Antarctic Super Heroes: Using a Graphic Novel to Teach Students About Polar Science. (Invited)
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The University of Texas at El Paso received an IPY grant from the US National Science Foundation to take undergraduate and graduate students, as well as teachers, to Antarctica over winter break 2007. The program, called IPY-ROAM (International Polar Year - Research and Educational Experiences in Antarctica for Minorities) aimed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in the sciences, and increase public awareness about the polar regions. Education and outreach activities have been designed to teach people of all ages about polar science. For example, an interactive museum exhibit was designed to describe how the polar regions are being affected by climate change, and how individuals can make a difference. Our latest outreach strategy involves taking the large amount of educational materials collected for the museum display and making it available to a broader audience. We have created a graphic novel where the story of the ROAM Antarctic trip and existing educational materials are communicated using a combination of comic strips, fact sheets, and classroom activities. Photographic images from the ROAM trip were digitized and converted to a comic strip format. These images were combined with text from film footage collected by a documentary film, as well as personal anecdotes, to convey the successes of the program and the primary messages participants wanted to share with the public. The graphic novel will be made available to local school groups and online, at our website: www.ipyroam.org.
