Camp Earth (Mar/Apr 1999)

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 Want the kids to have fun this summer? Let them dive into nature’s
treasure chest at Camp Earth, where children ages 4-12 have fun and learn
by using the museum’s vast resources. 
It’s an experience you won’t find anywhere else! Kids investigate the
Earth through behind-the-scenes tours, hands-on encounters and experiments
that can only happen at Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Week-long summer camps run June 14 through August 20 and feature age-appropriate
topics like Beach Buddies; No Bones About It; Ocean Commotion; Phamous
Pharaohs; Raising a Tipi; Shake, Rattle and Roll; and more. There are even
camps focusing on Beakman’s World, the museum’s summertime exhibit where
kids work in this TV scientist’s wacky lab. There are camps that travel
to Phipps Conservatory and Carnegie Museum of Art, and one that includes
a trip on the Voyager, the floating science classroom docked near Carnegie
Science Center.
 Outdoor experiences are part of all camps too. Some groups may
go outside to see how much space a dinosaur would cover, and others may
go out to collect rocks and plants. After eating a brown-bag lunch, campers
go outdoors where games are part of the fun.
 Half-day camps are planned for children ages 4 and 5, camps for
ages 6-10 run all day, and kids ages 11 and 12 attend half- or whole-day
camps. Pre- and post-camps are available too, with activities or visits
to the library to keep campers busy until working moms and dads can pick
them up.
 Register early, as camps are limited to 15 children each. For
a Camp Earth brochure, call 412.622.3288. 
 

King of the Arctic: Pittsburgh’s Only Polar Bear
Polar World has a new addition that’s impossible to overlook! A majestic
nine-foot-long polar bear reigns over the museum’s third-floor hall, set
against the Arctic background that is its natural habitat.
Few animals are better equipped for the frigid Arctic habitat. The polar
bear endures ice, snow, freezing seawater, and temperatures that plummet
to –75 degrees. How do polar bears survive in these conditions? For starters,
their yellowish-white fur is waterproof, and each hair is hollow and traps
heat. Under that dense coat of fur, the skin is black and attracts heat,
and a three-to-four-inch layer of fat acts as insulation, stores energy
and adds buoyancy in water.
Polar bears are not ferocious, but when the museum’s exhibit staff set
out to obtain a polar bear for display, they were unable to find a prepared
specimen that did not appear fierce! There was only one solution: the museum
had to mount its own bear. But polar bears are protected in Alaska—the
only state in which they live, and it is against the law to bring them
into the U.S. from other countries. The only exception is the use for educational
purposes. Exhibit designer Patrick Martin set into motion his network of
contacts, and through a Canadian taxidermist found an Eskimo with an available
polar bear hide. After the obligatory six-month wait while the museum’s
intention was reviewed, the hide was finally sent to Pittsburgh. 
A licensed taxidermist, Martin mounted the bear in his home studio during
weekends and evenings. Because taxidermy supplies for mounting endangered
animals are hard to come by, he had challenges such as finding a suitable
form on which to mount the hide. Sculpting was necessary to fit the form
to the skin, and to achieve the desired posture. But with the skill and
creativity for which he is known, Martin created an exhibit that is realistic
and striking.
 
Go to Carnegie Museum of Natural
History homepage.
 

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(c) 1999 CARNEGIE magazine  All rights
reserved.   E-mail: carnegiemag@carnegiemuseums.org