Association of Polar Early Career Scientists

 

MOSAiC themed hands-on activities in Native community high schools and talks
Alex Mavrovic

In order to expose Canadian Native community high schools students to science career options, Alex is providing MOSAiC themed hands-on activities. While native students are living where important resources are spent to study the Arctic, they know those environments and could be doing that kind of work as a fulfilling career.

 

 

Profile photo by Sam Cornish

Oiginally, Alex planned outreach activities with the local Native community high school, the Kiilinik High School during his Cambridge Bay field campaign in April 2020. Here, Alex already has experience with similar outreach projects in the past: In 2018, he visited the Inuvik high school in March for hands-on activities around snow science. For his MOSAiC Ambassador project, Alex wanted planned a MOSAiC presentation, followed by hands-on outdoor activities where they will use the same instruments we use in Arctic expedition to collect data. These actvities would include e.g. snow measurements (snowpit with density, temperature and stratigraphy, magnaprobe and SMP) and analysis of an ice core which he will bring back from the nearby sea ice. Due to the global pandemic, field work was unfortunately cancelled... but postponed is not abandoned. Next time he goes North, he will be able to share his experience and expose Native children to well-paid and fulfilling job opportunities that are available to them. The take-home message: We are spending a lot of money to study your environment. You are already here, you could be doing it for a living.

Alex made use of various possibilties to share his MOSAiC School experience, such as a presentation at the Centre for Northern Studies Symposium (Talk and Poster) on 13-14 Feb. 2020. Further, he gave a series of three general science talks: The first two were at the Université de Sherbrooke (17 Feb. 2020) and the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (19 Feb. 2020) and addressed to a wide academic public audience mostly coming from the university community. The focus was on the science of the MOSAiC expedition. The third talked was addressed to pre-university students at the Cégep de Sherbrooke on 21 Feb. 2020 and focused on career opportunities in science for Quebec’s student.

On 29 June 2020, Alex have an interview on the national radio CBC, listen to "Quebecer hops aboard ice breaker for massive polar expedition". On 8 Novemver 2020, he spoke in French language in a MOSAiC coverage "Cap sur le pôle nord" in Découverte of the national TV Channel ICI Radio-Canada.

Mavrovic Alex MOSAiC Ambassador screenshot youtube Sherbrooke talk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alex presenting at the Université de Sherbrooke on February 17th, 2020.

 

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