WASHINGTON – The human face of the exploration of Earth’s polar regions is coming to science centers and museums across the United States. NASA and the National Science Foundation are sponsoring the Polar-Palooza “Stories from a Changing Planet” tour beginning Oct. 19 in San Diego. The tour will stop in cities across the country in 2007 and 2008.
NASA and the National Science Foundation are funding Polar-Palooza and other education and outreach activities as part of the International Polar Year, which began last March and ends in March 2009. The International Polar Year focuses science and education on Earth’s remote polar regions.
The Polar-Palooza national tour features tales of science and adventure from polar glaciologists, geologists, climate scientists, oceanographers, biologists and residents of the Arctic. Each tour stop includes multimedia shows with high-definition video, school programs, teacher workshops and briefings for media and business leaders.
Upcoming tour dates include:
– Oct. 19-21: San Diego area – Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Birch Aquarium, San Diego Museum of Natural History and other locations
– Oct. 26-28: San Francisco area – Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley
– Oct. 22-24: Albuquerque – New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
– Nov. 8-10: Tampa, Fla. – Museum of Science and Industry
– Nov. 11-13: Atlanta – Fernbank Science Center
– Nov. 15-17: Baton Rouge – Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science
Polar-Palooza is produced by Passport to Knowledge, Morristown, N.J., as an integral part of the International Polar Year outreach efforts. The “Stories from a Changing Planet” tour will continue in 2008 with events planned in Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Philadelphia, New York, Houston and several other cities. For more information about Polar-Palooza and links to the 2007 tour schedule, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/IPY/snow/PolarPalooza.html
