Arguably, the most important part of doing science is telling people about your discoveries. It is only when you share your results that your experiments can be verified, and others can learn from your successes (and yes, mistakes)! However, a different type of communication is called Education and Public Outreach, or EPO. Education and Public Outreach covers a broad range of activities, from those as simple as arranging visits to schools from our scientists or developing this blog, to more complicated programs like podcasts and website design. These types of activities make science both accessible and exciting!
This year the PLRP is engaged in several EPO activities with teachers, students and Pavilion Lake community members so we can share our excitement about the lake with others. For example, on the evening of July 11 we will host our annual Community Day and Open House, where the local community is encouraged to come to the Lake, meet our team, and discuss our science and exploration activities. Our science team has benefitted greatly in the past on Community Day from hearing stories from the local community about the lake and its history. As always we are looking forward to seeing familiar faces, and meeting new people who are interested in our project at Pavilion Lake.
Ben Cowie (right) speaking about Pavilion Lake at Alexander Hamilton Elementary School in Richmond, BC with teacher Leanne Shortridge (left)
A second project we are developing is a field science integration program for elementary and high school teachers. This year the PLRP will host several teachers at Pavilion Lake for a few days during field operations. During their time in the field, they will have the opportunity to work alongside our science team, receiving hands-on experience doing real field science. Our aim is to provide these teachers with the materials and experience to train the next generation of young scientists.
Another unique opportunity we have developed this year is a partnership with Shad Valley – UBC Campus. Shad Valley (www.shad.ca) is a summer camp for talented high school students interested in science and engineering. In the field, we will touch base regularly with the Shad students via videoconference, simulating a discussion between an active science operation in space and Mission Control on Earth. This program will give the students insight into a large-scale science operation, develop their interest in space, robotics and analogue research, and help them develop inquiry skills by developing scientific questions for the scientists at the Lake. I am excited to work with some young and very bright people at Shad Valley. Welcome, Shads!
With all the amazing science happening at Pavilion Lake, our team thinks it’s important to share with the community around us, and around the world. By developing effective EPO, we hope to make our science accessible, exciting and engaging for everyone.
Cheers,
Ben Cowie
EPO Project Lead, PLRP
