ur memories.
This exhibit is made possible by a grant from The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Investigating Arctic Ice Melt February-September, 2015
Narwhals, polar suits and buoys, oh my! Come explore our new exhibit, Investigating Arctic Ice Melt, and see how sea ice moves, how oceans are like layer cakes and where narwhals go for the winter. Featuring research from five University of Washington scientists out of the Polar Science Center, Investigating Arctic Ice Melt uses pieces of complementary Arctic research to answer the question – what is going on with Arctic ice melt? Explore how wind affects sea ice and how light reflects off it – and how this impacts our climate. Are you as tall as a narwhal’s tooth? Come find out, at Investigating Arctic Ice Melt
Meet the Scientists
Kristin Laidre – Kristin studies the movements of narwhals and polar bears in the Arctic, two species that call the ice their home. How is the changing ice landscape affecting these creatures? Kristin is working to find out.
Bonnie Light – Bonnie studies the physics and optics of sea ice – how the bright summer sun affects ice formation and movement, which in turn affects the atmosphere. Being able to answer these questions will give us more accurate predictions of future climate.
Ignatius Rigor – Ignatius studies Arctic sea ice, one of the primary indicators of global climate change. The ice waxes and wanes, driven by variations in sunlight and temperature. Changes in wind also play an important role by redistributing the ice across the Arctic Ocean, creating areas of open water, and by compressing this ice into ridges. Making sense of the complex interplay between the air, ocean and sea ice is a challenging puzzle that motivates his research.
Axel Schweiger – Axel studies the interaction of sea ice with clouds and radiation using satellite data, models and in-situ observations. Axel hopes his work will help lessen the negative impacts of our actions on the environment by developing better models that illustrate the risks of not addressing climate change.
Mike Steele – Mike is interested in the large-scale circulation of sea ice and water in the Arctic Ocean and loves making new discoveries that will change the world around us. Focusing on the effects of ice retreat and ocean warming, Mike hopes to answer how much of this is due to currents, and how much is caused by climate change.
Memory: Past Meets Present Sept. 20, 2014-Feb. 16, 2015 What did you do yesterday? What do you remember from last year? What memories guide your decisions and actions today? How do we remember? Why do we forget? Learn all about the science of memory in our exhibit Memory: Past Meets Present. We are able to learn because we are able to remember. We learn abstract facts, we learn new skills, and we learn from experience. Our memory—our memories—make us and shape us. But what have we learned so far about the three-pound organ in our heads that makes this all possible? Come and learn how we have gone from looking at the brain and neurons to looking at chemical and electrical pathways. Then trick your brain with two of our memory demonstrations. Learn how distance changes what you see and what you remember. Then explore how our brains remember faces – can you remember who you saw? This exhibit series is funded by a grant from The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Exploring Our Solar System With Local NASA Scientists September 2013-Februray 2014 This exhibition features the research of UW’s Erika Harnett and the Space Science Institute’s Josh Bandfield. These researchers’ vastly different work may someday lead to the exploration of Mars. Erika looks at Solar Storms while Josh uses Infrared images to map the moon and Mars. Meet The Scientists Josh Bandfield – “I’ve been interested in science pretty much forever. After high school, I was living with my parents and going to a community college. So here I am, college freshman, and all the classes are full – except geology. And it turned out that geology is pretty much the most awesome thing ever. I realized that the people stu