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Special Session 8: Marine public education |
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Novel strategies towards increasing public understanding of marine and climate science
Tuesday 10th @ 1030-1045
Room 5
Robert F. Chen* , University of Massachusetts Boston
Presenter Email: bob.chen@umb.edu
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| Ocean and environmental scientists have an increasing responsibility to communicate key concepts about marine and climate science to the public. In order to effectively ˇ°educateˇ± a large diversity and number of people, strategies beyond lecturing at universities and publishing peer-reviewed research need to be explored. First, key concepts or common messages need to be agreed upon by scientists that can result in documents such as the Fundamental Principles of Ocean Literacy or Climate Literacy. Next, successful public outreach campaigns can engage individuals through competitions or by using advertising strategies. Finally these efforts should allow individuals to explore the subject matter further and allow for explanation of and elaboration on key concepts. This presentation will explore several novel strategies to increase public ocean and climate literacy including Cool Science, a student art competition about climate change; the New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative (NEOSEC), a network of marine education organizations in New England who bridge ocean research with educators through biennial Ocean Literacy Summits; and SciencToGo.org, an advertising campaign about climate change on the Boston subway.
For example, climate change is one of the most pressing societal issues today, and educators are struggling with how to inform people of all ages and backgrounds about the reality and relevance of climate change. Our ScienceToGo.org partnership has experimented with out-of-home media to engage the public through posters and placards on subway platforms and trains. Over 400,000 commuters ride the Red and Orange lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) daily. A 12-month campaign was designed around three phases--Reality: Climate change is real; Relevance: Climate change is relevant to people in Boston; and Hope: People in Boston are leaders in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Our messenger is a non-threatening, recognizable, and humorous ostrich named "Ozzie", who along with his friends takes viewers on a ride through the three phases of the campaign, raising his head out of the sand to become a climate leader. In addition to the advertisements on the "T", a website (www.sciencetogo.org), a selfie app, 8-foot tall cutout ostriches placed around Boston, a QR code, a text response system, and social media (Facebook and Twitter) engage, educate, and entertain public audiences in Boston.
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