

As this is not a cruise ship, food will not be available 24/7, sadly. Breakfast will be provided at each hotel location. We have stayed at most of the hotel locations and experienced great breakfasts. They all provided a vast selection of choices.  We will give them all dietary needs for our group well in advance.

Lunch will be on our own in some locations as that is just the easiest way to feed the group while on excursions. There are a few locations where lunch is provided, and that information will also be given to you in advance.

Dinners will typically be served at the hotel where we are spending the night. If you have dietary restrictions, please let Renee know as soon as possible. This question will be asked on your registration form. We will have more details on this as time passes.

There is no need to dressy attire.