        
|
|
|
|
|
The American Museum of Natural History will host an International Polar Weekend from noon to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, February 2 and 3, 2008.
Sponsored by AMNH, Columbia University, Barnard College, and Wings WorldQuest, with special participation from the Norwegian Consulate and funding from the National Science Foundation, the family-style event celebrates the second season of International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008, one of the largest collaborative science programs the world has seen in 50 years.
The weekend program will include events and activities for all ages including performances, short lectures, film clips with commentary, and an interactive Polar Fair, with scientists, explorers, artists, and performers from Norway and Canada, as well as the United States.
Canadian Inuit Throat Singing
By the Inuit Cultural Performers
CANCELED; replacement performance TBD
The Inuit Cultural Performers are a group of young Inuit from Ottawa, Canada. They are very involved in promoting and preserving the Inuit culture with traditional cultural presentations including throat singing and drum dancing. Inuit throat singing is a unique type of vocalization whereby usually two people face each other and imitate sounds found in nature or of of tools, such as seagulls, geese, the wind, running water, and a saw. Drum dancers strike a handheld drum as they move to the beat in a fluid dance.
In Headwind and Tailwind: Stories from Expeditions in Antarctica and the Arctic
By Liv Arnesen, Norwegian Explorer
Learn about the importance of having a dream. At the age of 9, Arnesen dreamed of skiing to the South Poleand eventually made her dream a reality. She now uses expeditions as a metaphor and as a tool for lectures and workshops on self-management and teamwork.
Northern Lights: A Message from the Sun
By Paal Brekke, Norwegian Space Centre
What could be more beautiful on a cold winter night than catching a glimpse of the northern lights dancing across the sky? This stunning phenomenon is embedded in the mythology of many cultures and has been characterized as everything from dancing spirits to God's anger. There have been hundreds of stories and theories to explain the aurora borealis. But no one suspected a connection with the Sun until a little over a century ago. Norwegian solar physicist Paal Brekke delivers a spectacular multimedia presentation on the myths and modern science behind the northern lights.
Norwegian Sami Performers
The traditional Sami chanting tradition is referred to as "joik" and has gained wide recognition as a unique art form. These performers are some of the finest joikers in the Sami world, and will demonstrate and explain their traditions and how this vocalization developed as part of their culture.
Dramatic Changes in Polar Ice: What Happens There Matters Here
By Waleed Abdalati, NASA
From disappearing Arctic sea ice to the rapid disintegration of 10,000-year-old Antarctic ice shelves, the Earth's ice cover is changing in remarkable ways. Satellite views of the behavior of polar ice is providing important new insights into how and why ice is changing and what these changes may mean for life on Earth.
Lakes under Ice
By Michael Studinger, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Buried under miles of Antarctic ice are subglacial lakes: Lake Vostok is the size of Lake Ontario and smaller bodies are merely the size of Manhattan! More than 145 lakes have now been identified, some of which may have been covered by the vast Antarctic ice sheet for up to 25 million years. Tantalizing evidence also indicates that that unique life-supporting ecosystems may be locked within these remote environments.
The Art of Science: Schoolchildren in Siberia are Contributing to What We Know about Climate Change
By Max Holmes, Woods Hole Research Center
Through a live Skype video connection, students in the Sakha Republic, Siberia, will join this event. The students are involved in the Student Partners Project, which unites students, teachers, and scientists to study the largest arctic rivers in Russia, Canada, and Alaska. Led by Max Holmes, an associate scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center, students and teachers are learning more about the pivotal role their rivers play in the Arctic system, and scientists are obtaining samples needed to better understand the river systems. This initiative is affecting both the science and the communities, and has created a gift of artwork by the students leading to exhibitions around the world, including this Polar Weekend.
Canadian Inuit Throat Singing
By the Inuit Cultural Performers
CANCELED; replacement performance TBD
The Inuit Cultural Performers are a group of young Inuit from Ottawa, Canada. They are very involved in promoting and preserving the Inuit culture with traditional cultural presentations including throat singing and drum dancing. Inuit throat singing is a unique type of vocalization whereby usually two people face each other and imitate sounds found in nature or of of tools, such as seagulls, geese, the wind, running water, and a saw. Drum dancers strike a handheld drum as they move to the beat in a fluid dance.
In Headwind and Tailwind: Stories from Expeditions in Antarctica and the Arctic
By Liv Arnesen, Norwegian Explorer
Learn about the importance of having a dream. At the age of 9, Arnesen dreamed of skiing to the South Poleand eventually made her dream a reality. She now uses expeditions as a metaphor and as a tool for lectures and workshops on self-management and teamwork.
Northern Lights: A Message from the Sun
By Paal Brekke, Norwegian Space Centre
What could be more beautiful on a cold winter night than catching a glimpse of the northern lights dancing across the sky? This stunning phenomenon is embedded in the mythology of many cultures and has been characterized as everything from dancing spirits to God's anger. There have been hundreds of stories and theories to explain the aurora borealis. But no one suspected a connection with the Sun until a little over a century ago. Norwegian solar physicist Paal Brekke delivers a spectacular multimedia presentation on the myths and modern science behind the northern lights.
Norwegian Sami Performers
By Norwegian Sami Performers
The traditional Sami chanting tradition is referred to as "joik" and has gained wide recognition as a unique art form. These performers are some of the finest joikers in the Sami world, and will demonstrate and explain their traditions and how this vocalization developed as part of their culture.
Dramatic Changes in Polar Ice: What Happens There Matters Here
By Waleed Abdalati, NASA
From disappearing Arctic sea ice to the rapid disintegration of 10,000-year-old Antarctic ice shelves, the Earth's ice cover is changing in remarkable ways. Satellite views of the behavior of polar ice is providing important new insights into how and why ice is changing and what these changes may mean for life on Earth.
Exploring the Changing Poles
By Robin Bell, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
International Polar Years have brought nations together to study the poles for over a century. Today the poles are changing faster than any other part of our planet. During the International Polar Year 2007-2009, teams of scientists are exploring the unknown terrains beneath the two-mile-thick Antarctic ice sheet using new technologies to probe hidden lakes, rivers, and mysterious mountain ranges.
Marine Mammals: Penguins and Polar Bears
By Central Park and Bronx Zoos
Join Wildlife Theater from The Central Park Zoo for a show about two of our favorite polar opposites: penguins and polar bears! In the family-friendly "The Polar Bear and the Beat" everyone helps as the polar bear searches for his lost rhythm of life and learns that the smallest things are sometimes the most important. And in "Petunia Penguin" we go on a chilly polar expedition to learn some fun and interesting facts about the adaptations penguins use to survive the harsh habitat they call home.
The Making of Ice People: The Highs and Lows (in Fahrenheit) of Filming Extreme Science
By Anne Aghion, film director and producer
A journey to Antarctica takes a great deal of will—and what some people call "a bit of ice in the head." New York–based, Emmy-winning filmmaker Anne Aghion fulfills an old dream and embarks on a four-month shoot—including seven weeks camping in the deep field—to make a film on a hardy band of scientists and other "ice people." Aghion will show clips of her newly completed film and discuss the reality of filmmaking on the ice. Also appearing is special guest Allen A. Ashworth of North Dakota State University, who led the featured research team as they discovered groundbreaking evidence of a green Antarctica some 20 million years ago.
Global Warming and the Melting Arctic Ice
By Cecilie Mauritzen, Norwegian Meteorological Institute
The polar regions play significant roles in the rapidly changing climate system. The speaker, lead author of the IPCC Assessment Report 4, will address some of the ongoing climate research in the poles that is part of International Polar Year.
Norway-U.S. Traverse of East Antarctica
By Tom Neumann and Zoe Courville, University of Vermont
A massive, largely unexplored region, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet looms large in the global climate system, yet relatively little is known about its climate variability or the contribution it makes to sea level changes. In two research seasons, a group of Norwegian and U.S. scientists are traveling through a rarely visited part of eastern Antarctica. One of the goals of the project is to determine how this part of the continent is changing through analysis of ice cores, snow samples, and radar data collected during the traverse. In this presentation, Dr. Tom Neumann of the University of Vermont presents an overview of the project and shares photos from the first season of the traverse.
Images from the Poles: The Psychology of Environmental Decision Making
By Sabine Marx, CRED, Columbia
The Center for Research on Environmental Decisions is an interdisciplinary center studying individual and group decision making under climate uncertainty and in the face of environmental risk. Questions they consider include: How do humans respond to climate change and climate variability? How can we improve communication and the use of scientific information on climate by managers and decision-makers?
New York Students on Ice
By Milbry Polk and students
Five New York high school students were fortunate enough to visit Antarctica in December 2007 with the Students on Ice program. The students attended seminars and lectures on the history and geography of the Antarctic, its flora and fauna, and some of the many current environmental issues facing the poles: climate change, global warming, and over-fishing. Hear what these students have to say about their time on the ice.
International Polar Year 2007-2009 - What Are We Really Doing?
By the National Science Foundation
What are some of the exciting discoveries and research opportunities to come out of this IPY? The United States is collaborating on multiple science expeditions and projects in both poles. What do they hope to learn? What don't we already know?
Norway-U.S. Traverse of East Antarctica
By Tom Neumann and Zoe Courville, University of Vermont
A massive, largely unexplored region, the East Antarctic Ice Sheet looms large in the global climate system, yet relatively little is known about its climate variability or the contribution it makes to sea level changes. In two research seasons, a group of Norwegian and U.S. scientists are traveling through a rarely visited part of eastern Antarctica. One of the goals of the project is to determine how this part of the continent is changing through analysis of ice cores, snow samples, and radar data collected during the traverse. In this presentation, Dr. Tom Neumann of the University of Vermont presents an overview of the project and shares photos from the first season of the traverse.
Global Warming and the Melting Arctic Ice
By Cecilie Mauritzen, Norwegian Meteorological Institute
The polar regions play significant roles in the rapidly changing climate system. The speaker, lead author of the IPCC Assessment Report 4, will address some of the ongoing climate research in the poles that is part of International Polar Year.
Global Warming: What Can You Do?
By Peter Schlosser, Columbia Climate Center, Columbia University Earth Institute
How can each of us make a difference in the face of global warming? Research scientists from Columbia University's Earth Institute have formed the Climate Center, which will focus on issues such as this. Learn how you can help.
Living Antarctica: Filming Extreme Science... on Ice
By Anne Aghion, film director and producer
A journey to Antarctica takes a great deal of will—and what some people call "a bit of ice in the head." New York-based, award-winning filmmaker Anne Aghion fulfills an old dream and embarks on a four-month shoot in Antarctica to make a film on a hardy band of scientists and other "ice people." Aghion will show a clip of her recently completed film, and discuss the reality of filmmaking on the ice.
At the End of the Earth: How Poles, Ice, and Imagination Shape the World
By Geoffrey Brackett, Pace University
Although the worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic seem closer than ever today because of technology, information, and the awareness of the effects of global warming, these parts of the globe have long held a central place in our collective imagination. For millennia they have served as critical points of reference for philosophers, poets, scientists, and explorers of almost every land. Goeffrey Brackett, who traveled to Antarctica by ship in 2005, and to the Arctic in Alaska by motorcycle in 1987, will explore the history of the association between the polar worlds and the human imagination through famous literary texts and other works.
International Polar Year 2007-2009 - What Are We Really Doing?
By the National Science Foundation
What are some of the exciting discoveries and research opportunities to come out of this IPY? The United States is collaborating on multiple science expeditions and projects in both poles. What do they hope to learn? What don't we already know?
The interactive Polar Fair is designed for family involvement with hands-on activities and scientists demonstrating polar equipment, polar gear, and clothing. Drop by and spend an afternoon at the poles.
Lakes and Mountains under Ice? Lake Vostok and the Gamburtsev Mountains
With Robin Bell and Michael Studinger, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Uncover large lakes and mountain ranges buried under the ice. What role does each play in the past and future of Antarctic ice sheets?
Imaging the Poles
With Suzanne Carbotte, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Travel through polar terrain using 3-D imagery. With this computer modeling, you can zoom through the depths and ranges of the landscape.
Polar Landscapes in New York
With Dorothy Peteet, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and Miriam Jones, Sanpisa Sritrairat, Maia Beh, and Calder Orr, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Learn how data from the bottom of lakes, ponds, fens, bogs, and swamps has been used to get a glimpse into the environment of the Hudson Valley during the last Ice Age.
Greenland in New York? How Can That Be?
With Yuri Gorokhovich, Lehman College
What do Greenland and New York Have in common? See how the New York of today may have been the Greenland of the past.
Norwegian Sami Culture and Life in the Circumpolar Region
With special Norwegian guests
See a Norwegian Sami tent, learn about the life of a reindeer herder, and wonder about the northern lights.
Norway-U.S./ IPY Expedition
With Tom Neumann, University of Vermont
Just back from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, where he traveled as part of an international traverse, with photos and activities to share on ice coring, climate change and more.
Create Polar Art: Illustrating Polar Books
With Girl Scouts of America
Participants will illustrate polar themes on the changing climates. Art will be displayed and some will be posted online.
What Is It Like to Work at the Poles? Visit a Portable Polar Work Station—Straight from the Poles!
With Ken Hunkins, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; and Charlie Bentley, University of Wisconsin
Enter an actual portable polar workstation, examine field equipment, see an ice core being drilled, and learn what it is like to work in the poles. Talk with some scientists who have spent months in the field, some on the floating ice station ALPHA a scientific drift station during IPY 1957-1958.
Build an Igloo
By Norbert Yankielun, CRREL
How do you build an igloo? Are they really strong enough to withstand a polar bear? Let's build one!
Polar Warming and Melting
With David Holland, New York University
What do we know about sea-level change? What do we know is changing? What don't we know? And what are we doing?
Life in the Icy Waters
With Andy Juhl and Ray Sambratto, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
The polar seas seem like a hostile place to live, yet many populations of large animals thrive in this difficult environment, supported by bountiful plankton that grow in spring and summer. Learn about this delicate balance and the ways that climate change is threatening life at the poles.
What Motivates Exploration?
With Debika Shome, Center for Research on Environmental Decisions, Columbia University
What motivates exploration? Are you a risk taker? Take a psychological survey to find out if you might explore the poles some day.
Exploration and Polar History
With Milbry Polk and Wings World Quest
Was Matthew Henson the first man at the North Pole? History tells several stories. Learn about other early explorers and scientists, and about some of the women who are currently exploring the poles.
Teachers on Ice
With Lisbeth Uribe, The School at Columbia; Vanessa Miller, Central Park East II
Join these New York City teachers who have traveled to the Antarctic and find out how they stayed warm, what they learned from under the ice. What is a Flexhibit? How can you create one with your school?
ANDRILL: Drilling Back to Our Future
By Stephen Pekar, Queens College
Did you know Antarctica is way older than 36 million years? What can we find in rock cores about the history of the continent?
Penguins and Polar Bears and the tip of the Iceberg
With the Central Park and Bronx Zoos
How big is a polar bear foot? Is that the size of a penguin egg? Join the staff from the zoos for some exciting activities and games to learn all about life at the two poles.
Picturing Heat from Ice
With Malcolm LeCompte, Elizabeth City State University
See how thermal cameras can be used to image ice—even from space.
Understanding Glacier Flow
With David Braaten, Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets, Kansas University
David Braaten describes the tools and techniques he uses to understand glaciers—-particularly how they are responding to global warming.
Do You Contribute to Global Warming?
With the Earth Institute of Columbia University
Stop by and calculate your contributions to the global warming problem. What is your impact?
Public Programs are made possible, in part, by the Rita and Frits Markus Fund for Public Understanding of Science.
Water: H2O = Life is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and the Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul (www.smm.org), in collaboration with Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland; The Field Museum, Chicago; Instituto Sangari, São Paulo, Brazil; National Museum of Australia, Canberra; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; San Diego Natural History Museum; and Singapore Science Centre with PUB Singapore.
The American Museum of Natural History gratefully acknowledges the Tamarind Foundation for its leadership support of Water: H2O = Life, and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future for its assistance.
Exclusive corporate sponsor for education is 
and 
Water: H2O = Life is supported by a generous grant from
the National Science Foundation. 
The support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
is appreciated. 
The Museum extends its gratitude to the Panta Rhea Foundation, Park Foundation, and Wege Foundation for their support of the exhibition's educational programming and materials.
Tickets: 212-769-5200
Information: 212-769-5315
