As I described in the previous post, I led a science communication workshop onboard as part of the Portal to the Public initiative, and challenged the scientists to design an activity that would illustrate their research to the public. Here are some things we did in the workshop to get everyone’s ideas going.
To showcase the point that everyone brings their own perspective to any situation, I passed around a “thing-a-ma-bob” and asked everyone to complete a few sentences. What do you think this is in the photo?
Here are just a few of the scientists’ responses:
The first word that came to mind was: “mechanical clockwork toy”… “Easter egg surprise”… “vehicle with scissors”… It reminds me of: “a bicycle”… “steampunk firebug”… “my little train model when I was a child”… I’m curious about: “who made it and why”… “how long it will spin after a full turn”… “can the sparks light a fire”… I know this about how it works: “spring force”… “friction”… “clockwork”… There’s proof that people “see” different things, even when looking at the same thing!
One of the other challenges of the workshop – take some colored pencils, and draw your research in pictures. When I first presented the activity, I saw lots of nervous expressions, which eventually melted away as everyone got some momentum on their thoughts and drawings.
I have over 20 pieces of artwork from the workshop, and here are just a few of the many spectacular drawings! The caption under each photo is the “simple statement about your research” that I asked the scientists to write to accompany their drawings. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for their activities!
Hi Lindsay I’m Nathalie Morejon from Jose Marti MAST Academy we really want you to come to our school. And your posts on your blog are really helping me learn more about the artic.
Well thank you have a safe trip back
Hi Nathalie, thanks so much for your note, it made me smile! I would love to come visit your school when I’m back in Miami. Your teacher and principal and I already have that in mind, so I’ll let them know when I’m back, and we’ll work it out. It makes me so happy to hear you say that I am helping you learn more about this amazing place!
No problem Lindsay
Have fun!
Hey Lindsay I am Amy from Ms.Gonzalez class and I hope that you are having fun.
Hi Amy, thanks for the note, I am having such an amazing time! It is hard work, and overwhelming because there is so much to do and so much to learn, but it’s all so cool, and it has been awesome.
How has your knowledge of the Scientific Method helped in your discoveries?
Climate in general, and the exploration and study of the polar regions, is all about the scientific method. Every scientist and every field of science observes its part of the system, whether it’s the atmosphere, the ocean, the ice, or the wildlife, and designs experiments to understand, predict, and analyze the processes happening in that part of the system (as well as how all parts of the system affect each other).
hey lindsay im manny from ms. gilberts class i was wondering how diatoms produce oxygen if they are found in the ocean. in addition, what type of scientific instruments are you using right now to figure out all of this.
Dear Manny, as long as they have sunlight they can produce oxygen through photosynthesis, so even down to 100meters, they can still produce oxygen! To measure oxygen levels (and other measurements) from the water, we use an instrument called a CTD (which stands for conductivity, temperature, depth) rosette to take samples of water at different depths. When these samples come up, they can be analyzed for oxygen, salt content, and more!
hey lindsey its manny from ms. gilberts 4th period class, i was wondering if the object that your using (the met tower) requires any power source, and why do you have to be necessarily in the land to be able to use it. in addition, are you guys boarding somewhere or you live in the ship
Hi Manny, the Met Tower is only used for the time that we are physically at that location, so it doesn’t need any kind of long-term power supply. The reason why we set it up and take the measurements on the ice, instead of on the ship, is because one of the main purposes of it is to measure the heat exchange between the atmosphere and the surface of the sea ice. Doing this on the ship would affect the accuracy of those measurements, since the ship is its own source of heat and movement! And we are living on the ship this whole time – we are only in the ocean, we have not stopped at any land since we left port 3.5 weeks ago!
Hi Lindsay hope you having fun. My name is zaira i’m in ms.Gilbert’s class At LEOMHS I wanted to know if is really cold and what’s the lowest temperature from this week
Hi Zaira, the coldest temperature this week I think was -4°C (about 25°F), although it has been colder than that since we’ve been here. But that temperature doesn’t account for wind, which makes it feel a lot colder. (And these temperatures are summer temperatures in the Arctic!)
when you draw pictures dose it help you rember what you have learned?
Dear Heaven, it depends how you learn best, because some people learn best when someone tells them something, others learn best when they see something, and others learn best when they write it down or physically do something. For me, it always helps to write something down to remember it, and if I see (or draw) a picture of something, it will most likely help me remember it more! A lot of times, drawing something is a useful way to visualize or understand something that is hard to understand in words.
what other kinds of fun stuff do you do on the ship?
Hi Henry, when people get a chance to take a break from work, a lot of people take advantage of the ping pong table or sauna. And there is a room where people get together to play cards or games too. Even used the projector that we use all day for lectures and presentations sometimes gets used to play movies on our computers.
Has the melting of the polar ice caps made your journey any more difficult?
Dear Nathaly, even though the melting sea ice and other related climate conditions are what we are here to study, the melting has not directly affected the ship or our expedition plans or route. However, when we leave buoys on the ice, we put floatation pieces on them, so that if the ice melts, the buoys still float. The times we have seen polar bears though makes us all think about the overall issue of the melting of the sea ice, since polar bears need the ice to survive (they use ice to go out and hunt for dinner in the ocean).
How will your current studies improve science or the way we think of the Arctic in general?
Hi Nathaly, well that’s the big question! Scientists here are studying all aspects of the Arctic – the atmosphere, the ocean, the ice, and how they all interact. I think that when people studying all these areas work together (as they are on this ship, and as many scientists do around the world), there is a much better chance to better our understanding of the Arctic, and climate in general. The more we have studied the climate over the last few decades, the more we are realizing all of the factors that play a part in the environment (like aerosols in the atmosphere, the carbon cycle, etc). And if we can continue to increase our understanding, hopefully that will lead to more good decision-making by individuals and governments about climate issues.
Was their a specific method in choosing the route for the expedition?
Dear Nicole, yes, absolutely. The scientists had the route planned far in advance. If you look at the map on the “expedition route” page of the blog, you can see that there are several places where the path is a straight line. These are the parts of the routes called “transects” that you can see on the map go from shallow to deep waters. This is so scientists can put instruments down into the water at different depths, so see how conditions change.
How did you mentally and physically prepare for the weather you were about to experience?
Hi Nicole, it’s funny you ask, because mentally I was excited for the cold weather! I have always liked the cold, so as much as I love Miami, I was thinking that it would be nice to be cold for a while. Physically though, the trick here is to wear layers – layers of pants, shirts/jackets, socks, even gloves – if you’re going to be outside for any length of time.
Hey Lindsay, I have two questions. First, during every experiment and test you perform is the scientific method used as guidance or is it really not necessary? Second, Which instrument used for measurement has been the most difficult to use?
Hey Zenaida, the scientific method in a general sense is involved in every experiment, as well as in the “bigger picture” of our understanding of the Arctic (and global) climate, because scientists are always making observations, designing experiments, and analyzing results. As for which instrument is the most difficult, it’s hard to say, because I see the scientists and technicians using amazing equipment all the time here. Some of the hardest things are the deploying of the moorings – these are anchors that we drop on the bottom of the ocean, which have a cable attached that stretches (almost) all the way to the surface, and all along the cable are instruments to take measurements of the water. When you have a cable 2.5 miles long, and heavy instruments, and waves in the ocean, all on a huge apparatus off the back of the ship, it can be really difficult. Then there is deploying the buoys out on the ice – and making sure you do it safely!
Hi Lindsay it’s Nathalie sorry if I’m bothering again but I wanted to know what has been the coldest tempature you guys have faced over at the Artic
Dear Nathalie, it is never a bother, I am happy that you are interested and asking questions, so please ask anything you like! 🙂 The coldest temperatures we have seen has been about -7°C (19°F) in the air, and -1°C (30°F) water temperatures. But that air temperature doesn’t include wind, which makes it feel a lot colder. And this is even summer – in winter, at the extreme, it can get to -50°C (-58°F)! Can you imagine?
Interesting cant wait to see u here at Jose marti!!
Hi Nathalie, it’ll be great to meet all of you in person when I come back to Miami!