Penguins and Satellites: Employing novel methods for inspiring and engaging diverse audiences

Through a collaboration between a NASA Earth Science mission (ICESat-2) and the Stony Brook University Lynch Lab for Quantitative Ecology, several novel programs have been developed to engage and inspire new audiences to learn about the polar regions and changes occurring due to climate change, through the lens of wildlife, in particular penguin colonies.

A study published in the Journal of Environmental Education suggests that people appear more willing to take action on climate change if the perceived threat involves some kind of beloved creature other than them. Regarding climate change, people seem more motivated by empathy for non-human others than their own self-interest.

Using resources developed through the NASA-Stony Brook collaboration, the authors will detail a series of proposed online workshops aimed at providing remote audiences an introduction to Antarctic wildlife, and applications of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing through interaction with NASA earth observation satellites including Landsat and ICESat-2 missions. In addition to engaging with NASA's data products, audience members will learn fundamentals of geospatial analysis and data visualization using free and open-source programming languages including the Python programming language and Google Earth Engine.

In the current era of COVID-19 and associated shift towards platforms of remote education, basic human senses such as touch are limited and under-utilized. The authors will also discuss plans to contribute to a braille book about the Earth and Earth Sciences. The polar regions are especially remote and novel ways to engage audiences, both seeing impaired and others, are addressed. Target audiences will rely on the use of different senses and modalities as a tool to engage and learn complex Earth science subjects such as climate change, land cover change, and the cryosphere. The authors will discuss programs to bring a real connection to remote areas in an era of remote learning.