Association of Science - Technology Centers

At Science Centers

Earth Day Educator Forum at Koshland Science Museum

In conjunction with Earth Day, the Koshland Science Museum, Washington, DC, will host an interactive forum for educators on Monday, April 21 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. called Climate Change, Microbes, and Disease. Teachers will meet with researchers to learn about current research on climate change and disease that can be used to support the teaching of diversity and ecology. They will receive free resources about microbes and climate change that can be used for lesson planning.

Speakers include: Dr. Richard Lazarus, J.D., Professor of Law and Faculty Director, Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown Law Center and Dr. Donna Sterling, PhD, Professor, Director, Center of Restructuring Education in Science and Technology, George Mason University.

For questions and to RSVP call Nagla Fetouh at 202-334-1201 or email ksm@nas.edu.

Exhibit Museum of Natural History Presents Science at the Poles

From January through April 2008, the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States, will celebrate International Polar Year (IPY) with a museum theme semester, Science at the Poles. Activities include lectures, Science Cafes, family programs, workshops. An exhibit called Antarctica's Climate Secrets: One Teacher's Story will be on display from January 18 through April in the fourth floor Temporary Gallery. In addition to educating participants about the importance of IPY, this program highlights UM polar research and invites experts to share their findings from these remote parts of the planet. To learn more about Science at the Poles, please visit the Museum web site.

Climate Change Program at Arizona Science Center

In August, the Arizona Science Center (ASC) hosted its second annual Global Awareness Day, which kicked off a series of events intended to educate visitors about the many ways they can make a positive contribution toward maintaining a healthy environment. Topics this year included %u201CThe Recycling Game,%u201D ecological footprinting, a green product expo, and making recycled paper at home.

Events such as lectures and demonstrations will continue monthly through April 2008 and are free to the public. ASC activities will support and promote IGLO events and has linked to our web site. Details on how to do can be found here.

On December 15, ASC will host a Recycling Day dedicated to educating visitors on what can and cannot be recycled; how to reduce, recycle, and reuse; and how each individual ecological footprint compares to other visitors. March 22, 2008, is SRP Solar Weekend, an entire weekend dedicated to exploring how the sun impacts our bodies, local plant life, and current/future technology. Finally, on April 22, Arizona Science Center joins the nation in celebrating Earth Day 2008. For more information on these events, visit the ASC web site.

Albuquerque Celebrates Polar-Palooza in October

Polar-Palooza is national education and outreach program funded by the National Science Foundation that will bring polar researchers to about 25 cities across the nation during the next year. This month Polar-Palooza Albuquerque will feature educational events at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and local partner institutions such as Explora, the University of New Mexico's Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, and the Albuquerque Biological Park. Activities will include a short talk every Tuesday-Thursday, evening lectures by local research scientists currently studying the poles, Family Days for homeschool families and the general public, and a teacher workshop. To see an event schedule, please visit the museum web site.

Antarctica Events at MTN Sciencentre

IGLO participant MTN Sciencentre in Cape Town, South Africa is hosting a number of events this summer in observance of the IPY. In addition to testing the DECIDE game on global warming for use in Africa, MTN has a variety of free events for the public during the month of June. Included are a screening of the film, "The Endurance of Antarctica," about Sir Ernest Shackleton's trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-17; a talk by Dr. Pierre Cilliers about climate studies at the South African National Antarctic Expedition Base; and a rare opportunity to tour the SA Agulhas, a research vessel used by South African polar scientists.

Museo Tridentino de Scienze Naturali links IPY Exhibition to IGLO

Museo Tridentino de Scienze Naturali in Trento, Italy has requested the  patronage of IGLO for its new exhibition, "Pole Position - Adventure in the Ice to the Ends of the Earth." Organized in observance of the International Polar Year, the exhibition will travel throughout Italy and the Mediterranean region, considered one of the "hot spots" of global climate change. Interactive exhibits, multimedia presentations, science corners and a discovery room will allow visitors to explore Polar ecosystems and learn how their daily behavior can alter the delicate balance of these habitats. The Museums and Science Centers of Genoa, Naples, Trento, Turin, Milan, Tunis and Alexandria have already joined the project and will host the exhibition between Autumn 2007 and Winter 2009. The exhibition and related activities will carry the IGLO logo, and IGLO director Walter Staveloz has been invited to serve on the exhibition's scientific committee.

Danville Science Center Presentation on Global Warming

How much do humans contribute to global warming? Is global warming a real problem? What are greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide gas concentrations? How are they related to a warming atmosphere? How does a warming atmosphere impact earth's oceans, weather, and climate? Visitors to the Danville Science Center can find out when Danville Community College Instructor Joel Gregory puts these issues together in his presentation, Global Warming at the Danville Science Center on June 25 at 7 p.m.

IGLO/IPY Programs at New York Hall of Science

On July 8, the New York Hall of Science brings produce to the people with its new, science-themed Farmers' Market. The market will feature fresh, locally-grown produce from regional farmers and live science demonstrations related to nutrition, biology and ecology. The market will be open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The world's first "Veggie Check" will allow visitors to park their purchases while they explore the museum's many exhibitions and programs. The Farmers' Market will allow visitors to buy locally-grown fruits and vegetables, reducing the distance their food travels and conserving the fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases. Visitors can learn more about climate change by checking out the museum's giant In The News Board, pictured here.

Sciencenter Reduces its Carbon Footprint

In February, the Sciencenter in Ithaca, NY, switched to 100% wind-generated power to meet the museum's electricity needs. The move was announced to celebrate the beginning of the IPY and Sciencenter's participation in IGLO. The museum's purchase of 250,000 kilowatt-hours of wind-generated electricity will eliminate more than 160 tons of carbon dioxide that would otherwise go into the atmosphere. This CO2 reduction is equivalent to planting 22,000 trees or not driving 280,000 miles every year.  The 100% clean, renewable wind-generated energy is supplied to the Sciencenter through a partnership between the utility NYSEG and Community Energy, Inc.

IGLO Programs at Lawrence Hall of Science

Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, CA has developed several IGLO programs. In the coming school year, LHS will offer programs for San Francisco Bay Area schools. The LHS GEMS project (Great Explorations in Math and Science) produced a Teacher Guide called "Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect" for use with grades 7-10. A link to LHS' Global Systems Science (GSS) integrated science course for high school students is now in the IGLO toolkit in the "other resources" section. GSS has a total of nine student books, teacher guides, and Interpreting Digital Images software. Each book deals with a societal issue that requires science for full understanding. Several of the books pertain to Global Warming. Finally, Lawrence Hall of Science is one of the host sites for a Polar Palooza event, "Stories from a Changing Planet," on October 26 and October 28. The program includes personal presentations by leading polar researchers and Arctic residents. Lively performances will be augmented by High Definition Video taped on location at the Poles and authentic artifacts such as ice cores and parkas.

Science North

Our Canadian colleagues at Science North (Sudbury, Ontario) invite visitors to explore the fascinating worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic in a special exhibition: Ends of the Earth: From Polar Bears to Penguins. The exhibit, created to coincide with the International Polar Year, features interactive and artifact-based exhibits and multimedia experiences. Visitors will discover the unique nature of the Earth's polar regions, the current science being undertaken there, and how these regions are indicators of climate change on our planet.  They can also learn about animal and human adaptations to the polar climates and participate in hands-on activities in the Polar Bear Lab and Penguin Lab. Kids can even walk and slide like a penguin! The exhibition is open until September 3, 2007 at Science North and then embarks on a five-year North American tour. The first stop will be the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, opening October 25, 2007. In creating Ends of the Earth, Science North has also developed and produced a number of polar bear exhibits and has installed them at the Polar Bear Habitat in Cochrane, Ontario.

Explora Science and Art Center's Global Warming Conference

Explora Science and Art Center, Panama's interactive children's museum, celebrated "Museums International Day" on May 16 with a conference on Global Warming. 150 students between the ages of 5 and 12 and their teachers participated in this IGLO event.

mission:CLIMATE Wins AAM's MUSE Award

The Swedish Museum of Natural History is a recipient of the American Association of Museums' 2007 MUSE Award for its exhibit, mission:CLIMATE. The exhibit consists of a large-format film, "Eye of the Storm," and a learning system based on the "aMuze Interactive Knowledge Card System" designed by aMuze AB. The film, shown in a specially built theater and featuring multiple projectors, high resolution visuals, surround sound, wind machines and lighting effects, gives visitors a visceral experience of the the effects of climate change. It is also included on individual "Climate Cards," CDs visitors can purchase and take home. The Climate Cards allow visitors to learn about weather, paleontology, climate change effects, and more at nine stations throughout the exhibit. Visitors choose topics according  to their interests and can then further explore them by inserting the CD in their own computers to access personalized climate web sites based on their choices. Together, the film and Climate Cards add up to a powerful and memorable museum experience that can be continued at home or at school.

Live From the Poles

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has partnered with eight science and natural history museums to bring the stories of IPY science to a national audience. During four scientific expeditions to the polar regions, a professional photographer and science writer will chronicle the process of conducting scientific fieldwork "on the ice" through stunning still photographs, insightful written essays, podcast audio interviews, and video clips posted to the educational Polar Discovery website. In addition, at select times during the expeditions, the media team will place satellite phone calls to the partner museums so that the public can ask the science team questions in real time. The eight museums involved are the Birch Aquarium at Scripps (San Diego), Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh), Houston Museum of Natural Science, Liberty Science Center (Jersey City), Museum of Science, Boston, Pacific Science Center (Seattle), Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC), and The Field Museum (Chicago). The first expedition will be from April 18-28, 2007, to the North Pole Environmental Observatory.

Aurora Australis at Questacon

During the IPY, visitors to Questacon can view the exhibition, "Aurora Australis: Extraordinary Visions of Antarctica."  The exhibition, on loan from the Australian Government Antarctic Division, is a collection of images of Antarctic life and landscape.

Questacon's climateXchange

Questacon, Australia's National Science and Technology Centre, is working with science centers and other organizations across Australia, the Asia Pacific Region and the world to develop climateXchange, a project designed to raise awareness of climate change by focusing on local impacts. Part of the IGLO initiative, climateXchange features a web site with stories, pictures, and video illustrating climate change around the world.

MTN Sciencentre's IPY & IGLO Activities

MTN Sciencentre in Cape Town, South Africa will host IPY/IGLO activities throughout the IPY. Coming up in April, Dr. Guy Midgley of the South African National Biodiversity Institute Kirstenbosch Research Centre will give a talk, "Sense and nonsense in the global greenhouse." He offers an explanation of why sensible policies are needed to prevent and adapt to climate change.

Pacific Science Center's PacSci-doku

The Pacific Science Center has adapted the popular Sudoku number puzzle as a word game that conveys science information. A recent example was part of Pac Sci's Polar Science Weekend.

Boonshoft Museum Celebrates IPY

The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio kicks-off International Polar Year on February 25 & 26, 2007. Museum guests will get a chance to experience life on ice and learn more about global climate change during this two-day event. A presentation in the EcoTREK theater will inform visitors about the animals that live at the poles and just how they do it. Hands-on activities and experiments about the properties of ice and water will be offered in the DoLab, including "Cutting the Ice", making a Blubber Glove to see how it protects against the cold, and making snow and ice cream. The public is also invited to be interviewed for the taping of the Museum's documentary, Public Views: Climate Change.

 

Conversations on Climate Change at ScienceWorks

ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum in Ashland Oregon is hosting a series of lectures, Conversations on Climate Change, this spring. The lectures are designed to correspond to IGLO and IPY goals. Visit the museum's website for a complete listing of events.  

London Natural History Museum

In July 2007, the Natural History Museum in London will conduct the second annual Climate Change: Student Summit (CC:SS 2007).  The Climate Change Accord from the first summit in July 2006 can be accessed at the site.  The Accord presents the resolutions adopted by the more than 500 student delegates, primarily 17-18 year olds and including more than 60 students representing 18 countries, as well as delegates from the UK drawn from 39 different schools.

In four days of proceedings, delegates heard keynote speeches from Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor to HM Government, on the science of climate change; Jonathon Porritt CBE addressing the question, Is the international community doing enough?; Ian Pearson, MP, the UK Government Minister for Climate Change, on what the UK is doing; and Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London, discussing the effects of climate change on cities and what that means for climate conscious citizenship.   Individual and panel contributions from leading experts in climate science, global development and the economics of carbon trading led to intensive discussions and the formulation of motions regarding mitigation of climate change.  The report summarizes the results of the delegates' voting on these motions. The objective is to draw the attention of international political leaders at all levels of government, to the concerns of the student delegates and their expectations of worldwide policy makers.

Discussion Series at Adler Planetarium

The Adler Planetarium in Chicago recently completed a series of forum discussions regarding climate change, funded by a grant from NASA Earth Explorers Institute. The series included four forums leading up to a final symposium focused specifically on the policy issues impacting global warming. Questions for discussion were:

1. Do you think that global warming is an issue that can and should be addressed?
2. What are the priority issues that need to be addressed at this level?
3. Who at this level can do what? What incentive is needed or required?
4. Do you think it is possible to address the problem at this level AND positively contribute to the economy? Are you willing to take a short-term increase in energy & fuel costs to help address it?
5. Who do you think your recommendations should go to?

Letters from each of the discussion groups to policy leaders will be sent out under the newly formed non-profit organization, The Chicago Council for Science & Technology and will appear on the Adler Planetarium Web site.

Exploratorium Kicks Off IPY With Live Webcasts

The Exploratorium kicked off the International Polar Year with live webcasts from the South Pole and a series of webcasts on climate change and polar science in November and December 2006. A major focus of IPY research is to study past and present climate at the poles.

Over the past few decades, scientists say, the earth's poles have experienced twice the rate of warming as the rest of the earth. From ice and sediment coring to studying changes in ocean circulation from the equator to the Poles, scientists are working to understand how and why the Poles are affected so dramatically by global climate change.

Webcast programs originating from the Exploratorium and streaming live on the Web, featured climate scientists, authors, and Exploratorium senior scientists demonstrating and discussing the work being done to understand climate change, the impact of global warming on people and the environment, and ways individuals can get involved. Guests included Chris Mooney, author of The Republican War on Science and an upcoming book, Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics and the Battle Over Global Warming and Robert DeConto, earth scientist on the ANDRILL sediment coring project in Antarctica.


San Diego Natural History Museum

The San Diego Natural History Museum is offering a series of provocative and thoughtful discussions with leading experts on climate change. Special attention will be paid to the possible impacts on southern California, bringing local relevance to this global issue. The series if offered in partnership with the San Diego Foundation and Understanding Climate Change, LTD, and admission is free. The series begins on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 with a lecture by Dan Cavan, Ph.D., of Scripps Institute of Oceanography on the possible impacts of climate change on California's water supply, hydroelectric power supply, agriculture, recreation, and ecosystems.

Sila

The Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada, has developed Sila, a bilingual (French-English) web site about climate change named for the Inuktitut word meaning "climate and all things that surround us." The educator's section of the site features programs and activities about climate change in the Canadian arctic for students in grades 7-12.

Science on a Sphere

Science on a Sphere uses computers and video projectors to display animated data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration onto the outside of a sphere. Programs include Temperature Response to Increased Atmospheric CO2, Historical Sea Surface Temperatures, and Weather Prediction Models. Currently, Science on a Sphere is being used at Maryland Science Center, The Tech Museum of Innovation, Science Museum of Minnesota, National Maritime Center, Bishop Museum, and NASA Goddard Visitors Center.

Breakthroughs

Exhibit developer Karen de Seve, Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, New Jersey, is traveling aboard the Healy, a Coast Guard research ship in the Bering Sea.  Working with the ship's scientists, she is gathering film footage and information for Breakthroughs, an upcoming exhibition. Accounts of her journey, interviews with the ship's scientists, and information about the Healy and the science team's research can be found on her blog.

Northeast Science Center Collaborative

The Northeast Science Center Collaborative helps its science center members to present current climate change research to their audiences. Current programs include Meet the Scientist, a professional development program where museum educators meet with scientists to discuss the latest research findings, and a Speaking Series that helps bring climate experts to science centers for public lectures. The collaborative also develops teaching tools and curriculum kits, including a Climate Change Backpack filled with experiments, an imitation ice core, and a climate change play.

Global Warming Facts and Our Future

Global Warming Facts and Our Future, an exhibition at the Marian Koshland Science Museum, Washington, DC, uses hands-on displays to present current information on global warming and how it will affect our lives.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research and the UCAR Office of Programs

The National Center for Atmospheric Research and the UCAR Office of Education and Outreach web site contains a wide array of resources on weather and climate change. The site's Education and Outreach page includes resources for teachers and a Kids' Crossing section filled with climate information, games, and activities.

Go Polar! Cool Science in the Arctic

Go Polar! Cool Science in the Arctic, a partnership between EdVenture Children's Museum, Columbia, South Carolina, and the South Carolina Honors College, is a program series designed to quickly disseminate the results of on-going Arctic research to young children and their families. Activities include presentations from scientists studying the polar regions, opportunities for community schools to display Arctic art at the museum, and Arctic Weekends that offered visitors an opportunity to conduct water-related experiments.