Each year, University of Washington polar scientists share their work with the public during a three-day event at the Pacific Science Center. This year, the event is expanding to include broader discussions of climate change, alternative energy and cross-disciplinary efforts that combine science with other disciplines.
The event, “Curiosity Days: Climate Change,” takes place March 1-3.
Kristin Laidre, a researcher in the UW’s Polar Science Center and faculty member in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, will give a Saturday evening talk titled “Climate change: Impacts on Arctic ecosystems and Indigenous communities.” Laidre’s studies of Arctic marine mammals recently included analysis of the perspective of polar bear subsistence hunters in East Greenland.
Earlier Saturday is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between a Capitol Hill dance company and a UW climate scientist. In “Conversations,” 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 Ethan Campbell, a UW 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 UW 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 Polar Science Weekend, which has been held annually since 2006.
###