"Crystals within Crystals: The Story of Sea Ice". A Classroom-Based Outreach Project Communicating Cutting-Edge Ocean Science to School Pupils

'Crystals within Crystals: The story of sea ice' is a UK based outreach project based that uses a range practical tools to engage school students with cutting edge scientific research that relates to the use of some of the world's most powerful X-rays in sea ice research. The project is delivered in the form of a classroom workshop that first introduces school pupils (aged 11-14) to seawater and the salts that give it a salinity. The pupils are then shown how the presence of salts within seawater results in very important physical changes when the liquid freezes, which includes different structural and optical properties of the ice. The properties of the ice are then linked to the presence of countless microscopic salt crystals that are trapped within the microstructure of the frozen seawater, which is explained with use of a novel crystal growth demonstration. Given that there is currently no way of successfully removing these salt crystals from the ice, the workshop culminates in explaining how some of the worlds most powerful X-rays can be used to investigate processes that otherwise remain elusive.

The workshop introduces students to the fundamental principles of scientific enquiry, the sea ice environment, and the power of X-rays in investigating the properties of crystals. Here we present information that outlines a host of practical and project management tools that are applicacble to outreach projects in the the field of ocean sciences, with the aim of seeding ideas and interest for other graduate student to enage with the public during their studies.