The event, “,” takes place March 1-3.

, a researcher in the UW’s Polar Science Center and faculty member in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, will聽 give a Saturday evening talk titled “.” Laidre’s studies of Arctic marine mammals recently included analysis of the perspective of in East Greenland.

Earlier Saturday is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between a Capitol Hill dance company and a 91探花climate scientist. In “,” starting outside Seattle Center’s Cornish Playhouse at 11 a.m. and finishing 12:45 p.m. at Pacific Science Center, 3rd Shift Dance will move throughout Seattle Center, performing a piece inspired by discussions between the choreographers and , a 91探花graduate student in oceanography who studies climate change in the ocean surrounding Antarctica.

The weekend lineup also will include the components that made Polar Science Weekend a perennial favorite: hands-on exhibits, live demonstrations and presentations by the people who explore the Arctic and Antarctic environments. Individual exhibits focus on penguins and polar bears, a U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, environment-themed video games created by 91探花students, and a look at the robots that explore underneath ice shelves.

New this year are more exhibits that explain climate change and explore options for alternative energy, with even a chance to build your own windmill blade. The exhibits are geared toward all ages; children can get a passport and collect 10 stamps to win a prize.

The activities are included with regular admission to the science center, which is discounted by 10 percent this weekend to anyone who presents a Husky ID card. Saturday evening’s lecture requires a separate ticket for nonmembers. The event builds on the popularity of , which has been held annually since 2006.

###

This year’s lineup includes a simulation from NASA of its new . Visitors can get scanned by an instrument above their head that measures a person’s height using an infrared distance sensor. The real ICESat-2 satellite, scheduled for launch in 2018, will map the Earth’s ice surfaces to very high precision, from space.

During the weekend visitors can talk to 91探花experts about Arctic sea ice, which this winter set new record lows for winter extent. They can try on historic polar explorers’ gear and a modern survival suit, and touch real polar bear fur. Other stations will display projects studying Antarctic ice and oceans.

“At Polar Science Weekend, visitors can talk to real scientists who study some of the most remote and inhospitable places on Earth, to learn what they’re doing and why it’s important,” said organizer , a scientist at the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory.

91探花undergraduate students in oceanography and fisheries classes will complete a science communication training run by the science center before helping with the event.

As in other years, the weekend will include a science stage with presentations by 91探花scientists, polar shows on the 6-foot-diameter Science on a Sphere and screenings of the IMAX film “To The Arctic 3D.”

Polar Science Weekend is included with museum admission. The exhibits will be open Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The event is a partnership between Pacific Science Center and the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory and .

###

For more information, contact Stern at 206-543-7253 or hstern@uw.edu.

The 9th annual celebration of snow and ice, organized by museum and the UW’s , features 91探花glaciologists, biologists and climate experts. But it also brings in other community members, including local artists, photographers and zookeepers who focus on polar environments.

This year’s event is Friday, March 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Kids and adults can explore interactive exhibits about everything from Arctic whales to sliding glaciers, and see an actual Greenland ice core. They can meet 91探花researchers who study life on ice, from penguins to microbes, meet an artist who paints polar expeditions, and check out scientific instruments that measure conditions at the poles.

New activities this year include a display on waves in the Arctic Ocean featuring 91探花oceanographer , a mock North Pacific field camp with 91探花anthropologist , and a display on Greenland sharks created by 91探花fisheries undergraduate Garrett Knoll.

Visitors can make an origami penguin, take a salinity taste test, pull a sled like an old-time polar explorer, and visit a mock Arctic ice camp to see the equipment and try on clothing that modern researchers wear to withstand the cold.

A passport encourages kids to collect stamps from the different stations.

The live science stage will host a presentation on polar bears by Heather Detwiler of that includes a chance to touch polar bear fur, see a model skull and learn how to help polar animals. Other performances include 91探花oceanographer , who will explain the physics of freezing, and Seattle photographer , who will describe the daily routine of working with the U.S. Antarctic Program.

An ongoing exhibit, “Investigating Arctic Ice Melt,” based on the work of Applied Physics Laboratory researchers , , and , will be on display throughout the weekend.

The IMAX Theater will, of course, be playing and . Even the museum’s planetarium will be focused on polar skies.

Polar Science Weekend is included with regular museum admission. The event is supported by the Applied Physics Laboratory and its , the UW’s , and the College of the Environment through the UW’s .

###

• Included with admission price
• Thurs./Fri.: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• Sat./Sun.: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Would-be Arctic explorers of all ages can stoke their imaginations 鈥� and meet their real-life counterparts 鈥� Thursday through Sunday (Feb. 28-March 3) at the 8^th annual organized jointly by the 91探花Applied Physics Laboratory and Pacific Science Center.

Visitors will have a chance to peek inside tents used in polar research camps, don a cold-weather survival suit, learn about ice cores and participate in an ice-smashing demonstration. A new exhibit this year is “Sea Ice Thickness: Making Sense of the Chaos.” Returning favorites include “Narwhal Mysteries,” “Salinity Taste Test” and “Glacier Flow.”

In addition to the Applied Physics Laboratory, other 91探花units including oceanography, atmospheric sciences, Earth and space sciences and biology all will be represented, as will agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is the fourth year NASA has funded Polar Science Weekend, which is included with regular museum admission.

A “Passport to the Poles” encourages kids to collect a stamp from each station. Visitors of all ages can attend presentations on polar bears, penguins and Arctic climate, and take part in hands-on activities such as building an igloo or operating an infrared camera that is used to explore the surface of Mars and other planets.

While the focus is on science, there is also an arts component. Local photographer Chris Linder, who accompanies scientific expeditions, will be giving a slide show and autographing copies of his book . Local artist , who depicts polar landscapes and wildlife, will present her work at the event just before setting off for Greenland on a research expedition with , a biologist with the Applied Physics Laboratory.

This weekend the IMAX Theater will be showing and .

To help 91探花student and faculty presenters prepare for the event, Pacific Science Center staff held two 2-hour workshops that introduced basic concepts and techniques of science communication, and provided practice in engaging audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

“Science communication is an increasingly important skill for scientists to have, so this event is good training for students,” said lead organizer , senior mathematician with the Applied Physics Laboratory.

91探花museology graduate students will collect data about visitors鈥� experiences, and for the first time 91探花Photography Club members will be taking photos.

A returning exhibit, “Investigating Arctic Ice Melt,” based on the work of Applied Physics Laboratory researchers , , and will be on display through August in the “Portal to Current Research” area.

Pacific Science Center was among five institutions recognized in November with the Institute of Museum and Library Services鈥� highest honor for community service and outreach. The citation noted the Seattle museum鈥檚 ability to connect scientists with the general public, a direction that Dennis Schatz, vice president for strategic programs, said began in 2006 with the first successful polar-science collaboration.

Grab the kids and head for , March 1 to 4, at Pacific Science Center for these activities and . Sponsored by the 91探花s and the science center, fifteen of this year’s 40 exhibits are new.

Live presentations will include the popular聽 “Extreme Cold” with liquid nitrogen as a prop.

Led by researchers at APL’s Polar Science Center, the event also includes scientists and students from units across campus, including oceanography and atmospheric sciences, as well as polar experts from organizations such as the US Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“Scientists always enjoy talking about their research, but at Polar Science Weekend they have to distill the essence of it into a short, easy-to-understand, engaging message that’s still accurate,” said , senior mathematician with the Applied Physics Laboratory and lead organizer of the event. “It’s a fun challenge.聽 Also, it’s very gratifying to see the interest that the visitors take in the scientists’ work.聽 People really do want to know how scientists do science and what they’re finding.”

Pacific Science Center lends a hand by offering scientists designing new exhibits a science-communications short course. Prior to this year’s event, 15 scientists and graduate students learned how to design and present engaging hands-on activities to illustrate their research.

Hours for the event March 1 and 2 are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and those are the days when 1,600 public school students, mainly from middle schools, will attend. In this time of cutbacks in school activities such as field trips, the Applied Physics Laboratory has NASA funding to provide free admission and transportation for 1,000 of the students, Stern said.

Hours March 3 and 4 will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Being launched Monday, in time for Polar Science Weekend and continuing for three months, the Pacific Science Center’s “Portal to Current Research” will feature “Investigating Arctic Ice Melt” based on the work of Applied Physics Laboratory researchers , and . The portal is in Building 2.

This is the seventh annual Polar Science Weekend led by UW, the first was in 2006.

That first event has led not only to an ongoing relationship between the Applied Physics Laboratory and Pacific Science Center, but to the development of an idea for a “portal to the public” effort at the center, said Dennis Schatz, senior vice president for strategic programs at Pacific Science Center. “It’s become part of our strategic plans. It [Polar Science Weekend] really was the kick off to a major program.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETgXiuBbuGg&feature=player_embedded

A hundred scientists and engineers have developed displays and volunteered to be on hand during this years sponsored by the 91探花s and .

With live presentations and 40 exhibit and activity stations, Polar Science Weekend March 3-6 offers families and school children opportunities to learn about the extreme environments of the Arctic and Antarctic from the polar experts who work there.

And it offers scientists and engineers a chance to learn how to tell the public what they do, according to Harry Stern, senior mathematician with the Applied Physics Laboratory, and leader of the event.

“During Polar Science Weekend, visitors get to talk to real scientists who are doing the research that is being displayed,鈥� Stern says.聽 “This is not about pushing buttons on an automated exhibit 鈥� its live scientists and engineers who are taking time to talk to visitors and show what they do. Many are graduate students from departments like Earth & Space Sciences and the School of Oceanography.

“They are learning that public outreach can be a normal and fun part of being a scientist.鈥�

range from constructing your own Arctic Ocean and measuring how much light reflects off the ice and water, to finding out how to become a penguin scientist, 聽to learning to be a polar detective and determine how many bearded seals are in the Arctic.

Presentations on the Live Science Stage will include “Extreme Cold鈥� with demos that involve a little liquid nitrogen and “Keep it Cool for Polar Bears鈥� about how the bears are ideally suited to their Arctic home.

Hours for the event March 3 and 4 are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m,. and those are the days numerous public school children, mainly middle schoolers, will attend. Hours March 5 and 6 are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

This is the sixth year the Applied Physics Laboratory has conducted Polar Science Weekend. There are so many new exhibits that Pacific Science Center has provided more room this year. Along with scientists and engineers from the UW, other organizations taking part include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, 聽Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Explorations in Math and two independent artists.

Polar Science Weekend is funded with a grant from NASA.

Hands-on exhibits, 91探花polar experts and a bit of imagination will transport you and your family to the extreme environments of the Arctic and Antarctica later this month during Polar Science Weekend at Pacific Science Center.

The event, presented by the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory in partnership with the science center, offers a chance to forage like a tusked narwhal whale, don a hooded cold-weather parka, get a feel for camping on the ice and learn about the latest polar research being conducted by the 91探花and other Pacific Northwest scientists. Hours Feb. 25 and 26 are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Feb. 27 and 28, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click for a schedule.

Behind the scenes, scientists who are experts at interpreting data and writing journal articles about such things as ice-albedo feedback and laser measurements of ice thickness are this year becoming experts at interpreting their work for the general public. Thanks to a NASA grant, more than a dozen scientists and graduate students, mostly from the UW, have been taking Pacific Science Center workshops on communicating with the public and designing effective exhibits.

This Saturday researchers crafting exhibits for Polar Science Weekend will test their prototypes on teenagers from the center’s Discovery Corps program and then have time to make adjustment before the main event, according to Harry Stern, a mathematician with the 91探花Applied Physics Laboratory, who is lead organizer of Polar Science Weekend and principal investigator on the NASA grant.

The grant for more than half a million dollars over three years funds the workshops, the development of 10 new hands-on activities created by the scientists as well as a more long-term exhibit on polar research.

“Participants are learning how to reach elementary and middle school children, one focus of Polar Science Weekend,” Stern says. “But we also want to reach older students and adults. There are a lot of intelligent adults who just may not have thought much about the polar regions.”

Also as part of the feedback process for the event, which has been held each year since 2006, 91探花graduate students studying museology — the design and organization of museums — will be formally evaluating the exhibits and making suggestions.

After the event, the best three activities that don’t require full-time staffing will be chosen for further testing in coming months. That will lead to a single, month-long interactive exhibit at Pacific Science Center starting in December or January. This allows the public another month to become acquainted with polar research by 91探花and other local scientists, in addition to the Polar Science Weekend itself, Stern says.

Last year Polar Science Weekend exhibits were presented by more than 30 researchers and graduate students from the UW’s APL, oceanography, Earth and space sciences, aquatic and fishery sciences, as well as off-campus participants from such places as the U.S. Coast Guard.

Right on cue, Seattle delivered snow for the opening day of this year’s Polar Science Weekend. The white stuff, however, didn’t deter the school kids from lining up before the doors even opened at 10 a.m.

About 20,000 people — kids, teachers and parents —聽attended the event sponsored by Pacific Science Center and the UW鈥檚 Applied Physics Laboratory. 91探花faculty and graduate students from Earth and space sciences, aquatic and fishery sciences, and oceanography also helped with the booths and demonstrations, as did a number of non-campus groups.

Lead organizer Harry Stern, a mathematician with the Applied Physics Laboratory, said kids particularly like the interactive nature of many of the exhibits. There were, for example, chances to explore a hut fitted out to withstand the bitter cold, try on cold weather gear and pull a sled.

“These and other activities show that science is not confined to the laboratory, and can even be fun,” Stern said.

Marking the end of International Polar Year, the chair of the eight-nation council that is assessing the implications of increased shipping in the Arctic Ocean will give a lecture on campus Thursday, Feb. 26. The talk coincides with the kickoff of the fourth annual Polar Science Weekend, Feb. 26 to March 1, sponsored by the 91探花Applied Physics Laboratory and Pacific Science Center.

Polar Science Weekend involves four days of activities at the science center downtown including a chance to explore a replica of an Arctic Ocean research station with cold-weather hut and gear, build an igloo, learn about polar bears and learn how scientists retrieve a string of scientific instruments 2 1/2 miles long from below the Arctic ice pack. The event involves more than 30 researchers and graduate students from the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, oceanography, Earth and space sciences, aquatic and fishery sciences, as well as off-campus participants from the U.S. Coast Guard, Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, and several renowned local photographers and artists.

for a schedule of Polar Science Weekend. Hours and admission prices for Pacific Science Center are found .

“The idea behind Polar Science Weekend,” says Harry Stern, a polar researcher with the Applied Physics Laboratory and organizer of this year’s event, “Is to bring students, teachers and families face-to-face with scientists to learn firsthand about the polar regions in a fun and informal setting. It’s always a good time.”

The lecture by Lawson Brigham on campus Feb. 26 concerns the challenges of globalization and climate change — it is likely that more of the Arctic will be ice free for more of the year in the future — in that region. The area, for example, holds a large storehouse of untapped natural resources such as oil, gas and minerals that will be more readily accessible if there is less ice cover.

This and other changes in the region will “require historic levels of close cooperation among the Arctic states and broad engagement with many non-Arctic stakeholders and actors within the global maritime industry,” says about the talk.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be at 7 p.m. in 210 Kane Hall. It is sponsored by the Applied Physics Laboratory, the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, the Canadian Studies Center and the Center for Global Studies in the Jackson School.

Smash ice, turn your tongue into a salinometer to experience how saltiness differs in the world’s oceans, explore an igloo and field camp, predict polar climate, dive into the world of oceanographic moorings and get your hands on real scientific instruments during the third annual Polar Science Weekend today through Sunday at Pacific Science Center.

The event involves more than 30 91探花researchers, graduate students and staff members, mainly from the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory. Meant to appeal to all ages, the event is primarily aimed at families, teachers and students.

Last year some 11,000 persons attended Polar Science Weekend, more than double the number who took part the first year, according to Dick Moritz, principal oceanographer with the Applied Physics Laboratory. He and Ellen Lettvin, assistant director at the lab, are the 91探花organizers of the event being done in partnership with the Pacific Science Center.

New this year is the chance to talk with Carl Kippi, a native resident of Barrow, Alaska, who was the subject of a short film shown at the Sundance Film Festival about teaching his son to hunt on the ice and also the opportunity to hear about 91探花research using audio recordings to study marine mammals in the Arctic and Antarctica. New exhibits include photos of polar bears by Matthew Felton and collages depicting polar exploration by Rik van Glintenkamp.

For a complete schedule see .

“This is outreach where we provide current science and try to make it more active and interesting by having real experts there to explain the exhibits,” Moritz says. With a record-breaking loss of sea ice in the Arctic last year, scientists will be helping the public understand the connections between global warming and some of the changes being seen in the polar regions.

Along with helping organize this event, Moritz and Lettvin were recently asked to serve on an advisory group for Pacific Science Center’s new “Portal to the Public,” a National Science Foundation-funded effort to get scientists in other areas of research in contact with the general public.