Science Café at the Burke is a big hit

On the evening of July 15th Burke Museum members relaxed in the Burke Café, drank cold beer courtesy of the Pike Brewing Company, and listened to UW-APL Polar Science Center/JISAO scientist Ignatius Rigor talk about his research in the Arctic.  The event, “A Cold One at the Burke,” was the first of two science cafés held in conjunction with the museum’s new exhibit The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World.

Rigor’s talk, “On Thin Ice: Recent Trends in Arctic Sea Ice,” addressed latest research on the melting of the ice cap and its consequence for polar bears, the Arctic community, and Seattle.  The evening was a big hit with a lively and lengthy period of questions and answers giving museum members the opportunity to have an informal dialogue with a UW research scientist. Science Cafés   are a popular way to bring science to the public creating opportunities for discussion rather than the typical lecture

style format of pre-sentation.  JISAO partnered with the Burke on this event using the opportunity of The Last Polar Bear exhibit to bring important science to a wider audience.

The next member’s only café is scheduled for Tuesday, August 12, at 7:00 pm in the Burke Café and features Atmospherics Sciences professor Cecilia Bitz speaking on “Warming Up:  The Future of Arctic Climate.”