Curiosity Expo
Curiosity Expo (CX) is a science-filled weekend for the whole community, with hands-on activities led by local experts built around a single, inspiring theme. CX is included with general admission.
Climate Change // CX
February 28–March 1, 2020
For this installment of CX, investigate the impacts that climate change has on the earth. Recent wildfires, melting ice caps, extreme temperature fluctuation, and hurricane intensity have all been linked to climate change. Dive into this pressing topic through hands-on activities, lives science shows, and more. Stay tuned for updates!
Activities and experiences include:
- 350 Seattle – Imagining the Seattle Green New Deal: What does a Green New Deal look like in your community? Come imagine a future of climate justice with us! For kids, build a no-carbon transport method prototype. For adults, help decide where to invest funds to meet our carbon budget. (Saturday, Sunday)
- Center for Ecosystem Sentinels – Living with Penguins: Wildlife is telling us about the state of our planet. Learn how to listen and take action by using information from the study of sentinel species to educate scientists, the public and policy makers. (Saturday, Sunday)
- Everett Public Schools-Sequoia Sustainability Club – DIY Hydroponics: Take your plastic bottles and start your own indoor hydroponics garden—a fun way to recycle and re-use! (Friday)
- Expeditionary Art – Arctic Seabirds: Practice field sketching, learn about how receding sea ice is affecting Arctic ecosystems, and create a bird band bracelet to keep in this interdisciplinary, hands-on activity centered on an Arctic seabird. (Friday, Saturday)
- Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems – How Typical are Current Conditions?: Use networked ocean observing data as well as variables such as buoys and satellites to track oceanographic conditions and compare current and past water temperature. (Saturday, Sunday)
- Northwest Research Associates – The Influence of Polar Seas on the Global Ocean: Discover the temperature of the water deep below the surface of the ocean and what sets this temperature, as well as what is the role of the ocean in climate. (Sunday)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – STEM Ambassadors: Talk to environmental scientists and and learn about why there are different colors of water and why it matters, how to shrink your carbon footprint, and how to study toxic and harmful algae blooms through hands-on activities. (Saturday)
- Pacific Science Center – Mercer Slough – Live Streams and Net Flicks: Join high school students from the Lake Washington Watershed Internship Program for a hands on exploration of the aquatic macroinvertebrates that live in local waters, and learn how ecologists are using water bugs to monitor the impacts of climate change. (Saturday, Sunday)
- Pacific Science Center – Tinker Tank Wind Turbines: Make a wind turbine in Tinker Tank! See how much wind you can catch and how fast you can get your turbine to spin. (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
- Rowan Institute – What Kind of World Can We Build Together?: Discover what a cool, safe, and loving future for our families, homes and communities look like.
- SR3 Sealife Response, Rehab and Research – Marine Mammals: How big is whale baleen? What does it feel like? How does a sea otter keep warm? Discover the answers while learning how climate change affects local marine animals and how you can help protect them. (Saturday, Sunday)
- SR3 Sealife Response, Rehab and Research – Matching Marine Mammals: Identify marine mammals in the Salish Sea and win an Orca card! Feel a sea otters fur and hold real whale teeth! (Saturday, Sunday)
- U.S. Coast Guard – U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy: Meet crewmembers from U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy and talk about living and operating in the Arctic for months at a time, and the unique science missions Healy, biggest and most advanced U.S. icebreaker, supports each year. (Saturday, Sunday)
- UW Applied Physics Laboratory – Extreme Cold: Join Dr. Mike Steele on a tour of the Earth’s polar regions. Learn about grumpy polar bears, frozen sea water, and extremely cold nitrogen! Things will be smashed into a zillion pieces. (Saturday, Sunday)
- UW Applied Physics Laboratory – Sea Ice vs. Freshwater Ice: Feel the difference between salty ice and fresh ice. See what happens when colored dye is dropped on the ice. (Saturday, Sunday)
- UW Applied Physics Laboratory – Ocean Watchdog: Learn how Oceanographers collect long term information about ocean currents, temperature and salinity while the instruments are under the ocean surface.(Saturday, Sunday)
- UW Applied Physics Laboratory – Salinity Taste Test: Your tongue is a salinometer! Taste ocean water from around the world to see if you can tell where it’s from just by how salty it is. (Saturday, Sunday)
- UW Applied Physics Laboratory – Waves in the Arctic: As sea ice melts, ocean waves are growing in the Arctic. This activity explores the interactions of waves and ice, with a guessing game to determine wave heights. (Saturday)
- UW Applied Physics Laboratory – A Year in the Ice: The MOSAiC expedition: The MOSAiC expedition, currently underway, will spend a whole year trapped in the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean. Come learn what it’s like to be a part of the largest polar expedition in history, and what it will tell us about changing Arctic ice! (Saturday)
- UW Applied Physics Laboratory – A Glacial Pace: the Movement and Makeup of Glacier Ice: See how ice flows over land and learn about how we measure its speed and thickness. Touch bubbles in an ice core from Greenland and learn how to use bubbles to study ancient and modern climate. (Saturday, Sunday)
- UW Oceanography – Life in the Cold: From Polar Science to Outer Space: Is sea ice alive? Come get your hands wet and learn how life thrives within Arctic and Antarctic sea ice and how scientists study it. (Saturday, Sunday)
- YMCA Earth Service Corps – Carbon Emissions: What’s Your Footprint?: How much carbon do you emit? What can you do to lessen your personal carbon footprint? Join YMCA Earth Service Corps to find out! (Friday)
Climate Change // Curiosity Expo has been made possible through a partnership between PacSci and the University of Washington’s Polar Science Center and Applied Physics Laboratory. Visit psc.apl.uw.edu.
Upcoming Curiosity Expos
King County Library Reading List
Here at PacSci, we’re proud to partner with the King County Library System to develop a reading list for each of our Curiosity Expo programs. Start a conversation with your family and friends on this fascinating topic by checking out some of the books on the latest reading list. Visit your local library and then head over to PacSci to keep the conversation going!
KCLS curates this list and by clicking the Reading List webpage you are navigating to an external website.
Sponsors
Curiosity Expo is sponsored by The Boeing Company.
Airline Partner
Series Sponsors
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