NYC International Polar Festival and Win a Trip to Norway

Norwegian Polar Festival Activities

Antarctic Gear: A Tribute to Roald Amundsen

Presented by Harald Kippenes, Yourway, US explorer John Huston and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General. This is your chance two meet two real Polar explorers, a live polar dog and experience the difference between Amundsen’s gear and that used by modern explorers. In April of 2009, John Huston and his expedition partner became the first Americans to reach the North Pole unsupported and unassisted.  This grueling 500-mile, 55-day journey has been called 'the hardest trek on the planet'. Harald Kippenes, is a Norwegian professional mountaineer and passionate explorer.  

For those that want and even more hand-on experience of Amundsens’s race to the south Pole, Kippenes and Yourway organize Amundsen Experiences in Norway. Go to visitnorway.com/us for your chance to win this amazing trip.

On this trip you will participate as a member of Amundsen’s South Pole expedition and experience the history as if you were on the icecap in 1911. In warm sealskin clothing, and with dogsleds, the journey climbs up on the Røros Plateau. You will navigate as Amundsen, with compass and sextant, taste the food similar to that eaten by Amundsen in 1911, and get a feeling of the elements on your body before reaching the “South Pole”.

Antarctic Photo Station

Visit Norway invites you to have your photo taken as a real explorer and adventurer at this green screen photo booth. Norway is known for explorers such as the Vikings, Leif Erikson, Thor Heyerdahl and Roald Amundsen, and tourism in Norway is known for being equally adventurous.

Go to www.visitnorway.com/us to find your ski resort, try a fjord cruise or wildlife safari, or plan your hiking or fishing holiday.

Check out Visit Norway on Facebook for offers, info, sweepstakes and fun.



















Discover the Southern Aurora with Pål Brekke
3 pm at l Kaufmann Theater
While most people are familiar with the northern lights phenomenon Aurora Borealis, fewer persons are aware of the southern lights phenomenon called Aurora Australis.

In this program, solar physicist Pål Brekke, senior adviser at the Norwegian Space Center in Oslo, will deliver an interactive multimedia presentation on the modern science behind the southern aurora.

Nothing is like seeing the Aurora with you own eyes. Go to www.visitnorway.com/us to plan your trip to see the northern lights this winter.

Full Polar Festival Program

With a special focus on Antarctica, this educational polar science fair features other hands-on activities, scientists, educators, explorers, authentic cold-weather gear, Greenland kayaks, and more. The Polar Fair participants include:

Peering Through the Ice: Secrets of Antarctica – Robin Bell, Lamont-Doherty Polar Warming and Melting – David and Denise Holland, New York University
Shrinking Arctic Ice – Stephanie Pfirman, Barnard College
Ocean Research Vessels: Instruments and Buoys – Bruce Huber
Norwegian Traverse – Zoe Courville and Tom Neumann
Antarctic Gear: A Tribute to Roald Amundsen – Harald Kippenes, Yourway. John Huston and Royal Norwegian Consulate General
Antarctic Photo Station – Visit Norway
ICE Pod: Infrared Camera – Chris Zappa
Antarctic Auto-Sub and Imagery – Frank Nitsche
Exploration and Polar History – Wings World Quest
ANDRILL
Climate, Sea Ice, and Models – Xiaojun Yuan and Naomi Naik
Penguins and Polar Bears – Central Park Zoo
Terra Antarctica – John Bowermaster
Greenland kayaks – Qajaq USA

Peering Through The Ice: Secrets of Antarctica
1 pm l Linder Theater l Adult lecture
The Antarctic Gamburtsev Mountains Project (AGAP) focused on an invisible world in one of the most remote areas on Earth, just west of the Pole of Inaccessibility in East Antarctica. Using airborne geophysics and seismic surveys, scientists were able to unlock secrets about this mysterious region. Robin Bell (AGAP) will present findings from the first comprehensive study of the Gamburtsev Mountains, which were found hidden several miles beneath a thick sheet of ice.

Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory: Super Cold Show
Noon l Kaufmann Theater l For families with children ages 4–10
The Earth may be warming but there’s a chill in Dr. Nebula’s lab. Join Scooter as she investigates the effects of super cold temperatures on our planet and the states of matter. Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory is an interactive theater
presentation offering entertaining encounters with science.

Penguins and Polar Bears: The Tip of the Iceberg
1 pm l Kaufmann Theater l For families with children ages 3–10
The Central Park Zoo’s Wildlife Theater Players performs “Penguins and Polar Bears: The Tip of the Iceberg,” an interactive show using drama, puppetry, games, and songs to inspire audiences to learn more about their natural world and how to protect it.

Meet the Explorers!
2 pm l Linder Theater
Meet several incredible adventurers who have journeyed to Antarctica,
including women explorers and local teachers and students. Hear these
inspiring explorers share some of their unique experiences.

Discover the Southern Aurora
3 pm l Kaufmann Theater
While most people are familiar with the northern lights phenomenon Aurora Borealis, fewer persons are aware of the southern lights phenomenon called Aurora Australis. In this program, solar physicist Paal Brekke, senior adviser at the Norwegian Space Center in Oslo, will deliver an interactive multimedia presentation on the modern science behind the southern aurora.

NYC Film Premiere: Terra Antarctica
4 pm l Kaufmann Theater
Adventurer and environmentalist Jon Bowermaster will present the New York City premiere of his new film Terra Antarctica: Re-discovering the Seventh
Continent which highlights his exploration of the Antarctic Peninsula by sea kayak, foot, and small plane. A book signing follows.

Co-presented by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Earth Institute of Columbia University and Barnard College, Wings World Quest, Innovation Norway, with the cooperation of the Royal Norwegian Consulate General. Race to the End of the Earth is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org), in collaboration with Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France, and Royal BC Museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.   Generous support for Race to the End of the Earth has been provided by the Eileen P. Bernard Exhibition Fund, Marshall P. and Rachael Levine and Drs. Harlan B. and Natasha Levine