In May 2008, ASTC issued a call for science centers to submit earth science-related activities to be featured in a special calendar celebrating the American Geological Institute’s Earth Science Week (ESW). One of the submissions would be chosen as a featured activity of the month.
United States Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, 18th District, Miami, has teamed up with Xavier Cortada, artist-in-residence at Florida’s Miami Science Museum, to participate in the Native Flags installation. Previously, IGLO has publicized Cortada’s work because of the shared goals of raising climate-change awareness. So enthused by this urban reforestation project that aims to help restore native species, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen has written to fellow members of Congress urging them to partner with science centers and plant a native tree and a flag specially designed by Cortada. In addition to Native Flags expanding in the U.S. beyond Miami, Cortada is traveling to the North Pole and will display a flag upon his arrival on June 30. This event will kick off Native Flags on a global level - citizens worldwide are encouraged to plant indigenous trees as well as a flag. Institutions that have been contacted by their local congressmen should e-mail iglo@astc.org with any questions they may, or if they would like information on how to approach elected officials about participating in Native Flags. To learn more about the installation, please visit www.xaviercortada.com. For a copy of Rep. Ros-Lehtinen’s letter, click here.
Eleven leatherback turtles are swimming through the Pacific Ocean towards the International Date Line. The Great Turtle Race kicked off today with competitors starting off from either the coast of California or Jamusrba-Madi, Indonesia. Each turtle has a sponsoring organization and is tagged for tracking and research. During the next two weeks, leatherbacks swimming east will head to their foraging grounds in the Pacific; those swimming west will move towards their nesting beaches in Indonesia. Over the past decade, the once-thriving population of leatherbacks has dwindled by 95% due to human pressures. The survival of this species of sea turtle is particularly dependent on its environment and thus makes it especially susceptible to the effects of global warming. For example, warmer water temperatures have led to an increase in the female turtle population. In its second year of existence, the Great Turtle Race aims to bring media attention to the plight of this endangered species, engage the general public in discussion about the issue, and invite donations from concerned citizens. The funds raised will be used to protect the turtles’ nesting areas and protect them in the water. Event details, educational background on the leatherbacks and global warming, and a full listing of sponsors and other supporting organizations, including IGLO partner NOAA, are available online at the race web site. A video and other climate change-related news can be found on Andrew Revkin’s blog, Dot Earth. Revkin is involved with Polar-Palooza and was a speaker at the ASTC 2008 Annual Conference.
The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF), in partnership with The Weather Channel, is proud to launch Classroom Earth, a program designed to enhance and strengthen environmental education in high school classrooms nationwide. Classroom Earth will enrich the high school curriculum by encouraging the inclusion of environmental education into all high school subjects - from biology to art - and make it easier for teachers to access best practices online. If students are to be ready to address complex environmental issues, schools need access to the information and tools that let students know what’s going on and how they can protect the environment at home, at school, and in their community.
Classroom Earth is starting off by reaching out to teachers through the National High School Competition, which offers them the opportunity to secure as much as $5,000 to $10,000 in funding to bring innovative environmental themes into students’ coursework and incorporate more environmental education into teaching overall. Grants are open to teachers of 9th-12th grades in a
The National Museum Wales is working in partnership with science centres across the world to tackle climate change. To help continue promoting IGLO’s recently completed Albedo Experiment, families were invited to take part in Polar Fun! workshops during the Whitsun Holidays from May 28 to June 1, 2008. Visitors will learn to hunt like polar bears and find out why polar ice helps to keep our planet cool through a phenomenon called
The workshops are fully booked with 400 participants. Activities being performed include those downloaded from the IGLO Toolkit such as polar bear racing - a practical demonstration using a heat lamp, white sun hats, and sunglasses to emphasize the albedo effect. Polar bears and masks also will be created, conveying messages to promote energy efficiency and mitigate climate change. To learn more about Polar Fun! and the National Museum Wales, please visit the museum web site.
During May 15-24, 2008, science centers worldwide hosted students who created large spots out of available white material for the Albedo Experiment. This event was developed through a partnership between NASA and IGLO, and its goal was to teach the importance of the albedo effect, the phenomenon by which Earth's climate is regulated through the the polar ice caps reflection of the sun's rays. NASA satellites flew overhead, measuring the reflectivity of these student-created mock "ice caps" and photographing them. The Albedo Experiment was well-received by the media, garnering attention in every continent through print and online publications as well as radio and television.
Participating institutions included: Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia; Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, Peoria, Illinois; Technopolis, Mechelen, Belgium; Henri Bergson High School, Paris, France; Heureka, Vantaa, Finland; MadaTech, Haifa, Israel; Singapore Science Center, Singapore; Techniquest, Cardiff, Wales; Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Dayton, Ohio; Norwegian Museum of Science & Technology, Oslo, Norway; Questacon, Canberra, Australia; Teknikens Hus, Lulea, Sweden; New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science, Albuquerque, New Mexico; National Museum of Science and Technology, Stockholm, Sweden; Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, Trento, Italy; Discovery Science and Outdoor Center, Ocala, Florida; and Monash Science Centre, Monash, Australia. On June 9, NAUSICAA, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France will host an event as part of the World Ocean Network's World Ocean Week closing ceremony.
These institutions involved also staged their own program of events to support the Albedo Experiment. Activities included demonstrations activities (available in the IGLO Toolkit) and presentations given by polar scientists. To learn more about this event, please check IGLO Newsletter Archive, or send an e-mail to iglo@astc.org. Final results and remarks on the project's successes will be given during a session at the 5th Science Centre World Congress in Toronto on June 16.
