Apart from people in cold region communities and a small – although steadily growing – scientific community, the general public knows very little about permafrost properties, its dynamics in response to climate change, and the research going on in the field. Our outreach-related project aims at ‘Fostering permafrost research to the ends of the Earth’, making permafrost science accessible to children, youth, their parents, and teachers via a series of cartoons and a board game, both associated with Augmented Reality (AR) material.
Cartoons are excellent ways to communicate messages in today’s media landscape: they are graphic, funny and direct, and they can be rapidly shared via social media. By introducing them to permafrost research activities, particularly fieldwork, our ‘Frozen Ground Cartoons’ are enhancing the dissemination of permafrost knowledge and broaden the international community of permafrost ‘lovers’, thanks to translation in English, French, German, Swedish, Russian, Luxembourguish and Inuktitut.
The high-quality science-themed board game, where permafrost science itself drives the gameplay, is composed of a multiplayer permafrost worldmap platform to engage the players into educative travel. The goal is to move around the platform by correctly answering relevant questions, as if you were in a Trivial Pursuit. Questions are split into six categories: Biology, Geosciences, Physics & Chemistry, Social & Human Sciences, History & Archeology, Geopolitics & Economy.
The augmented reality application (Apple / Iphone - Google Play / Android ) helps better understand the impact of current environmental disturbances, caused by climate change and anthropogenic activity, on permafrost thaw and local communities in the Arctic. The science of permafrost could be learned while having fun: the Frozen-Ground Cartoons augmented reality application gathers 3D pictures, photos, maps, animated cartoons and videos. Thanks to 3D objects or photos, one can be in front of a polar bear and an Arctic fox or navigate in interactive maps representing permafrost zones in the Arctic. The cartoons teach what permafrost is, the impact of climate change and how scientists study the water and carbon cycles, essential for understanding the phenomena of global change. Finally, the videos will explain to you what local solutions are envisaged in the communities and how scientists and indigenous populations collaborate to understand and adapt to this changing environment. Enjoy this innovative tool associated to the comics!
Links :
Website : https://frozengroundcartoon.com/
Augmented reality application :
Apple / Iphone : https://apps.apple.com/us/app/frozen-ground-cartoons/id1486602822
Google Play / Android : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.altkey.fgc