Polar Science 2009

Hello Everyone!

Firstly, I want to thank you, the students and teachers, for dedicating your time and energy to this project. When Shane and I agreed to do this project again, we wondered what level of interest there may be. As researchers, who are also university professors, we invest many hours mentoring our students, writing papers & grants and teaching university students. So, when we invest our time in something like this, we only hope that the students find it interesting and learn a lot from it. All I can say is, 'I AM SO HAPPY I DID THIS! You were all wonderful!' Your questions were insightful and showed us that you were listening to what we were saying and synthesizing information. You were young polar scientists!

Although Dr. Kanatous is a close friend of mine, I would also like to thank him publicly for his work in this project. He is an excellent educator and admittedly, I also learn new things from him when we do these projects!

Finally, thank you to Diane and Susan. Your organization and use of novel educational tools meant that Dr. Kanatous and I could bring our work into the classroom in new and exciting ways. You truly are a wonderful asset to the education system. I only wish more schools would/could use your resources, it most certainly would engage more students in science (and learning in general).

So my young polar scientists, I would like you to remember that learning can take place anywhere at any time. The world around us is full of wonderful, exciting things just waiting for you to discover them.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and I hope one day you come to McMaster University so that you can do research in my lab!

Tom (Dr. Hawke)