March 5, 2009
Wintery blast launches fourth annual Polar Science Weekend
Right on cue, Seattle delivered snow for the opening day of this year’s Polar Science Weekend. The white stuff, however, didn’t deter the school kids from lining up before the doors even opened at 10 a.m.
About 20,000 people — kids, teachers and parents — attended the event sponsored by Pacific Science Center and the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory. UW faculty and graduate students from Earth and space sciences, aquatic and fishery sciences, and oceanography also helped with the booths and demonstrations, as did a number of non-campus groups.
Lead organizer Harry Stern, a mathematician with the Applied Physics Laboratory, said kids particularly like the interactive nature of many of the exhibits. There were, for example, chances to explore a hut fitted out to withstand the bitter cold, try on cold weather gear and pull a sled.
“These and other activities show that science is not confined to the laboratory, and can even be fun,” Stern said.
Tag(s): Applied Physics Laboratory • Polar Science Weekend
