Smithsonian Exhibition on Soils at the MAC and upcoming lecture series
Great news from Rebecca Bishop: The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC), a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, will host Dig It! The Secrets of Soil, an exhibition on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, on view February 4 - September 22, 2012.
Opening day will unveil this 5,000 square-foot exhibition and reveal the complex world of soils and the connection to our daily lives. The Museum is open from 10am – 5pm with admission fees of $7 for adults, $5 for seniors (60+) and students. Children 5 and under are free. MAC Members are at no charge.
Image courtesy of the Spovangelist.
The day’s events will include earth and art family activities throughout the day. And, at 2:00pm, Smithsonian professionals, local scientists and conservationists will provide a thought-provoking panel discussion about global hunger: “Can We Feed the World and Sustain the Planet?” The panel discussion will be followed by a no-host beer and wine reception with an opportunity to socialize with the panelists. There will also be live blue grass music from the Dead Fiddlers Society.
Experts on the panel include:
-Mark Clark, Executive Director, Washington State Conservation Commission and panel moderator
-Pat Megonigal, Soil Ecologist, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and Dig It curator
-Judy Olsen, Executive Director, Federal Farm Service Agency,
-Kevin Sullivan, Washington State Soil Scientist, Natural Resources Conservation Service
-Ann Kennedy, WSU Professor of Soil Science
The MAC has also incorporated lectures and meet-the-professor receptions that focus on why we should care about soils. Only three percent of the earth’s surface can grow the food, fiber and lumber needed to feed, clothe and shelter earth’s population of 7 billion - and growing. Most of that soil is in North America, and some of the most fertile soils exist in eastern Washington’s Palouse.
Know Soil, Know Life is the series of lectures coming to the MAC this spring. Discover why civilizations rise and fall on how well we treat our soils with three world renowned scientists who will reveal the secrets of soil from their personal research. The lecture series complements the traveling Smithsonian exhibition. Professor Emeritus Estella Leopold will open the series with the new documentary, Green Fire, about her conservationist father, Aldo Leopold. All lectures will be held in the Eric A. Johnston Auditorium at the MAC and followed by a no-host reception. Regular Museum admission prices apply.
March 10, 2012 4:00 pm Green Fire: Aldo Leopold’s Land Ethic with Professor Estella Leopold Earlier that day, there will be additional showings of this full-length documentary film about legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold and his environmental legacy. Green Fire shares highlights from his extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation and the modern environmental movement. It also illustrates how Leopold's vision of a community that cares about both people and land continues to inform and inspire people across the country and around the world, highlighting modern projects that put Leopold’s land ethic in action in a multitude of ways. 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm. Estella Leopold is a Professor emeritus in the Biology Department at University of Washington. As the daughter of famed conservationist and writer Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) Estella has earned her own renown through her pioneering work as a conservationist and scientist.
April 14, 2012 4:00 pm Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations with Professor David Montgomery Professor David R. Montgomery is a Professor of Earth and Space Science at the University of Washington and a MacArthur Fellow. He studies the influence of geomorphology on ecological systems and human societies. He received his B.S. in geology at Stanford University (1984) and his Ph.D. in geomorphology from UC Berkeley (1991). David will have copies of his book, Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations available after the lecture for signing.
May 19, 2012 4:00 pm Toward a Sustainable Future with Professor John Reganold Dr. John Reganold’s career was shaped by his interest in environmental soil science. He earned a M.S. (1974) in Soil Science at the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. (1980) in Soil Science at UC Davis. He worked for two years as a soil scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service and for three years as an environmental engineer with Utah International, Inc., a mining company. He joined Washington State University in 1983 and is currently Regents Professor of Soil Science. He has become one of the premier scientists in the world in sustainable agricultural research, as evidenced by his publications in Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Scientific American, and other land-use and soil science journals.
