Polar Outreach Catalogue

One of the most educational events during the IPY in Portugal was the national competition - Discovering Polar Regions. As part of the Portuguese educational program LATITUDE60!, it involved thousands of students from 74 schools from all over the country, including the Madeira and Azores islands. Combining efforts from young polar scientists, teachers and educators, the competition was designed in an unique way, so that students (individually or in groups) could apply to 5 different areas of interest: arts, scientific essay, website, audiovisual and "build your igloo". A total of 450 works submitted by students of all ages, from the kindergarten children to university students. A total of 91 prizes were awarded to the best student works, including the top prize of trips to Antarctica (in collaboration with "Students on Ice" expeditions), weekends with field activities promoted by polar scientists, visits and overnights to the Lisbon aquarium, educational events in the Pavillion of Knowledge (a Portuguese educational organization activity involved in holding national educational exhibitions, etc....), sailing in the Tagus river, books, etc. The objectives of this initiative were to promote awareness of the importance of Polar Regions within our planet.