NORMAN – Why should people in Oklahoma care about the poles? How can thousand-year old ice from the Arctic and Antarctic help us understand Earth’s future climate? Who are today’s polar explorers, and why do they risk frostbite and crevasses to study some of the most extreme conditions on the planet? Answers to these questions and more will be found at Polar-Palooza, an education and outreach project made possible by the National Science Foundation and NASA that will be visiting the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History in Norman for a one-night-only presentation at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22. The presentation will be free and open to the public.
“Stories From a Changing Planet” is a lively multi-media presentation that will feature the people who know the poles best – ice researchers, geologists, oceanographers, climate scientists, biologists and Arctic residents. This group of experts are on a national tour, visiting science centers and natural history museums across the country. The SNOMNH is the only institution in the region that will be hosting this special event. In addition to their high-energy public presentation designed for general audiences, the team will engage in a series of special sessions for K-12 teachers, students, and community leaders.
Polar-Palooza scientists will be held a workshop for 50 fourth- through 12th grade teachers at the museum from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22. There is a $10 registration fee that includes all materials and lunch. Registration information is available by calling the museum education department at (405) 325-4712. The workshop will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis and advance registration is required.
Members of the Polar-Palooza team also will conduct programs for elementary school students from local schools the morning of Monday, April 21. This interactive program will help students understand the importance of the poles and learn more about the work of the scientists who study them.
The “Stories from a Changing Planet” public presentation on Tuesday evening features original High-Definition video clips, and authentic polar artifacts – such as a section of Antarctic ice core more than 2,000 years old – along with personal anecdotes and engaging stories from some of America’s leading researchers. Together with facts about the amazing adaptations made by penguins, polar bears, seals and fish to freezing temperatures, audiences will hear tales of human daring and cultural innovation which have allowed Alaskan Natives to survive for centuries, and permit today’s Antarctic researchers to live and work at the South Pole and America’s two other bases.
“The poles have been very much in the public consciousness lately because of concerns about global warming,” said museum director Ellen Censky. “The Polar-Palooza event is a wonderful opportunity for the public to learn more about the work that scientists are doing at the poles and what they mean to the rest of the globe. The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is honored to be one of the museums nation-wide to be hosting this exciting and entertaining program.”
Polar-Palooza is a part of the scientific programs taking place around the International Polar Year, a large scientific program focused on the Arctic and the Antarctic from March 2007 to March 2009. This IPY, organized through the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organization, is actually the fourth polar year, following those in 1882-3, 1932-3, and 1957-8. In order to have full and equal coverage of both the Arctic and the Antarctic, IPY 2007-8 covers two full annual cycles from March 2007 to March 2009 and will involve more than 200 projects, with thousands of scientists from over 60 nations examining a wide range of physical, biological and social research topics. It also is an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate, follow, and get involved with, cutting edge science in real-time.
The Polar-Palooza project includes online videos, with a growing library of lively podcasts accessible from the project website, as well as NSF’s and NASA’s special IPY sites: http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza
Extensive online resources will continue to appear on this site throughout the IPY years, including video and audio podcasts, blogs, real-time interactions when and where possible, the latest data from the field, animations from NASA, and amazing sounds and images of sea, ice, land, animals and people. Teachers can find simple-to-implement hands-on activities for use in school, home or science center. Youngsters can download video and sound to re-mix and (coming soon!) submit to a podcast contest judged both on scientific accuracy and innovative production values. Of course, Polar-Palooza also links to other IPY sites and resources, and other podcasts, wikis, and projects.
The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History is located on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus. Additional information about this and other programs at the museum is available by calling (405) 325-4712, or online at www.snomnh.ou.edu.
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Linda Coldwell
Public Relations and Marketing Officer
Sam Noble Oklahoma
Museum of Natural History
(405) 325-0598
