SANIRAJAK/HALL BEACH
From riding on a qamutik as a school bus to walking on the concrete sidewalks of the largest city in the country -- it has the makings of the trip of a lifetime.

Grade 5 Arnaqjuaq School students Inuuyak Pikuyak, left, Marla Alorut and Brenda Angotautok give a big thumbs up while standing in front of a thermometer tracking their fundraising progress in their classroom at Arnaqjuaq School. - photo courtesy of Janice Beardsley

A group of Grade 5 students at Arnaqjuaq School in Hall Beach is asking for public donations in order to travel south below the treeline for the first time.

They plan to travel to the Ontario cities of Niagara Falls and Toronto. The province's capital city of more than two million people is a completely different world from what they are used to while growing up in a hamlet of about 750 people, located about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle.

"Not that we're complaining, because we love it here!" the group explains on a website which was created especially to raise awareness of the trip.

"We have never, however, seen a university, museum, dinosaur skeleton or touched a tree, so we'd like to see what that is all about."

The Hall Beach 5, as they are calling themselves, is a group of 12 students from Arnaqjuaq School. Most have rarely been outside of their home community, and none of the three students interviewed by Nunavut News/North have ever travelled outside Nunavut.

"It's a little bit scary," said 10-year-old Brenda Angotautok of going to a big city.

However, she and classmates Marla Alorut and Inuuyak Pikuyak are excited that they might be able to experience so many new things at one time.

"I've never been to a big city before," said 10-year-old Alorut. "I'm excited about it. Not scary."

Alorut is most looking forward to being able to swim in a swimming pool – something she has never done before. The ocean "is way too cold" in the summer for her to test out her swimming skills.

Ten-year-old Pikuyak had a hard time picking just one thing he is most excited to experience.

When he pictures being in Toronto, he thinks about going to the top of the CN Tower to see the whole city. He would also like to see a professional hockey game, and see what a grocery store is like in the south.

If they reach their funding goals by March 30, their ideal trip includes many firsts, including their first visit to a university, first trip to a museum and seeing a big-city farmer's market for the first time. They would also like to take a boat under Niagara Falls, watch a professional hockey game and go up to the top of the CN Tower.

With the promise of discounted airfares factored in, the trip is expected to cost about $3,000 per person.

So far, they have raised about $5,000 towards that goal with bake sales, online donations and raffles. After grants and funding, which have yet to be confirmed, they are hoping to use the power of the Internet to raise an additional $10,000.

If the students meet these targets, their plan is to leave May 2.

For more information or to donate, search for the "Hall Beach 5" online.