POLAR-PALOOZA's "Stories from a Changing Planet"

POLAR-PALOOZA's "Stories from a Changing Planet" at National Geographic in Washington, DC on 13 March - 14 March, 2008 For more information, visit the website at <http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php> or contact Erna Akuginow . ********************************** Earth's Poles are changing rapidly and midway through the 4th International Polar Year (which runs from March 2007 through March 2009), there is widespread public interest in how our planet's most remote regions affect global climate. Important questions remain about how fast change will come, and how great will be the worldwide - and regional - impacts. The national POLAR-PALOOZA education and outreach project, supported by both NSF and NASA, begins its 2008 season with events at National Geographic in Washington, DC, on March 13th and 14th, in the Grosvenor Auditorium, 16th and M Streets, N.W. POLAR-PALOOZA's mission is "To Connect the Poles to the Planet", and to allow the general public and students to interact in person with researchers who have lived and worked in the Arctic and Antarctic. Three free student presentations for area youngsters take place on Thursday and Friday, and are already full. An evening presentation for the general public at 7:30 p.m. Thursday March 13th still has seats available. Please call 202.857.7700 and mention this e-mail for discounted tickets which include free parking. "Stories from a Changing Planet" is a dynamic multimedia presentation featuring new HD video from both the Arctic and Antarctic, authentic artifacts such as a section of ice core from Greenland more than 110,000 years old, along with some of America's leading polar experts: RICHARD ALLEY, glaciologist, Penn State University, and a contributor to the recent IPPC reports JACKIE RICHTER-MENGE, sea ice researcher and engineer, CRREL, and lead author of "The State of the Arctic" MIKE CASTELLINI, a marine biologist, UA Fairbanks, who has studied seals in both the North and the South RICHARD GLENN, geologist, whaling captain, and vice president of lands at the Native-owned Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, and president of BASC, the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium. Joining them for the evening presentation: WALEED ABDALATI, head of the Cryospheric Sciences Branch at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center ANDY REVKIN, environment reporter, The New York Times and author of "The North Pole was Here." Revkin will moderate the evening event and a follow-up Question and Answer session with all panelists, after which the audience will have an opportunity for informal interaction with the presenters, and to examine the artifacts, including the section of GISP ice core, up close and personal. TEACHER WORKSHOP A free workshop, targeted at middle and high school science teachers, is offered at National Geographic from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m., Thursday March 13th. Light refreshments will be served and a few places may still be available. To inquire and/or register, please see: <http://www.ngsednet.org/community/showcase_view.cfm?community_id=482&sh owcase_id=1027> The POLAR-PALOOZA tour continues in April 2008 in Norman OK, and Salt Lake City UT, before moving on to Anchorage and Fairbanks AK, and Raleigh NC, in May. All dates and additional host cities for Fall 2008 (such as Denver, Cleveland, Boise, Chicago, Richmond, Houston and more) may be found at: <http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php> DOWNLOADABLE VIDEO PODCASTS Recent videos added to the growing library of IPY podcasts include a mini-series on the Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse of East Antarctica, one of whose main goals is to provide ground truth for satellite observations. Please see THE TRAVERSE BEGINS and INTO THE HEART OF WHITENESS at: <http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp06.php>