Thomas Harper, age 12, of Philadelphia, for his question:

How did the Eskimos get to Alaska?

The vast home of the Eskimos covers the top of the world. It covers Alaska, Northern Canada, Greenland and around the world by way of Siberia. It is estimated that only some 40,000 Eskimos live in this huge expanse of territory.

Eskimo life is simple and full of hardships. But they are cheerful and healthy people. We do not know when they first took up life in the frozen north. But the experts believe that the Eskimos of Alaska have been there for at least 2,000 years and maybe much, much longer.

There is little doubt that the Alaskan Eskimos came from Siberia. Chances are they crossed from Asia to America where these two continents are closest. In ancient times there may have been a land bridge between the two continents.