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A Touch of Space Weather: Jingle Contest

2022-03-10

Within the project ‘A Touch of Space Weather', BIRA-IASB is organising a jingle contest. The contest specifically addresses blind and visually impaired students from secondary schools, but any student with a strong closeness to this group, that can motivate this, is equally welcome to take part. We hope to inspire pupils to challenge their auditory, artistic and musical talents, and apply it for scientific purposes; and we hope this theme may stimulate them to further discover the fascinating world of space weather!

The project ‘A Touch of Space Weather’

'A Touch of Space Weather' (shortly, ATOS) is a project that brings space weather science into the hands of blind and visually impaired (B&VI) high-school students. This project was awarded an EGU Public Engagement Grant in 2021.

The goal of this project is to offer B&VI teachers a new approach to teach complex STEM topics in a creative way. One of the main activities is the creation of a set of audio booklets that address various scientific topics related to the interaction between the Sun and the Earth. Think about solar activity, the Earth's magnetic field, northern lights, moon exploration, and many more. This project wants to highlight the importance of space weather, as it influences many aspects of our modern life. 3D printed models and a tactile image provide hands-on activities to complement the audio lessons.

Challenge

Goal

With this ATOS-contest, we challenge you to create two jingles that will be used in the audio booklets in the following way:

  1. Introduction jingle: the first jingle will introduce every audio booklet,
  2. Chapter jingle: the second jingle will separate chapters within the same audio booklet.

Both should of course fit well together.

Theme

One must: the jingles should reflect the theme of solar activity, space weather or even solar storms. Search the internet for information on space weather or the interaction between the Sun and Earth to get some inspiration, or have a look at our Institute’s encyclopedia.

How

You are free to choose whatever form you like, i.e. you can create it on the computer or play it on a musical instrument, or why not on a homemade DIY instrument…  Unleash your creativity!

Most important thing is: it should be something you create yourself. Already existing jingles are not accepted!  

Duration

  • The introduction jingle should be around 8 seconds, certainly not exceeding 12 seconds.
  • The chapter jingle should be around 4 seconds.

Technical aspects

To make sure that your jingles fit in our audio booklets, we ask you to please deliver your file in standard audio formats such as .wav, .wma or .mp3.

Who can participate?

The contest specifically addresses blind and visually impaired students of secondary school. However, in an inclusive project as ATOS, we don’t like excluding anyone, so pupils enrolled in secondary school, with a strong closeness towards our main target group are welcome to participate as well, if they can motivate their participation.

Prize

The winning jingle will be announced on our website and social media. It will be used for the entire set of minimum 10 audio booklets that will be created within the ATOS-project and that will travel to fellow students. Your name will of course be mentioned as part of our team.  And… we would like to invite you and your class for a visit to the Space Pole in Uccle.

Timing

The contest is open as of 10 March 2022. We expect your submission no later than Sunday, May 8, 23h59m.

All entries will be anonymized, after which a jury composed of scientists, musicians and composers will decide which entry takes the crown! The organizers reserve the right to declare none or more winners if the quality of the entries so requires.

The result will be publicly announced during a talk presenting the “A Touch of Space Weather”-project at the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in the week of 23-27 May 2022, and soon after you may expect an email in your inbox.

Submission

You participate by filling out and uploading your jingle through this submission form, no later than May 8, 2022, 23h59.

General conditions

By participating in this contest, you agree to the above terms and conditions and to the description of the contest. You also declare that your work was conceived and created by you, and that there is no question of plagiarism. You agree that your submission can be used de facto by the ATOS-project and the organising Federal Scientific Institute, BIRA-IASB.

Any costs made in favour of your participation to this project cannot be recovered from the organisation.

Privacy

When you register for the ATOS jingle contest, the registration form will ask for your first name, last name, year of study, school and class. We will also ask for your e-mail address or that of your parents, so that we can contact you in connection with the competition.

Your data will be retained until 1 September 2022. If your work is selected for inclusion in the audio booklets, your first name and surname will be retained for possible mention after that. In that case, we will also keep your e-mail address, so that we can ask you about your preferences at any time.

Your data will initially be stored in an Excel file linked to Google Forms. Only the organisers of the ATOS competition will have access to these data.
Your data will be stored exclusively for the purpose of the competition and will never be shared to third parties without your explicit consent.

For any questions related to this contest, you can contact:

Lenka Zychova
Space Weather scientist at BIRA-IASB and initiator of 'A Touch of Space weather'
E-mail: Lenka (dot) Zychova (at) aeronomie (dot) be

Karolien Lefever
Head of BIRA-IASB’s Communication Cell
E-mail: Karolien (dot) Lefever (at) aeronomie (dot) be

Flyer Narrated Video Flyer
JINGLE CONTEST  WHY? Our space weather audio booklets need a great tune!  WHAT? Create two jingles, 8s and 4s long on the theme of solar activity, space weather or even solar storms!  WHO? Blind and visually impaired students from secondary school can apply, but any student with a strong closeness to this group is welcome too!  WHEN? By May 1st, 2022  More information: www.aeronomie.be Video Flyer

 

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The educational project 'A Touch of Space Weather' (ATOS) targets blind and visually imparied students from secondary schools.