Popularizing Polar Sciences: Opinions on the Polar Festival

Abstract

Science festivals are crucial events that bring together scientists and the public, where information flow and interaction are intense. The first online Polar Festival organized by TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center Polar Research Institute is one of these events. With this research, the opinions of the participants of the TÜBİTAK Polar Festival held at the national level regarding the event were examined. The study group of research determined by the maximum diversity sampling method consists of 311 middle school and high school students between the ages of 10 and 18. The research is a cross-sectional pattern research designed in a qualitative nature. Questions regarding demographic information and a semi-structured interview form regarding the participants' opinions on the Polar Festival were used as data collection tools in the study. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. In the main findings of the research, it has been determined that teachers play a key role in students' access to the Polar Festival, and the festival, in general, attracted great interest from the participants, which supports the development of positive views on science among the participants. As a result of the research, it was determined that the Polar Festival positively affected students' views on science and contributed to their environmental and polar awareness. It is recommended that science festivals organized in the field of polar sciences be sustainable and continue under the leadership of scientific institutions.