Celebrate Good Times at Ataguttaaluk School - Come On!

Ataguttaaluk students have been working hard and creatively over the past week and we are thrilled to see all of their unique, scientific, artistic pieces of work on display today! The celebration took place in the school's gym, where student work covered all three enormous walls. Students got to hear a bit more about CANDAC and watched a video made by the ACE Validation Campaign Team while in Eureka in March. A photo slideshow of the project played while students meandered around the gym to view their peers' work. It was lovely to see some parents join the celebration and ask their children questions about their research.

Photo credit: Jon Franklin. 

Wonderful Wednesday!

Today was another wonderful day in Igloolik with Ataguttaaluk students! We had our final work period with Leah's grade 5s and Meeka's grade 4 students this morning, and continued working with Jeens's grade 2s, Darlene's grade 3s, Tami's grade 6s, Caleb's grade 7s, Pat's grade 1s and Vera's grade 6s.

Leah's students were working hard to finish up their group projects in time. One group was drawing different clouds they had observed during the project; another group created a detailed instruction guide for using the pyranometer; another group plotted the class' data by making a line graph; and one student wrote a unique story about a dragon and the sun!

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Meeka's grade 4 students worked together to complete two large pictographs (temperature and wind speed). Each student contributed at least 2 days of data to the large pictograph. They also had a bit of fun doing the limbo under the string! 

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Let the Projects begin!

The students from Ataguttaaluk School have jumped into their projects with all the data they've collected from the end of March until now! We got some great graphs, pictures, stories, and much more on the way. They will present all their data in the gym at Ataguttaaluk School Friday afternoon to family, guardians, and friends. Should be an exciting day, can't wait to see all the finished products!

CANDAC is back at Ataguttaaluk School!

Mel, Jon, Anthony and Ashley are back at Ataguttaaluk School this week. We will be working with each class for three or four sessions throughout the week, and then we will have a school-wide celebration on Friday afternoon. We have now visited every class at least once and some twice. It is obvious that students have been diligent about making consistent measurements and we are happy to see them so excited about their research. Below are some photos from each class.

Pat and her grade 1 students on Monday, May 27, 2013.

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Jeena's grade 2 students compared plants and animals from Igloolik and Newmarket on Monday, May 27, 2013.

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Darlene's grade 3 students learned about various ways of displaying data with Jonathan on Tuesday, May 28, 2013.

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Mel asked Meeka's grade 4 students how their project went.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Keriann's grade 4 students talked about their data on Monday, May 27, 2013.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Leah's grade 5 students showed Jon and Anthony how to use the pyranometer on Tuesday, May 28, 2013.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Yvonne's grade 5 students on Monday, May 27, 2013.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Vera's grade 6 students on Tuesday, May 18, 2013.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Tami's grade 6 students began working on their group projects on Monday, May 27, 2013.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Caleb's grade 7 students on Monday, May 27, 2013.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Yvonne's grade 7 students worked on their group projects on Tuesday, May 28, 2013.
Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Midnight Sun

Happy to be back in Igloolik when the sun never sleeps

Melanie, Jonathan, Anthony and I are back in Igloolik to spend the week working with student-researchers at Ataguttaaluk Elementary School. It is a beautiful sunny day; perfect for a long walk around the hamlet. Below are some photos from our travels and walk.

View of the ice in Foxe Basin from our First Air plane from Iqaluit to Igloolik, Nunavut.

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Landing at the Igloolik Airport. Can you see one of the airport's windsocks?

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Anthony, Jon and Mel relaxing in the sun watching kite boarders sail across the basin. 

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

Kite boarders enjoying the sun and the wind. 

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

View of the Hamlet of Igloolik from the mushroom-shaped Research Centre. 

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour.

An interesting fact: Igloolik is now experiencing 24 hours of daylight because the sun does not set below the horizon! I'll take a photo at midnight and post it tomorrow. 

Anemometer in Action

Here's a short video of our anemometer catching the wind on the roof of the Physics Building at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario.

Final Measurements

Today was the final day of measurements for the Student-Researchers Atmospheric Collaboration. We will be visiting Ataguttaaluk School and Pickering College in the next couple of weeks to help students analyse, compare, and make conclusions about their research. Below are a couple of photos from yesterday's measurements in Toronto. Anthony will be joining our outreach team for our upcoming visit to Igloolik!

Anthony Pugliese uses the pyranometer to measure solar insolation on the roof of the Physics Building at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario. 

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour

One of two anemometers on the roof of the Physics Building.

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour

A small weather station houses two pyranometers, a rain collector, temperature and humidity sensors, and a small solar panel. 

Photo credit: Ashley Kilgour

Kindergartens use SMART Board to record weather!

The children in Kindergarten at Pickering College have been busy using a thermometer to measure temperature each day. We record our findings on our daily SMART Board weather calendar and in our CANDAC observation book. The children have loved this opportunity to measure, document, and discuss the daily temperature and weather. From snow to sun and from wind to rain, it has been quite a Spring of day to day weather changes!

Written by Ms. Alexis Furlan, Kindergarten Teacher at Pickering College in Newmarket, Ontario. 

Photo credit: Alexis Furlan. 

Photo credit: Alexis Furlan. 

Photo credit: Alexis Furlan. 

Final Day of Measurements!

Tomorrow (Friday, May 17) is the final day of measurements! If you have got a camera handy, we would love to see a photo of your class recording your final measurements and observations. Below is a photo of the entire ACE Team in Eureka, Nunavut near the end of the Polar Sunrise Campaign.

Do you know what the red numbers (79ᵒ 59' N) represent?!

Left to right: Dan Weaver, Debora Griffin, Zen Mariani, Joseph Mendonca, Volodya Savastiouk, Xiaoyi Zhao, Emily McCullough, Dr. James Drummond, and Paul Loewen.

Photo credit: Paul Loewen.

About Your Research!

Hi Student-Researchers! We hope that you are enjoying your research project. We would like to hear how things are going, so please tell us:

Why you like making measurements!

Or something interesting that you've noticed!

Or tips for using your instruments!

Grade 5s Measuring Solar Insolation!

Class: Mrs. Maguire Morrow's Grade 5 Class
Location: Ataguttaaluk Elementary School, Igloolik, Nunavut
Time of measurement: 4:45 pm
Weather conditions: Altostratus clouds, broken cloud cover, very hazy, milky sky colour
Temperature: -15ᵒC
Wind speed: 40 km/h
Solar insolation: 296.94 W/m2

Data collected by Mr. Maguire Morrow's grade 3 students on Monday, April 29, 2013. 

Mr. Au Yong's Grade 3s at Ease with the Anemometer

Grade 3 students have enjoyed using the weather reading tools and making measurements. We can now all pronounce "anemometer" with ease! We have experienced extremes in temperature here in Newmarket, Ontario and now look forward to some genuinely warm spring days with many more hours of sunshine.

Written by Alex Au Yong, Grade 3 Teacher at Pickering College in Newmarket, Ontario.

Photo credit: Alex Au Yong.

Photo credit: Alex Au Yong.

Photo credit: Alex Au Yong.

Weather Report from Mr. Au Yong's Grade 3 Students

Class: Mr. Au Yong's Grade 3 Class
Location: Pickering College, Newmarket, Ontario
Time of measurement: 10:30 am
Weather conditions: Cloudy, calm, clear.
Temperature: +9ᵒC
Wind speed: 1 km/h

Data collected by Mr. Au Yong's grade 3 students on Monday, April 29, 2013.