Arctic Frontiers Hosts 2023 Inspiration Days to Inspire Young Minds in Science
Arctic Frontiers has held the 2023 Inspiration Days under the Arctic Frontiers Science for Schools program in collaboration with Science Centre of Northern Norway (Nordnorsk Vitensenter). The Science for Schools program is designed to inspire and engage high school students in science subjects, fostering a love for science and exploration among young minds. More than 400 students and 30 teachers from all around Tromsø attended the 2023 Inspiration Days, spread over three days in October and November 2023.
Early Career Scientists and Engaging Events at 2023 Inspiration Days
For the 2023 Inspiration Days, Arctic Frontiers organized expert talks by early career scientists on various science topics, including Humpback Whales along the Northern Norwegian Coast, Life as a Marine Biologist, Artificial Intelligence and the nexus between science research and citizen science. Following the expert talks, the students had the opportunity to engage with the early career researchers in a Q&A session and delve deeper into their career choice and how their life as a researcher looks. Arctic Frontiers organized two additional events on Wednesday, 1 November 2023. The first event was a visit to MS Polstjerna, where students had the opportunity to board a vessel formerly used in the Arctic and engage with a respective exhibition on-site. The second event was an introduction to an ongoing initiative about kelp forests and sea urchins (Echinoidea) run by Wild Lab Projects, showcasing real-life opportunities where students can actively participate in and engage with the environment and science in their hometown. At this outdoor event, the students had the opportunity to control an underwater drone and see the underwater live feed, showing the status of kelp forests and sea urchins at Sørsjetéen, Tromsø.
Next Steps
Following the Inspiration Days, the students will work on their own research projects and prepare posters for presentation in the schools. The winners of this internal competition at the schools will present their posters the Arctic Frontiers Student Conference in January 2024, where the groups meet students from other schools, engage with early career researchers and participate in a competition to have their posters exhibited at the 2024 Arctic Frontiers conference Actions & Reactions.
Contact Information
For more information about the program, visit the Arctic Frontiers website at https://arcticfrontiers.com/young/science-for-schools-english/ or contact the organizers at [email protected].
