Below is a message from Gary Braasch and photo gallery from the grand opening of the Nature Research Center and The Daily Planet at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, April 20-21, 2012, Raleigh NC:

I want to bring in this great example of informal science and climate education — the new Nature Research Center wing of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.  Director Betsy Bennett and Center director Meg Lowman (of “Canopy Meg” tropical forest fame) have magnificently brought active science, art, photography, the skills of museum architects & designers, sounds, and even food and drink together into an immersive and engaging learning experience.  My portfolio of images from the opening of the Center last week is now up at  http://www.braaschphotography.com/NCmuseum/index.htm The museum website is http://naturalsciences.org/

Also my app  Painting With Time: Climate Change is now available for iPhones as well as the iPad.  We added a slight charge so we could do more with the app and give half the proceeds to Union of Concerned Scientists.  Link to the app on Apple Store is  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/painting-time-climate-change/id519699889?mt=8 We are very interested in making this platform more useful to educators and welcome ideas and examples of how it is being used.

(Raleigh)—Nature never sleeps, so the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will open its new wing, the Nature Research Center (NRC), with a 24-hour grand opening beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20. This celebration is expected to attract 50,000 visitors and capture global imagination, national recognition and local attention, while maintaining a commitment to environmental sustainability. The 80,000-square-foot expansion includes several green features including LED lights from CREE, a green roof to reduce runoff, water collection in cisterns and photovoltaic panels. Invitees include Governor Beverly Perdue, Legislative leaders, NRC supporters, visionaries in sustainability, and “rock stars” in science like Mark Moffett, Jane Goodall and Paul Rose. To prepare for the grand opening of the new wing, the Museum will be closed Sunday, April 8 through 5 p.m. April 20.

A dazzling display of lights, roving street performers, musicians and internationally known scientists will greet visitors as we publicly throw the doors open to the Nature Research Center unlocking “how we know what we know” to the public, who will discover science in a whole new dimension.

Education will play a starring role in all activities – from global town halls in the SECU Daily Planet on diverse topics such as health, sustainability and forestry – to programming about leading edge research before visitors enter. Of course, once inside, visitors will be immersed in interactive science and technology exhibits and have the opportunity to perform science activities in our investigate labs and explore research collections in our high-tech Naturalist Center with interactive touch tables. They will even experience what it feels like to ride inside a submersible 2,000 feet below the ocean’s surface and predict the weather in the WRAL Storm Central exhibit.

4 p.m. Pre-show and Procession

Friday, April 20

Visitors can listen to the smooth sounds of the Shaw University Jazz Band directed by Charles Brown beginning at 4 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., a procession from the Governor’s mansion begins with dancers from the African-American Dance Ensemble, the Paperhand Puppets and International Focus of Raleigh, 25 local international groups dressed in native costumes, led by Sir Walter Raleigh.

5 p.m. Opening Ceremony

Actor Ira David Wood III and Chuck Davis, founder of the African-American Dance Ensemble, will officiate the opening ceremony. Waters collected from rivers, oceans and lakes around the world will be brought to the stage to symbolize the global nature of the Nature Research Center and acknowledge the life-giving waters of planet Earth. Specially commissioned vessels created by Seagrove clay artists and a single large pottery font created by Mark Hewitt will be used to connect culture with nature during the ceremony.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the doors of the Nature Research Center will open with the cutting of a native plant and flower bower across the doors of the new wing. Following the opening ceremony the Nature Research Center will be open for tours around the clock. Walk-throughs will continue through the evening, overnight hours and into the next day until 4 pm on Saturday, April 21. The entrance will be through the main doors on Jones Street with visitors exiting over the skyway bridge that crosses Salisbury Street into the main Museum building. Exhibit areas will be open and staffed to provide an interactive experience and an array of activities to enjoy. The 24-hour celebration concludes at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 21 with a citizen science charge led by Dr. “Canopy” Meg Lowman, Director of the Nature Research Center inviting visitors to personally engage with science by connecting to one of a myriad of citizen science opportunities.

NRC Highlights

SECU Daily Planet

The SECU Daily Planet is a three-story multimedia program area that employs unique audio and visual technologies. Visitors can view images of the natural world from 40 by 40 foot screen from all three stories. They can also listen to presentations from researchers as they talk about their current research.

Exploring the Deep Sea

Visitors can get inside a model submersible and take a virtual tour 2,000 feet below the ocean’s surface and hear about scientists talk about their research on deep-water corals.

Window on Animal Health

Visitors can watch and interact with scientists, veterinarians and pre-veterinary students conducting animal handling, animal checkups and minor surgeries. There will be an audio and visual component to this lab which gives the public opportunities to ask questions, meet the veterinary services staff and learn about veterinary medicine. An example of this is a recent exploratory surgery to remove a mass from a Gecko.

Investigate Labs

There will be three Investigate Labs (Biodiversity, Science Modeling, Micro-world) where visitors can work alongside scientists in hands-on research.

Meet the Scientist

Visitors will also have the opportunity to talk to researchers in special areas around the NRC as these scientists conduct research on climate change, population movements around the globe, meteorites or looking into deep space.

Citizen Science Center

Visitors can learn how to become a citizen scientist on a number of very interesting projects like bird-banding, observing chimpanzee behavior, or the “School of Ants” project that identifies thousands of unknown ant species in and around North Carolina.

Daily Planet Café

Visitors can eat, relax and engage in conversation at the NRC’s street-side café and talk to scientists in an informal setting about their area of research. In many ways this café will be like a sports bar for science.

WRAL Researching Weather Platform

This exhibit uses real artifacts, instruments and data to research and predict weather. An interactive area will let visitors see how rockets, weather balloons, thermometers and wind/water gauges to provide a glimpse of what real-time weather is like in several different locations throughout the western hemisphere as well as access to these locations via a webcam.

WRAL Storm Central

Visitors can track a hurricane or predict tomorrow’s weather and compare their prediction to WRAL Meteorologist, Greg Fishel’s based on information from the National Weather Service, maps, and Doppler radar technology. They can even determine how cloudy it will be, if the wind will be blowing, or whether there will be any precipitation.

Prairie Ridge

There will be activities at the Museum’s field station, Prairie Ridge Ecostation, during the 24-hour grand opening of the NRC. Family-friendly outdoor citizen science projects will be held on the hour on Friday, April 20 from 8 to 11 p.m. (frog calls and moths) and on Saturday, April 21 from 7 to 10 a.m. (bird banding) and noon to 3 p.m. (reptiles & amphibians and bird nests). Prairie Ridge Ecostation is located at 4301 Reedy Creek Road in Raleigh.

Partners

Burt’s Bees—April 20 is also Earth Day, so once again, the Museum has partnered with Burt’s Bees to present Planet Earth Celebration in conjunction with our 24-hour opening. This is the fourth year that the Museum has joined forces with Burt’s Bees to put on this earth-friendly celebration and provide awareness and education to the public about more sustainable living. The Burt’s Bees Tent sale will also be on site at the 24-hour opening providing 70 percent off many of their all natural health and beauty products.

NASA—Visitors can hear from retired astronaut, Dr. John Grunsfeld at the opening ceremony. Grunsfeld logged over 58 days in space on five shuttle missions, including 58 hours and 30 minutes of spacewalk time. He also visited Hubble three times, performing a total of eight spacewalks to service and upgrade the observatory. Currently, Dr. Grunsfeld is the Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. He now oversees all planetary missions as well as the Hubble and (future) Webb telescopes. The Museum is pleased to pleased to partner with NASA for the 24-hour grand opening continuing a more than decade long relationship.

North Carolina Science Festival—The grand opening of the Nature Research Center is a signature event of the North Carolina Science Festival. The annual Triangle Science and Engineering Expo features hands-on activities and demonstrations for the science enthusiast. On April 20 from 4 to 11 p.m. at the new wing’s grand opening, you can celebrate science with more than 30 Expo exhibitors, including Triangle STEM organizations, universities and local scientists. To find more events near you, visit www.ncsciencefestival.org.

Volunteers Still Needed

Two thousand volunteers are needed to help make the Museum’s 24-hour celebration a success. To volunteer go to www.naturalsciences.org/form/NRCopening or contact Tullie Johnson at tullie.johnson@ncdenr.gov or 919.733.7450, ext. 605. For more information, contact Emelia.Cowans@ncdenr.gov or call 919-733-7450, ext. 305 or Jonathan.Pishney@ncdenr.gov or 919-733-7450, ext. 304. For a full schedule of events visit www.naturalsciences.org/programs-events/events/schedule

From prweb.com:

“Raleigh’s New World” highlights 24 Days of Deals and a Trip to the Amazon in celebration of the opening of The Nature Research Center, an innovative 80,000-square-foot wing of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This new museum will bring research scientists and their work into the public eye. The 24-hour opening celebration begins at 5:00 p.m. on April 20, 2012.

Read the full article

Tree Foundation teamed up with leading global research and acadmeic instituions to launch a collaborative research project on the impact of climate change on Lake Tana and the Blue Nile region in Ethiopia. The project will, specifically, investigate The impact of climate driven water variability on three political economies, namely; rain-fed agriculture, irrigated agriculture and hydro power generation.

The research team consists of experts drawn from social and natural science disciplines working at University of Connecticut(UCONN), University of Nebraska-Lincholn (UNL), University of Edinbrough (UEDO), University of Denver (DU), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA/NSSL), Oklhanoma State University (OU), Addis Ababa University (AAU), Boston University (BU), Korea Economic Institute(KEI) and United States Geological Survey (USGS). The project has already been preselected by NSF/PIRE and submisison of full proposal invited.

Along this line,the first workshop was held from March 12-13 at UCONN, Storrs, CT to refine research methodlogy, set project proposal deadline and duration of the project. Following an engaging discussion and cross fertilization of ideas, the workshop was concluded reaching to a consunsus to meet the May 2012 proposal submission deadline. If the project is approved, the 5 year project will commence in 2014 and researchers will start data collection in summer season of the same year.

In these global research partnership scientists as well as students get involved and expected to gain considerable expriential learning and implement their findings to develop regorous policy support tool that is helpful in improving the livlihood and wellbing of the communities in the Blue Nile area.

Tree Foundation has already launched “Saving Ethiopian Orthodox Church Forests Project” in the prposed project area and welcomes this global collaborative research partnership and seizes the opportunity to fulfill its mission in the area of Research, Education and exploration.

By Worku Mulat, PhD, Tree Foundation Research Associate

Become a citizen scientist! In the Summer of 2012 you can join CanopyMeg in the Amazon, uncovering the secrets of the forest canopy. Itinerary includes 8 days in the Amazon and an optional 4 days in Maccu Picchu. For more information, contact Dr. Frances Gatz (logistics coordinator) at frances@ee-link.net

PROGRAM FEATURES
“This is a non-stop workshop full of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”

Unique, active, and fun! This expedition is an eye-opening introduction to the environmental and cultural aspects of the Amazon Rainforest and river system in the Amazon basin of Northern Peru. The program is safe, comfortable, and accessible, offering the opportunity for many intercultural interactions, plus science and service field experiences:

• Work side-by-side with scientists on research in of one of the most biologically diverse environments on the planet.
• Ascend over 115 feet on a 1/4-mile Rainforest Canopy Walkway, one of the few of its kind in the New World.
• Interact with indigenous people and see how they use the forest for medicine, food, and shelter.
• Contribute to a Community Service Project to benefit people who live in a village along the Amazon River.
• Use hand lenses, binoculars, maps, taxonomic keys for identification, and simple field equipment with the help of our experienced Naturalist Guides to learn about:

• Insect Camouflage & Mimicry
• Neotropical Butterflies
• Rainforest Canopy Research
• Reptiles and Amphibians
• Medicinal Plants
• Orchids & Bromeliads
• Amazon River System
• Neotropical Birds & Migration

PROGRAM FEATURES
“This is a non-stop workshop full of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”

Unique, active, and fun! This expedition is an eye-opening introduction to the environmental and cultural aspects of the Amazon Rainforest and river system in the Amazon basin of Northern Peru. The program is safe, comfortable, and accessible, offering the opportunity for many intercultural interactions, plus science and service field experiences:

• Work side-by-side with scientists on research in of one of the most biologically diverse environments on the planet.
• Ascend over 115 feet on a 1/4-mile Rainforest Canopy Walkway, one of the few of its kind in the New World.
• Interact with indigenous people and see how they use the forest for medicine, food, and shelter.
• Contribute to a Community Service Project to benefit people who live in a village along the Amazon River.
• Use hand lenses, binoculars, maps, taxonomic keys for identification, and simple field equipment with the help of our experienced Naturalist Guides to learn about:
  • Insect Camouflage & Mimicry
  • Neotropical Butterflies
  • Rainforest Canopy Research
  • Reptiles and Amphibians
  • Medicinal Plants
  • Orchids & Bromeliads
  • Amazon River System
  • Neotropical Birds & Migration

From Talks@ATREE:

Speaker: Dr. Margaret D. Lowman
Date: January 28, 2011
Time: 4 pm
Venue: ATREE Auditorium in Bangalore, India
Title: UN Year of the Forest – inspiring new stakeholders to reverse deforestation

Abstract:
Rates of tropical deforestation continue to accelerate, and yet the United Nations has declared 2011 as the International Year of the Forest. Our conventional mechanisms of conservation have not been effective over the past several decades, so new and innovative solutions to reverse forest degradation are required. As a canopy biologist with over 30 years of experience, I discuss ways to leverage research and education outreach for conservation purposes. First, partnerships with non-traditional stakeholders are an emerging mechanism for success i.e., religious leaders, corporate and business partners, and engaging women in science are illustrated by case studies. Second, the inclusion of education and broader science communication as an essential component of my research – in particular the involvement of children as future stakeholders and increasing use of social media – have proven effective. The field of canopy science, with its creative toolkit of walkways and ropes that also foster ecotourism, can enhance forest conservation through the integration of economics and ecology to a growing diversity of stakeholders.

Affiliation:
Dr. Lowman is the Director of the Nature Research Centre at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Professor at North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC. She also serves as Vice President of The Explorers Club; Vice President of the Ecological Society of America; Executive Director of Florida’s TREE Foundation; and Cluster Chair for the Sarasota Economic Development Corporation.

LAST CHANCE to join Canopymeg on the Orinoco River, where she is leading a trip jointly for the Smithsonian Institution/Explorers Club. Below is information about the trip:

Download (PDF, 753.26KB)

TROPICAL TREE CLIMBING

Amazon Tree Climbing Expedition – 7 Days/6 Nights

Jan. 16th- 22nd 2011

­Come join us into the rooftop of world’s largest forest!

Have a passion for nature? Have desire for adventure? Looking for that next exotic getaway out of the norm? Then we welcome you to become part of our Amazon Tree Climbing Expedition.

Drift the rivers, wander the trails, explore the canopy.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to explore, adventure and ascend into some of that last truly wild places on earth.
For more information-
http://www.tropicaltreeclimbing.com
or
contact – Tim Kovar with New Tribe / Tree Climbing Northwest -
email: treekster@mac.com

ESA Press Release:

ESA Ecology and Education Summit to address environmental literacy

Nationally recognized conference will explore progress in science and environmental education

The Ecology and Education Summit “Environmental Literacy for a Sustainable World” will be held October 14-15, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Co-organized by the Ecological Society of America (ESA) and National Education Association (NEA), the event is sponsored by federal agencies, foundations, societies and associations and being held in collaboration with more than 20 national organizations and over 30 individuals. The summit brings together educators, scientists and policy professionals from a wide variety of sectors—including academia, business, agriculture, government, the health industry and the media—to focus on environmental education and opportunities for progress.

“Environmental literacy is essential for creating a sustainable society,” said Meg Lowman, ESA Vice President for Education and Diversity, and Summit co-chair. “As we move into a technologically advanced future, our understanding of Earth’s systems and how humans play into those systems is increasingly vital—the more we know about Earth processes, the better prepared we will be for environmental changes and future resource management.”

Environmental literacy is concerned with the ability to understand ecological, biological and physical systems, as they connect with human systems, and with environmental decision making. The Ecology and Education Summit is moving toward a Decadal Action Plan for environmental literacy outlining immediate next steps and long term goals.

“The Summit will engage educators and experts from a wide range of fields to generate ideas and collaboration and to lay out a specific plan for developing a green workforce and society,” said Carolyn Breedlove, Manager of NEA’s Green Across America, and Summit co-chair. “We have designed interactive strategies to foster discussion and promote creative action.”

The Summit will also feature two keynote speakers, five panel discussions, two breakout sessions and an evening reception on October 14 featuring a poster session, interactive displays and exhibits. In his Keynote Address “Eyewitness to Global Warming,” Will Steger—the National Geographic Society’s first Explorer-in-Residence—will recount his personal experiences observing the effects of global climate change. Will Allen—former professional basketball player, urban farmer and “hero” in the 2010 edition of Time Magazine’s 100 World’s Most Influential People—will talk about the current state of the urban agricultural movement in his Keynote Address “Growing Food and Community in the City.”

Other topics in the Summit include:

• Learning about Complexity and Change: New Foundations for Environmental Literacy
• Turning the Tide: Building a Green Society through Learning and Doing
• Seeing our World Inside and Out: Harnessing New Technologies for Environmental Literacy
• Fostering Lifelong Learning Skills: Empowering Best Practices in Effective Teaching and
• Learning
• Expanding Funding, Strengthening Public Policy
• Environmental Literacy for All

The Ecology and Education Summit agenda is available at http://www.esa.org/eesummit/content/summit-agenda. The Summit is sponsored by the Ecological Society of America, National Education Association, National Science Foundation, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Environmental Education Foundation, Tree Foundation, National Geographic and Green Mountain Digital.

Contact: Katie Kline
katie@esa.org
202-833-8773 x211
Ecological Society of America