SEASIDE Calif., Feb. 24, 2017 – Nearly 200 Monterey County elementary, middle and high school students presented their research findings at the Student Polar Research Symposium Friday, Feb. 24, 2017 at the CSUMB University Center Ballroom.

The symposium was a culmination of the National Science Foundation-funded (NSF) Polar Interdisciplinary Coordinate Education (Polar-ICE) Science Investigations Project designed to connect scientists, educators and students using data from the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Pacific Grove Middle School, Seaside Middle School, Walter Colton Middle School, San Antonio Elementary School, Chalone Peaks Middle School and Seaside High School were all in attendance. Teachers from the schools began preparing for this project last summer with a week-long workshop at Rutgers University. Their students then prepared scientific-style project proposals before conducting their own investigations using authentic polar data this past January.

The top groups presented their findings to a panel of 15 scientific personnel from eight scientific institutions including the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University. This project was designed to help students experience and practice the skills of scientists: asking science questions, analyzing and interpreting data, and planning and implementing science investigations, which are all important objectives of the Next Generation Science Standards.