ED12A-01
The Big Picture, Polar Ambassadors, and Polar Days; International Outreach and Education During and Beyond IPY
The International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-8 has begun, and it's not just for scientists. Teachers, artists, students, polar visitors, explorers, young scientists, arctic residents, journalists, photographers, and film-makers are all interested. IPY is an incredible opportunity to involve the public with polar science and raise awareness about critical issues facing the polar regions. An overview of the IPY international education and outreach strategy will be presented highlighting activities that encourage polar scientists to work directly with the global community to raise awareness about the polar regions, and the importance of their research. Examples include International Polar Days, IPY in Google Earth, and the Polar Ambassador Programme. http://www.ipy.org/
ED12A-02
Education and Outreach Initiatives for the POLENET Project for IPY
POLENET is an IPY-endorsed science initiative aimed at dramatically improving the coverage in geodetic, seismic, and other geophysical data across the polar regions. The POLENET science team, in collaboration with UNAVCO and IRIS E&O staff, are developing multimedia materials about POLENET science for dissemination to the public and to educators and students via the Web (www.polenet.org) and using ‘Active Earth' interactive PC displays serving content through internet browsers. The international consortium plans to duplicate and expand these materials in several languages for our international audience. The U.S. project has a special focus on engaging undergraduate students, in particular underrepresented groups, in project research. Ohio State University has sponsored a summer intern to develop a multimedia research portfolio documenting POLENET research, including an interactive remote station map which displays topo and geological maps, photos, and meteorological data for each POLENET station, as well as photos and video clips describing Antarctic research. The POLENET project will involve students in polar research through undergraduate internships for underrepresented groups, including the joint UNAVCO-IRIS-USGS program called Research Experiences in Solid Earth Science for Students (RESESS), and the Summer Research Opportunities Program at OSU and PSU. With 26 different nations involved, POLENET affords a fantastic opportunity to strengthen international science collaboration. POLENET international partners will introduce students and young scientists to global, collaborative science through research exchange visits. Scientists and nonscientists alike are being introduced to the experiences of this younger POLENET generation with stories coming from around the globe presented as blogs on the IPY web site. http://www.polenet.org
ED12A-03
Portugal and the International Polar Year: the role of researchers in promoting education and outreach activities to a wider audience
Thanks to the International Polar Year (IPY), international programme of research and education, aiming to promote collaborative research in Polar regions in 2007-08, Portugal has been proposing to play an active role in various research disciplines. The main objectives, designed by the Portuguese Committee were: improving the knowledge in polar processes, implementing the capacity to detect climate change, assessing the global warming consequences in the preservation of marine and terrestrial biodiversity, and finally, attracting the people's attention to all these issues. Another one of the greatest objectives of the Portuguese Committee for the IPY, coordinated by Portuguese researchers, is to encourage activities and events related to Polar Regions, directed to the general public. The establishment of new collaborations with education institutions (e.g. Ministry of Education), schools, Universities and teacher associations has been already obtained. This presentation aims to show the educational programme "LATITUDE60!", that focuses on education and outreach activities (E&O) conducted in Portugal, emphasizing the various projects related to education for 2007- 2008, and focus on the importance of attracting the attention of the general public (from children to adults) to Portuguese activities and to the Science in the Polar Regions. It has been recognized internationally by taking the forefront of E&O within the International Polar Year. The work related to education and science outreach, during the IPY, has been coordinated in collaboration with the International Polar Year Education & Outreach Sub-Committee as well as with the International Youth Steering Committee for the International Polar Year. http://www.fc.ul.pt
ED12A-04 INVITED
Unraveling the Geologic History of Antarctica Through the Study of Sediment and Rock Cores: The ANDRILL Education and Public Outreach Experience.
ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) is a multinational collaboration involving more than 250 scientists from Germany, Italy, New Zealand and the United States. The ANDRILL Program has mobilized scientists, technicians, drillers, engineers, students and educators from four member nations to bring world-class science into focus and provide in-depth immersive experiences to educators through the ARISE (ANDRILL Research Immersion for Science Educators) Program and Project Iceberg. During two seasons of scientific drilling, encompassing the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS) Project and the Southern McMurdo Sound (SMS) Project, 15 educators have been immersed in ANDRILL science and have participated in both learning and teaching experiences. Blogs, video journals, images and other resources were generated and distributed online to teachers, students and the general public through the ANDRILL website as part of Project Iceberg, which was used as a unifying theme for the outreach effort. The video journals chronicled the journey from Lincoln, Nebraska to Antarctica and introduced viewers to many aspects of the ANDRILL program in an engaging manner. An accompanying guide provided background information, discussion starters, and engaging activities for students and adults alike. Subtitles in German and Italian were used on each of the video journals in addition to the English narrative, and the resulting product was entitled, ANDRILL: A REAL WORLD GEOSCIENCE ADVENTURE. The primary objective was to introduce teachers, students, and the general public to Antarctica and the ANDRILL Program, and to provide preliminary insights into the following questions: How do scientists from around the world come together in the coldest, windiest, driest place on Earth to uncover the secrets that have been shrouded beneath the ice for millions of years? What secrets do the rocks record? How can I join the journey to learn more about Antarctica and ANDRILL? http://www.andrill.org
ED12A-05
Indian Contribution to IPY Outreach Activities
India is involved in a major way in both the aspects, i.e. scientific as well as outreach activities, of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008. National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India) is acting as the national coordinating agency. The launching of the Indian chapter of the IPY 2007-2008 took place at NCAOR and parallely at Jawaharlal Nehru National University (JNU), New Delhi on 1st March 2007. Two Indian scientific proposals have been endorsed by IPY, which are Project id. 70 and Project id. 129. Simultaneously, India is actively involved in the outreach activities related to IPY. NCAOR had sponsored the visit of two college students to Antarctica during the 25th Indian Antarctic Expedition (IAE). A series of lectures were delivered by one of them at more than twenty schools & colleges in the rural & suburban areas of Indian state of Maharashtra regarding the wonders of Antarctica to educate the general public and popularize polar science. NCAOR is the only Indian institute that has the capability to store and sample Antarctic ice core with special Cold Room facility that is maintained at -20„aC. Students from several schools and colleges and scientists/visitors from various Indian institutes/foreign countries have visited NCAOR to get first hand experience of polar research. NCAOR has also collaborated with WWF-India (World Wide Fund for Nature) for carrying out the outreach activities to schools throughout the vast expanses of India. In this regard a calendar of event was released on 1st March 2007, which lists various competitions and activities that will be held during 2007-2008. It includes competitions such as poster & model making, stamp designing, petition writing etc. for school children. The first competition, poster making & slogan writing, was held at New Delhi on April 10, 2007 and prizes were distributed by the H'ble Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences on the Earth Day. Further under the aegis of IPY 2007-2008, a 14 year old Indian student from Father Agnel School, New Delhi was selected by the Canadian organization, Student On Ice, for their annual Arctic expedition that was held from August 2nd to 17th, 2007. The participants were accompanied by an international team of polar scientists, experts and educators. The participant on return will share their experiences with fellow students to introduce them to a world unknown to them. Further, NCAOR has supplied audio-visual & printed material on polar science to Nehru Science Centre (unit of National council of Science Museums, Ministry of Culture, Government of India) which is organizing exhibitions on the theme ¡§The Story of Poles¡¨ focusing on geography, environment, flora, fauna, people & importance of poles along with issues related to poles such as ozone hole, global warming etc. the exhibition will consist of graphical panels, 3D interactive exhibits, animations, charts, 3D models, computer kiosks etc. Financial sponsorship has been extended to Goa Science Centre, India & Geographical Society of the Northeast Hill Region, India for popularizing polar science and other aims of IPY to general public. Moreover, under the "Popular Book Series" initiative of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, a book entitled "Story of Antarctica" is under publication by NCAOR. Similar books on "Story of the Oceans" and "Glaciers - The Rivers of Ice" have already been published & distributed to students in different states of India. Further details can be had at the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research website (www.ncaor.gov.in). http://www.ncaor.gov.in
ED12A-06
Alaskan Exemplary Program The Rural Alaska Honors Institute (RAHI) A Quarter Century of Success of Educating, Nurturing, and Retaining Alaska Native and Rural Students An International Polar Year Adventure in Barrow
RAHI, the Rural Alaska Honors Institute, began in 1983 after a series of meetings between the Alaska Federation of Natives and the University of Alaska, to discuss the retention rates of Alaska Native and rural students. RAHI is a six-week college-preparatory summer bridge program on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus for Alaska Native and rural high school juniors and seniors. The student body is approximately 94 percent Alaska Native. RAHI students take classes that earn them seven to ten college credits, thus giving them a head start on college. Courses include: writing, study skills, desk top publishing, Alaska Native dance or swimming, and a choice of geoscience, biochemistry, math, business, rural development, or engineering. A program of rigorous academic activity combines with social, cultural, and recreational activities to make up the RAHI program of early preparation for college. Students are purposely stretched beyond their comfort levels academically and socially to prepare for the big step from home or village to a large culturally western urban campus. They are treated as honors students and are expected to meet all rigorous academic and social standards set by the program. All of this effort and activity support the principal goal of RAHI: promoting academic success for rural students in college. Over 25 years, 1,200 students have attended the program. Sixty percent of the RAHI alumni have entered four-year academic programs. Over 230 have earned a bachelors degree, twenty-nine have earned masters degrees, and seven have graduated with professional degrees (J.D., Ph.D., or M.D.), along with 110 associate degrees and certificates. In looking at the RAHI cohort, removing those students who have not been in college long enough to obtain a degree, 27.3 percent of RAHI alums have received a bachelors degree. An April 2006 report by the American Institutes for Research through the National Science Foundation found that: Rural Native students in the UA system who participated in RAHI are nearly twice as likely to earn a bachelors degree, than those who did not attend RAHI. This summer, in celebration of the International Polar Year, in collaboration with Ilisagvik College, at the completion of the traditional RAHI program, ten RAHI students flew to Barrow for an additional two weeks of study. Five students participated in an archaeological dig and five students performed research with the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium scientists studying climate change. In addition, ten students from Greenland visited the program, with plans to more fully participate next summer. This added dimension to the program has proved successful, allowing the students to compare and contrast between their own countries and indigenous perspectives. Global warming was an issue that was hotly debated, as its effects are so evident in the Polar Regions. In the Arctic, life is directly tied to the ice and snow. As the ice disappears and/or changes, the Indigenous people have to adapt. RAHI would like to share with you some of the results of this past summers IPY activities.
ED12A-07
The Founding Fathers, Federalism and the Challenges of IPY outreach
The U.S. system of government is unlike that of any other nation engaged in the International Polar Year 2007- 2008. The differences are significant and definitive and provide both opportunities, in terms of resources, and immense challenges, in terms of coordination among national, state and local governments, academia and the private sector for publicizing IPY itself and the research and education programs that the U.S. is supporting as part of the polar year. At least one rallying point for all does exist, however, the World Wide Web. http://www.ipy.gov
ED12A-08
Videographic Education: Owning the Polar Crisis
Television and internet-served video is an increasingly important media tool for reaching into society. This talk will present clips from a film designed to educate the public about warming in the polar regions, the socioeconomic and environmental implications of this warming; and the actions we can take to slow down human contributions to climate change. This talk will present a short film Owning the Polar Crisis, which is drawn from footage for Polar Visions, a four segment film available for educational audiences and the public.. The films are unique in that they draw from the perspectives of well-known climate scientists, citizens from all over the planet and natives of the Arctic. The compelling images were taken from numerous locations around the Arctic, including Alaska and Greenland. Owning the Polar Crisis was filmed, directed and produced by Dr. Ryan Vachon, a climate scientist and videographer with an intimate knowledge of the subject matter. http://cires.colorado.edu/education/k12/projects/