7-year-old twins from NYC on a North Pole mission

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - Maika and Olivier Kraus are first-grade twins at Dwight School on the Upper West Side, where they learned about climate change. They became inspired to see it for themselves, which is what they're about to do.

They will soon travel to Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, and then the North Pole. Olivier said they won't see their friends for 10 days. True, but they'll likely not notice because they'll be busy with experiments, taking pictures, and much more.

North Pole expedition leader Richard Garriott is a member of The Explorers Club, a worldwide group of explorers that includes Maika and Olivier's parents. Garriott said the expedition will sift the seawater to look for micro-plastics to show that pollution is now everywhere, including under the ice at the north pole.

Mika and Olivier's 11-person expedition will leave New York Friday and head to Oslo, Norway, then to Svalbard, also part of Norway, to a Russian ice camp, and then to the North Pole.

Although this pair of 7-year-olds will be busy with "research and exploring and taking pictures for everybody," they can't help but wonder if they will meet Santa and find out if he really does exist.

But what is a fact, Maika and Olivier will be part of the youngest explorers to ever step foot in the North Pole.