Posted by: Julia Swan
The Burke is preparing to host almost 40 climatologists, documentary filmmakers, and photographers next week. No, we’re not gearing up for a major conference or convention—we are actually waiting for the arrival of middle and high school students, passionate about the environment, who will attend two great new summer programs: Climate Quest (for high school) and The Last Polar Bear Summer Camp (for middle school).
Climate Quest students will take a University of Washington science and policy class on climate change and produce mini-documentary films capturing their ideas and solutions. Program highlights include taking a field trip to the Cedar River Watershed to meet climate scientists, participating in a live videoconference with Climate Quest students at Western Washington University, and sharing their videos on a national website for youth, www.climatequest.net.
Middle school students in The Last Polar Bear Summer Camp will learn about the basics of climate change, impacts on the arctic ecosystem, and actions that people can take. As a culminating project, students will take their own photos and create a photography exhibit documenting their thinking on climate change, which will be on view at the museum on Friday, July 18 from 2-4 pm.
Its gonna be very cool…or hot (depending on the summer weather)…having these young minds in the museum for a week, brainstorming about ways to tackle climate change. I for one am excited to hear their ideas!
- Julia
