The price for a tour on a nuclear-powered icebreaker to the Arctic starts at RUB 700,000 and ends at RUB 1.5–2 mn for one person. Only wealthy people or... some extremely motivated children can afford the joy of freezing at the North Pole. A few dozen of these determined teenagers are driven to the top of the planet by the 50 Let Pobedy nuclear-powered icebreaker. It will make another voyage in the summer of 2023 with 68 schoolchildren on board. The children are paying for this trip with their knowledge.

The Icebreaker of Knowledge is a nationwide educational project supported by Rosatom State Corporation. By taking an incredible voyage on a giant vessel in the company of scientists, bloggers and young stars inside the ship and polar bears, ice and whales outside, representatives of various educational projects motivate children to explore the Arctic.

The expedition has been running for several years in a row. In 2022, there were 70 finalists from various projects and competitions.

The mission of the project is to promote scientific activities, the pursuit of intellectual work among children and the development of an interest in science and technology. And the Arctic, of course. It's not just a fun trip aboard a nuclear-powered icebreaker, although there's certainly plenty of fun in it. Here the children learn in the kind of company you can only dream of. Last year, they were joined on the tracks by Evgeniya Timonova, journalist, biologist, author and presenter of the 'All Like Animals' channel, Diana Bachurina, an engineer at the Department of Physical Problems of Materials Science, a specialist in new materials for the thermonuclear reactor, Vladimir Belyakov, head of the Arctic Legends club at the Sirius Presidential Lyceum, Honorary Russian Polar Explorer Viktor Boyarsky and other distinguished brains.

The field of activity was broad: four educational tracks—Homo Science, View Science, Art&Science, Science Media—with several tracks in each. The participants chose their own track.

The travellers sailed the route Murmansk – North Pole – Franz Josef Land Archipelago — Murmansk, making it the fastest circumnavigation of the globe. On 17 July last year, they returned to the start of their journey (in August 2023, this expedition will be repeated for new explorers, and they too will not be bored). 

... discoveries are added to knowledge

However, for other pupils, the journey to the point where all the meridians meet has only just begun. At the closing ceremony of the expedition, the children from the Icebreaker of Knowledge presented a challenge trophy to the finalists of the All-Russian Big Break schoolchildren's competition.

On 19 July 2022, the indefatigable giant 50 Let Pobedy made another ten-day voyage to the North Pole, only this time as the 'Icebreaker of Discovery.' This educational expedition took place with the cooperation of Rosatom and Big Break, and was attended by 70 high school students from 31 regions of Russia.

Knowledge and discovery come together on an atomic icebreaker. Both were enough again. For the second time in summer, the Arctic expedition for Russian schoolchildren was built on three pillars—'Discovering Technology,' 'Discovering the Arctic,' 'Discovering Yourself.'

'Discovering Technology' lifted the veil over the nuclear industry for children.

Each day of the expedition took us deeper into the 'discovery of the Arctic.' Experts from the Russian Arctic National Park talked about the peculiarities of Arctic flora and fauna, the history of exploration of the Arctic region and how to preserve this amazing land. The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute shared knowledge about ice formation, ice kinds and types. Together with the participants, scientists took samples of North Pole ice to study its physical and chemical properties. And employees and ambassadors of Rosatom enterprises immersed the children in the priority areas of nuclear industry development.

Well, as if all the other expeditions were small, the children were also taken to the North Pole...

...Great Arctic Expedition.

GAE is a harsh undertaking. This is where you really have to freeze.

There are 261 applicants for GAE in 2023. The pupils were selected, the most important part of which, the Polar Dictation, was about the history of exploration and the nature of the region, environmental challenges and global warming. The Great Arctic Expedition invites children to see for themselves that learning is not just about cramming, but also about exciting experiences, experiments, on their own bodies as well.

The Arctic Science expedition team is made up of 16–18-year-olds who study at educational institutions in Moscow and have a real passion for natural sciences, engineering or environmental journalism. After a rigorous competitive selection process, they will go to work with polar scientists at the Joint Hydrometeorological Station named after Е.K. Fedorov. The station is located at Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point on the Eurasian continent, separating the Laptev Sea and the Kara Sea.

In addition to future scientists, the expedition is also training 'Discoverers.' This team is for children with good skiing and/or hiking experience. They are competing to join the 'Discoverers' sports group, which, under the guidance of renowned polar explorer Matvey Shparo, will ski the coastline of the Taimyr Peninsula to Cape Chelyuskin. The route is 'only' 100 km long, with ice hummocks accounting for most of it.

It must be said that the projects, which enable children from all over Russia to explore the Arctic alive, do not stop there. The Seals, winners of the Discover Arctic Heritage competition, will see the Arctic Ocean, Teriberka, the Lenin icebreaker and Murmansk in June 2023.