Citizen science in Eisenerz and Uummannaq.

Junior researchers

The schools

The following two schools are involved in the Snow2School project:

Role of junior researchers

What is a junior researcher?

Junior researchers are pupils from both schools in Eisenerz and Uummannaq who are participating in the Sparkling Science project Snow2School. The Sparkling Science programme from the OeAD integrates schools, society and science together forming part of the research process. As junior researchers, pupils from both schools contribute their valuable knowledge and skills to do research on snow in Greenland and Austria.

Very soon we will develop the role of junior researchers in cooperation with the schools.

Current and future activities

  • Kick-off online meeting between all involved partners (March, 2023).

  • Introducing the project at the schools in Uummannaq (April, 2023) and Eisenerz (May, 2023).

  • First on-site snow workshop in Uummannaq and Eisenerz.

  • Anthropological fieldwork in Eisenerz.

  • Facilitating a first digital exchange between junior researchers.

  • More about the upcoming activities soon!

COLLECTING PHOTOS AND THEIR STORIES

Scan and upload analogue photos

Upload digital photos

One line with meta data: date (month/year), place, landmark

  •   Collect the stories behind the photos!

Our first task – collecting photos

Help to advance snow science, and maybe even win a photo competition prize in the process!

Now that the new school year has already begun both in Greenland and Austria, we want to start with our first task for Snow2School!

Our project is all about snow, and equally important, about old and current photos of snow. To help visualise, tell stories, and measure snow as it has changed and changes over time, we want to collect as many photos as possible. Other than digital or analogue photos, it can also be film material, and paintings or drawings. To help you get started, here are some directions that shall guide you through the process:

1.       The material you collect can be digital or analogue, it can be photos, films, or even paintings or drawings.

2.       The most important thing about these visual documents is that they feature snow in the form of snow cover, which could be seasonal snow but also glaciers.

3.       We welcome photos and other material from any time period – from many years and decades ago, but also very recent ones. The older the pictures the better, but current ones you took with your smart phone, for example, are welcome too. The idea is to trace and reconstruct snow changes over time.

4.       The pictures could be from any time – historical and current – but they should be from the Uummannaq district for the Greenland part of the project, and from Eisenerz and its wider alpine region in Styria for the Austrian part of the project.

5.       For our snow research to work, we need the approximate time and location for each of the collected documents. We would very much like you to gather this basic background information for the photos, films, or paintings, and write it down so in the end we have all the material and references ready for further research activities!

6.       Additionally, please think of three keywords that you associate with the picture.

7.       For the social anthropology part of the project, any picture featuring snow, and memories, stories and events that go with it are welcome! You should have an idea, though, when and where the photo was taken or what the painting depicts.

8.       For the climate science part of the project, to be able to use them for measurement purposes, there are some things we need to consider additionally: other than knowing the time and place of the picture, it would be very helpful to have a height reference point like a building or landmark in it. The idea is to be able estimate the amount of snow in a given place and time.  

To sum up: please bring the photo material to your teachers, including the background information (time, location, keywords).

Have fun and happy picture-hunting!