A four-day public event dubbed "Ice Fest" at the University of Colorado at Boulder March 8-11 in celebration of the launch of the International Polar Year will feature talks, slideshows, films, science demonstrations and other family activities.
Sponsored by the CU-Boulder headquartered Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Ice Fest will showcase local experts as well as internationally known scientists and artists, including local filmmakers, a National Geographic photographer and a NASA astronaut. The International Polar Year, or IPY, involves thousands of scientists from 63 countries who will be spending the next 24 months on climate-related research efforts in the Arctic and Antarctica studying ice, oceans, ecosystems, the atmosphere and their links with each other.
All Ice Fest events are free except for films on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Family Day on March 10 and Make a Difference Day on March 11 at Ice Fest are designed to involve the Front Range community, said CIRES Outreach Coordinator Mark McCaffrey. Events on both days will offer opportunities for families and the community to participate in discussions, view demonstrations and interact with some of the world's top polar and climate experts, he said.
Ice Fest kicks off on Thursday, March 8, at 2 p.m. at Old Main Chapel with two of the world's top polar region photographers, Rosemarie Keough and James Balog. Keough's presentation titled "Antarctica: Passion and Obsession" will feature slides from a decade of work. She will repeat her presentation at noon on Saturday in the ATLAS building, room 102.
Keough's award-winning book, "Antarctica" -- considered by critics to be one of the best photography books on the subject -- will be on display in Norlin Library's Special Collections Department, room N345, through June 29.
Balog, a regular contributor to National Geographic magazine, has received international acclaim for his nature photography, including his stunning images from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
NASA astronaut and Antarctic researcher Don Pettit will give the keynote address for a session on Polar Perspectives on Friday, March 9, at 2 p.m. in Muenzinger Auditorium. Pettit logged 161 days in space in 2002 and 2003 aboard the International Space Station, including several spacewalks, then traveled to Antarctica in 2006 and joined a scientific expedition to hunt for meteorites.
Boulder filmmaker Michael Brown, president of the Boulder-based Serac Adventure Films, will present a talk and show at 7 p.m. on March 9 in Muenzinger Auditorium. A BBC film titled "Climate Chaos," produced by his brother, Nicolas Brown, also will be shown at the event, which is free and open to the public.
The March 10 Family Day in the ATLAS building will include activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A public welcome by CU-Boulder Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson will be followed by a 10:30 a.m. videoconference with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists based at the Point Barrow Research Outpost in Alaska conducting research along the Arctic Ocean.
There also will be polar presentations for kids, book signings by local authors and booths and activities showcasing some of the area's top polar research groups, said McCaffrey. On Saturday evening the featured film for the Ice Fest Film Series is John Carpenter's 1982 classic, "The Thing." The film will be shown at Muenzinger Auditorium at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. and admission is $5 for the general public and $4 for CU-Boulder students.
"Make a Difference Day," on Sunday, March 11, at the ATLAS building will begin with a Youth Summit from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by presentations and panel discussions on city and campus plans to tackle global warming locally. A 1 p.m. panel discussion will include meteorologist and writer Bob Henson of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, CU Environmental Center Director Dave Newport, Professor Jim White of CU-Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Lisa Dilling of the CIRES Center for Science and Technology Policy Research.
IPY research over the next two years will help focus efforts to understand recent changes in snow and ice cover and to explore connections that link changes at the pole to the global climate system, said McCaffrey. One of the largest IPY projects involves studying the health of Arctic residents, as well as their perceptions and adaptations to climate change.
Local organizations participating in Ice Fest include CIRES, INSTAAR, the CU International Film Series, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, NOAA and Raytheon Polar Services. CIRES is a joint institute of CU-Boulder and NOAA.
For a full schedule of Ice Fest events visit cires.colorado.edu/events/icefest.