Aurora and Polar Bear Presentation Links

Glad to answer questions: email me at bffriedmann at gmail.com


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Churchill Northern Studies Centre - accessible, comfortable, great educational/science staff and lectures, great food, hot showers, nice rooms, away from the lights for auroras. You'll meet interesting people and maybe a polar bear researcher or two. We've gone 6 times and plan to go more, still have to do the belugas and birds plus we love the North, the auroras, and the friends we have made up there!

       Learning Vacations (price is $CAD so will be less is $US) - sign up and travel on your own (Linda and I know all the ropes so happy to answer any questions; we love taking the train but it does make for a longer adventure). These courses do fill up, 24 max for the aurora courses. Polar bear courses fill up especially quickly.

       Road Scholar  - chaperoned and they make travel arrangements once you get to Winnipeg including Winnipeg-based tours. If listed on the CNSC website note that the prices are most likely in $US. You can also go to the Road Scholar website to sign up. Aurora courses do fill up, 24 for the aurora courses. Polar bear tours fill up especially quickly.

Spaceweather.com - realtime aurora and other astronomical information, also lets you post pictures of auroras, etc.

Explore.org - has webcams all over the world with the Northern Lights one being on a building at CNSC, live video 24/7, good quality

Alan Dyer - one of the two aurora in-house astronomers and fantastic photographer of worldwide astronomical events; has a book on photogaphing/processing nightscapes/time-lapses including auroras

Alex De Vries-Magnifico - Churchill based photographer and adventurer, Facebook, Discover_Churchill on Instagram, store in town with great photos for sale but he's hard to nail down as he runs tours.

How to Photograph the Northern Lights by Patrick Endres - excellent PDF book for auroras and cold weather photography; he also does amazing photo journeys into the arctic and subarctic from Alaska so check out his home page

Yellowknife aurora video cam - another aurora cam but from Alaska

Travel to Churchill from Winnipeg is either by VIA rail (42 hour, two nights, meals included, get a sleeping berth or a cabin, this year (2017) the train had a chef and a viewing car for the aurora season; polar bear season I would expect the same, make your reservations early like many months in advance, try to get the discounted berths and sign up with VIA to get emails especially for Discount Tuesdays) or by Calm Air. Trains will get you to the start date of your CNSC adventure but on the way back you will have to stay a couple days in town or fly home. Spend some more time at the Eskimo museum, venture out at night to the town beach to get that Inukshuk shot of the aurora, have another meal at the Seaport or, if you are there after the first weekend in March or during bear season, make it definitely to Gypsy's Or maybe a movie at the Polar Cinema or a drink at the Legion.

Calm Air flies to Churchill via Arviat, return flight is direct from Churchill, make reservations early. If going by Road Scholar or another tour group they should make the arrangements for you I believe - not sure as we've always done the train and Learning Vacations on our own. They fly every day weather permitting.

We have driven to Winnipeg from Sturbridge (about 2000 miles one way) but usually take a flight from Bradley via Chicago to Winnipeg.

If going by train you should seriously consider staying at the Fort Garry Hotel which is a short walk even with baggage to the train station.

We have lots more information both on what to do in Winnipeg, Thompson if going by train, and the Churchill area. Feel free to ask us.