On June 12, 2007, the last of the three ARM educational kiosks in the Tropical Western Pacific was launched in Lorengau, Manus Island. Inspired by a number of studies showing that indigenous people tend to understand and embrace science more fully when presented in the context of traditional ecological knowledge, ARM’s educational interactive kiosks enable users to select and listen to interviews about climate change and climate research taking place in their communities in their native language. More than 200 people attended the dedication ceremony, which coincided with the community’s observance of World Environment Day.
To kick off the kiosk dedication, students from selected schools marched in uniform around the open market in Lorengau where people gathered to participate in the festivities. Several students made speeches about various environmental issues specific to the island, such as revitalizing the mangrove tree population and repairing coral reefs. Speeches by local administrators highlighted the significance of the collaboration between the country of Papua New Guinea and U.S. Department of Energy to operate the ARM site on Manus Island. After a short demonstration of the kiosk on a laptop computer by ARM Education and Outreach director Andrea Maestas, the gathering then moved to the local supermarket where the kiosk will remain on permanent display. The governor of the island gave a short speech, cut the ribbon that enveloped the kiosk, and invited attendees to try it out.
Because most students were attending class during the kiosk dedication, Maestas traveled to area schools to demonstrate the interactive kiosk program. Designed to be played on classroom or personal computers, the kiosk program will be distributed on disc to interested teachers and students throughout Manus Island and Port Moresby, where the Papua New Guinea National Weather Service headquarters is located. For more information on this event and other ARM educational kiosks, see the ARM Education website.