Listen to the voices of the Arctic in latest exhibit

There are so many changes taking place in the Arctic, that Science North decided its latest travelling exhibit would focus on the science behind it, said senior staff scientist Franco Mariotti.

Arctic Voices opens March 7 and its focus is three-fold, said Mariotti. First, it's about the landscape and the wildlife, then the people who live there, and then the scientists who live and work there in the harsh conditions.

“The walkaway message we hope visitors get is that science really plays a crucial part in understanding what's happening in the Arctic, what the changes are and why they are occurring,” Mariotti said.

Arctic Voices is co-produced by the Canadian Museum of Nature. Visitors can pounce, hop, push and crawl their way through animal life in the Arctic, and come face to face with a polar bear.

Visitors can travel with scientists as they catch and tag Arctic whales, go on a garden tour to see how plants have adapted to survive and thrive in this harsh environment, and Participate in throat singing, a traditional art with modern applications.

“We did an exhibit about the Arctic six years ago called 'The Ends of the Earth,' but so many changes have taken place since then, that we felt we could do an entire travelling exhibit just on the Arctic,” Mariotti said. “Things are changing much more rapidly than we ever thought.”

Arctic Voices will be available right through the summer, said Mariotti. It then heads to Ottawa, and then to the Denver Museum of Natural History.