Spring 2008

Volume 23

NCAR Hosts Wild Earth featuring the Dirt Day Challenge!

Students, teachers, and families are invited to Boulder’s biggest Earth Day Festival celebrating our magnificent Earth and our interaction with it! This action-packed day of hands-on environmental education and outdoor adventure takes place on Saturday, April 19, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at NCAR’s Mesa Lab, 1850 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder. In addition to NCAR/UCAR, the event is hosted by Wild Bear Center for Nature Discovery and the Boulder Adventure Film Festival.

In celebration of Earth Day, NCAR opens its doors and grounds for a day of fun under the sun for all ages. Inside the Mesa Lab, visitors can engage in live animal presentations, deepen your understanding of climate change, dig in the dirt and plant seeds, and participate in hands on activities presented by numerous environmental stewardship organizations.

In the outdoor plaza, bake cookies in solar ovens, experience renewable energy demonstrations from biodiesel to solar electric, hoop dance to the Wild Okapi Marimba Band, and attempt the action-packed Dirt Day Challenge coordinated by the Boulder Adventure Film Festival. The sports challenge is meant to encourage outdoor recreation through sustainable, human powered fun and is great for both children and adults.

The Challenge pushes your mind and body to the limit with four stations including the Climbing Challenge, Pack Trot (a timed trail run with 15% of your body weight in a pro-fitted pack), Balance Challenge, and Fly Casting. Pros in each category are on site for free all-day sport clinics and gear demos. Prizes are presented in all age categories. Dirt Challenge footage of participants will be presented on the silver screen at the Boulder Adventure Film Festival.

Wild Earth featuring the Dirt Day Challenge is sponsored by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), the Daily Camera, Patagonia, and Friends of UCAR. KGMH (Channel 7) is the official media sponsor of Wild Earth featuring the Dirt Day Challenge.

For more information, call (303) 258-7092 x242 or to sign up for the Dirt Day Challenge.

Project BudBurst: Citizen Science for all Seasons

This spring, people across the nation will join us in collecting important climate change data on the timing of leafing and flowering of trees and flowers through Project BudBurst, a Windows to the Universe event! This national citizen science field campaign targets native tree and flower species across the country. By recording the timing of the leafing and flowering of native species each year, scientists can learn about the prevailing climatic characteristics in a region over time.

With your help, we will be compiling valuable environmental information that can be compared to historical records to illustrate the effects of climate change. Project BudBurst is ideal for teachers and students, families interested in participating in a science project, scouts and 4-H groups, gardening clubs, botanical gardens….anyone or any group with an interest in contributing to a socially and scientifically relevant research study. Find all the information you need to participate on the web at Project BudBurst.

Special Sale at the NCAR Science Store!

The NCAR Science Store is offering a 50% discount on all VHS educational tapes (retail prices from $10.95 to $19.95)! Educational discounts are offered on all other products at the Science Store as well!

The Science Store is located at NCAR’s Mesa Lab, 1850 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder and is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please call the Science Store at (720) 304-8670 or email Heidi Lewis