December 31st, 2008
As a result of the IGLO initiative’s work in organizing international citizen science activities on global warming, ASTC has been specially invited by Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) to participate in a private planning workshop. This workshop will be held among 20 to 30 GLOBE partners to prepare for a worldwide 2011 to 2013 campaign on climate change. GLOBE is an international citizen science and public education initiative conducted in partnership with research organizations including NASA, the World Meteorological Organization, and university research centers. To date, 110 countries participate in the GLOBE initiative, and these numbers are growing.
The planning workshop, scheduled to take place in late January 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland, marks the start of two years of preparation for GLOBE’s Worldwide Student Research Campaign on Climate Change. The workshop will bring together both the climate science and climate education communities to secure commitments to this global campaign, which will engage over 1 million secondary and undergraduate students and teachers—as well as citizens—in climate science research. The campaign will further develop curricula and educational materials and activities for educators and learners. It aims to promote climate literacy for millions of citizens around the world.
ASTC has been asked to guide discussions on how the Worldwide Student Research Campaign on Climate Change can effectively engage science center visitors in climate literacy activities and events that will not only reach large public audiences, but also support students and teachers involved in climate research. To explore current GLOBE lesson plans and to learn more about the project’s ongoing citizen science activities, visit the “Other Resources” link in the IGLO Toolkit.
Photo: Students record data for the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) initiative. Photo courtesy of GLOBE headquarters
December 30th, 2008
Cap Sciences, a science center in Bordeaux, France, has developed an online game to help players learn about not only the science of climate change, but also the political and popular will needed to make substantive changes affecting the Earth’s climate. Clim City, modeled after the popular online game SimCity, features an imaginary town with typical agriculture, energy, transportation, and building infrastructures. Players can make changes to different sectors of the city’s economy and infrastructure in order to alter Clim City’s carbon footprint.
A large, interactive map of Clim City allows players to click on features such as a farm, an experimental photovoltaic power plant, or a cluster of buildings. Accompanying graphics describe how much energy each of these features either creates or uses and their respective quantities of greenhouse emissions. Players may make changes to each of these features–opting to grow the photovoltaic industry or to develop green buildings–but each one of these choices entails the use of “political power,” “social movement,” or “individual will” points. Players must try to optimize Clim City’s carbon footprint within these sociopolitical constraints.
Clim City designers aimed to address learning objectives such as: Why is global climate change accelerating? What kind of climate can we expect by the year 2100? What human activities contribute most to the emission of greenhouse gases? And how is it possible to reduce these emissions? The game can be played free online–available in French only. The game may be accessed via the Cap Sciences site and is also featured in online activities in the IGLO Toolkit.
Photo: The online Clim City game, produced by Cap Science of Bordeaux, France, challenges players to alter a town’s carbon footprint while also responding to political pressures and to individual and social inertia. Photo courtesy of Cap Science web site
December 30th, 2008
The International Society for Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence (ISBC) works to promote the fundamental and applied sciences of bio- and chemiluminescence throughout the world. Bioluminescence works to replicate processes for creating light found in chemical reactions in the natural world–such as with certain jellyfish or bacteria–for human purposes. Chemiluminescence refers to the emission of light with limited emission of heat as a result of chemical reaction. Many researchers feel that both of these processes have the potential to produce sustainable, non-petroleum-based light sources. Among ISBC’s objectives are promoting the application of these two light technologies in education and fostering the public’s understanding of this branch of science through initiatives targeting the general public and schools. The organization has posted a gallery of bioluminescence project pictures on its web site, including a photo submitted from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines touted as the first bioluminescent Christmas tree in history illuminated by an extract from a squid.
Photo: Bioluminescent Christmas tree. By Edward Quinto, University of Santo Tomas, Manilla, the Philippines
November 18th, 2008
One-hundred-fifty school children convened in Paderborn, Germany this past November 15 to tackle the problem of climate change with, of all things, the children’s toy, LEGO building blocks. The event was organized by the FIRST LEGO League, a world-wide educational initiative. Participants in Paderborn represented Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. Additional regional LEGO climate change competitions also took place in other parts of the world.
Andreas Stolte, a representative of the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum, an ASTC member and host of the Paderborn competition, commented that “fifteen teams battled for victory and a place in the next round of the competition with robots which they had constructed and programmed themselves.” He added, “they were required to prove their skills in the fields of robot design, research presentation, and team play in addition to contesting the actual matches.”
To enter into the contest, teams were required to construct an autonomously operating robot from sensors, motors, and those colorful plastic LEGO bricks. Each team then used its robot to solve problems in the field of climate change research.
You can see some of the projects in action on the YouTube website. One example shows a robot that automatically buries carbon pellets at safe storage sites. Another robot moves blocks into place in levees that have been breached by rising ocean waters.
FIRST LEGO was founded in 1989 to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology. Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.A, this informal science public charity designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills.
Photo: Participants in the FIRST LEGO competition demonstrate their climate change robots.
November 11th, 2008
A new website, magicporthole.org, allows visitors to explore the fascinating and fragile world of coral reefs online. The site includes underwater photographs, detailed text descriptions, and computer animation. Site visitors can learn about saltwater creatures ranging from a sea slug which eats stinging Hydroids to the Porcelain Crab which lives in symbiosis with sea anemones.
The site also features various video clips. Visitors can watch how Goby fish and shrimp interact and how Clownfish hide in stinging sea anemones. “A Trip With Drip: The Water Drop,” an animated page, helps young peoplke to learn about the water cycle. In conjunction with 2008 representing the International Year of the Reef, the Magic Porthole project has also announced a contest for children of different ages to submit information about thier own efforts to help save coral reefs.
Horizon International, based at the Yale University Department of Biology, produced Magic Porthole with the support of a grant from the National Science Foundation and donations from Peter and Helen Haje and other individuals. Members of the advisory board represent such institutions as the Museum of Science in Boston, an ASTC member, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the Smithsonian’s Marine Systems Laboratory.
Photo: Coral Spawning. Many species of stony coral spawn in mass synchronized events, releasing millions of eggs and sperm into the water at the same time. By Emma Hickerson for NOAA Ocean Education Service.
