SpringBoard

STEM Education Program

Winter events for families featured snow science expert

Two Juneau events on Saturday, February 27 featured Fairbanks geophysicist and author, Dr. Matthew Sturm.

Chill with the Family: A Celebration of Winter gave families and friends an opportunity to participate in many youth-focused, hands-on activities related to winter. Activities were led by scientists, experts, artists and educators from Discovery Southeast, Eaglecrest, The Canvas, USCG Auxiliary, ADF&G, USFS, NOAA, DIPAC, UAS, DOT, Girl Scouts of Alaska, Alaska Avalanche Specialists and the Friends of the Alaska State Museum.

That evening, Dr. Sturm lectured on Snow Climates of Alaska from Ketchikan to Barrow: On the Northern Front of Climate Change at UAS's Egan Lecture Hall.

Both events were open to the public free of charge. JEDC co-hosted Chill and funded both events through its SpringBoard program.

Dr. Sturm has conducted wide-ranging geophysical studies on snow in high latitudes. His work has taken him from the Antarctic to the Arctic, where he has led more than 30 expeditions. He is based at the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), in Fairbanks, and collaborates with a wide range of scientists both at CRREL and elsewhere. His most recent work focuses on the role of snow cover on climate, with particular attention to snow ecology and climate change resulting from snow-vegetation interactions. He has also recently released a children's science-based book about snow, called "Apun: the Arctic Snow," along with a companion guide for educators.

Snow science expert visits Juneau - Juneau Empire, February 23, 2010

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