The Polar-Palooza tour of presentations at science centers and natural history museums continues this fall with stops scheduled from coast to coast (see schedule below).

Three-day presentations in major U.S. cities feature scientists who are working in polar research, authentic props, such as a piece of ice core over 2,000 years old and fossilized wood from Antarctica, special programs for schools, and workshops for K-12 teachers. The organizers will also provide briefings for news media and business leaders.

Polar-Palooza is supported by the National Science Foundation and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and is an official International Polar Year activity.

Produced by Passport to Knowledge, the Polar-Palooza tour, called “Stories from a Changing Planet,” is patterned after an earlier project that took scientists and engineers involved in building and operating the Mars rovers to museums and science centers in many cities.

This fall’s schedule is:

October 9-12 - Salt Lake City, Utah, at the national conference of SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science)

October 22-24 - Richmond, Virginia, at the Science Museum of Virginia

November 5-7 - at College Station and Fort Worth, Texas, at Texas A& M and at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

November 11-12 - Boise, Idaho, at the Discovery Center of Idaho

November 14-15 - Denver, Colorado, at the Museum of Nature & Science

Dates are to be announced for tour stops in Houston, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri. In all, the tour has visited or will visit 25 communities. See the complete list at http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/pp04.php

 If no Polar-Palooza tour stops near you, or if you missed a scheduled stop, you’ll find much content on the project’s web site. A team of videographers accompanies expeditions to both poles. Their stories about the science and the people are available as video and audio podcasts at Media Palooza.  

The Educator’s Corner provides classroom activities, video clips that may be downloaded and used for education and outreach purposes, dozens of links to resources — everything from our own Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears to resources for polar artists – and more.