Date

NSF and NASA Announce "Polar-Palooza" Tour

For further information, please go to:
http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=ma07030


The human face of the exploration of Earth's polar regions is coming to
science centers and museums across the United States. The National
Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) are sponsoring the Polar-Palooza "Stories from a
Changing Planet" tour beginning Friday, 19 October 2007, in San Diego,
California. The tour will stop in cities across the U.S. in 2007 and
2008.

NSF and NASA are funding Polar-Palooza and other education and outreach
activities as part of the International Polar Year (IPY), which began
last March and ends in March 2009. IPY focuses science and education on
Earth's remote polar regions.

The Polar-Palooza national tour features tales of science and adventure
from polar glaciologists, geologists, climate scientists,
oceanographers, biologists, and residents of the Arctic. Each tour stop
includes multimedia shows with high-definition video, school programs,
teacher workshops, and briefings for media and business leaders.

Upcoming tour dates include:
19-21 October: San Diego area - Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography Birch Aquarium, San Diego Museum of Natural
History, and other locations
22-24 October: Albuquerque - New Mexico Museum of Natural History and
Science
26-28 October: San Francisco area - Chabot Space and Science Center,
Oakland, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California,
Berkeley
8-10 November: Tampa, Florida - Museum of Science and Industry
11-13 November: Atlanta - Fernbank Science Center
15-17 November: Baton Rouge - Louisiana State University Museum of
Natural Science

Polar-Palooza is produced by Passport to Knowledge, Morristown, New
Jersey, as an integral part of IPY outreach efforts. The "Stories from a
Changing Planet" tour will continue in 2008, with events planned in
Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Philadelphia, New York, Houston, and several
other cities.

For more information about Polar-Palooza and links to the 2007 tour
schedule, please go to:
http://passporttoknowledge.com/polar-palooza/

NSF Media Advisory 07-030

Program Contact:
Peter West, NSF
Phone: 703-292-7761
E-mail: pwest [at] nsf.gov