Earth Days at the Academy of Natural Sciences (April 18, 23)

Posted on | March 31, 2009 | Comments Off

What you might not realize is that the Academy of Natural Sciences is more just a neat old building full of dead things, it is also the home of thePatrick Center for Environmental Research, one of the world’s first centers of applied ecology. So, when I tell you that the Academy has a bunch of stuff in store for you for Earth Day, it isn’t all eco-lightbulbs and recycling posters.

Here’s the lineup…

Monday, April 6 through Sunday, April 19
2 p.m. Weekdays, 2:30 p.m. Weekends. Film.
• “Ocean Odyssey.” See this beautiful film featuring rarely seen, exotic underwater sea life from around the
world.
Saturday, April 18
11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Meet Academy Scientists
• Find out what scientists learn about the health of local streams and rivers by studying fish. See the notorious
snakehead fish up close and learn how to tell a fish’s age.
• Climb aboard the shocker boat that scientists use to collect fish in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
• Examine the inside of a sediment core—one dating back 200 years—and find out how scientists use cores to
monitor pollution and climate change.
• Bring in a water sample from your local stream and have it tested for nitrogen by our chemist.
• Find out how organic chemists test fish, crabs and sediments for toxic chemicals like PCBs and DDT.
• Peer through a microscope and marvel at the diversity of diatoms, single-celled algae, collected from area
coastal streams. Diatoms are important indicators of water quality and produce some 70 percent of the oxygen
we breathe. Guess how many diatoms are in the diatom jar and win a prize!
• See how scientists interpret environmental conditions in your local watershed with the help of a high-tech
model developed for government water resource managers.
3:30 p.m. Illustrated Talk
• Doug Scott, policy director for Campaign for America’s Wilderness, presents an illustrated talk on “Our
Wilderness: America’s Common Ground.” Using gorgeous photographs of America’s wilderness from his
upcoming book, Scott will discuss the recreational, educational, economic, environmental and spiritual
value of these natural lands. He will show a short film about Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest.
Thursday, April 23
6:30 p.m. Illustrated talk
• Michael J. Bean, senior director of wildlife programs for the Environmental Defense Fund, provides an
illuminating look at some of the nation’s most endangered animals in this beautifully illustrated talk on “The
State of the Nation’s Imperiled Wildlife: An Earth Day Assessment.” Bean is the author of “The Evolution of
National Wildlife Law” and has written numerous articles on wildlife protection. This is a Cheryl Beth
Silverman Memorial Lecture.

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