Smithsonian Exhibit Brings Antarctic Extremes to Library

Photo ©Joan Myers. Atka Bay penguins

Jackson, WY- Visit the most difficult to travel to place on the earth this winter at the Teton County Library. The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), with the generous support of Quark Expeditions, offers a glimpse into daily life on Earth's coldest, windiest, highest (on average), driest and most remote continent with the photography exhibit "Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey."

Featuring 50 stunning color and black-and-white photographs captured through the lens of award-winning photographer Joan Myers, "Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey" will be on display January 2 through March 2, 2007 in the Teton County Library Exhibit Gallery. The exhibition will then continue on a 15-venue national tour lasting through the spring of 2010. It is completely free and open to the public during regular library hours.

"Photographer Joan Myers surveyed the continent by ship, plane, helicopter and snowmobile to offer us her view of this remote land," said Kirsten Corbett, who helped bring the exhibit to the library. "The photos showcase the continent's stark and beautiful landscape, wildlife such as Emperor penguins, the attraction of the land to early explorers like Ernest Shackleton, as well as the activities of scientists who now spend time 'on the ice.'"

Beginning with an Opening Reception for "Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey" and screening of the film "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure" on Thursday, January 11 at 6 p.m., the library invites the community to further explore the Antarctic region through a series of events offered during January and February. The full slate of events, sponsored by the Teton County Library Foundation will be available at the beginning of the year in print at the library and online at www.TCLib.org.

The library invites everyone to continue their Antarctic exploration with these upcoming free events for all ages:

Thursday, January 11: Opening Reception & Film Screening "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure," 6-7 p.m. Come celebrate this new exhibit with an opening reception from 6 to 7 p.m. Friends of the Library will provide ice-themed appetizers and snowball-inspired sweets. A listening station featuring "Antarctica: Austral Soundscapes" takes visitors on a sonic trip to this remote continent. Following the reception, watch the epic Antarctic survival story of Ernest Shackleton and his crew from the ship Endurance with a film screening from 7 to 8:30 p.m. of "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure."

Friday, January 19: Movie: "Eight Below," 2-4 p.m. This Antarctic adventure reveals the incredible friendship between a sled dog guide and his dog team. The sled dogs learn to survive together while the guide struggles to return to Antarctica to rescue them. Rated: PG. For ages 5 and up.

Saturday, January 20: An Antarctic Exploration with Conrad Anker, 7:30 p.m. Professional mountaineer Conrad Anker - who retraced the steps of Ernest Shackleton and helped pioneer a new route on Antarctica's Vinson Massif - takes Teton County residents to this remote continent with his slideshow lecture. His son, Sam Lowe-Anker, tackles climate change on the continent with his 10-minute award-winning, environmental film "Antarctica."

Monday, January 29: Steve Dunbar on Big Science at the End of the Earth, 7-8 p.m. Find out why the South Pole is the only place on earth where you can hear the planet's core rotate. Antarctic veteran Steve Dunbar surveys major scientific research underway in Antarctica.

Friday, February 9: Family Discovery Night: Tracking Penguins in Antarctica, 7-8 p.m. Researcher Donna Patterson-Fraser tracks Antarctic birds to see how human activities affect these species. In her program for kids, she illustrates her findings with colorful slides, bird bones, eggs and much more.

Saturday, February 10: Penguins and Climate Warming: A Global Message from Antarctica, 7-8 p.m. President of Polar Oceans Research Group, Bill Fraser, delves into the life and ecology of three Antarctic penguin species to discover clues about climate change and how these changes influence ecosystems.

Thursday, February 15: Stories from the Ice, 7:30-8:30 p.m. Teton County residents share first-hand accounts of their experiences "On the Ice" - giving us a local glimpse of the world's hardest-to-visit continent.

Thursday, February 22: Kelly Tyler-Lewis: "The Lost Men," 7-8 p.m. Shackleton's survival story is legendary, but few know the astonishing story of the Ross Sea party, the support crew he dispatched to the opposite side of Antarctica. Cambridge historian and author of "The Lost Men," Tyler-Lewis tells of the 10-man party's plight after becoming stranded on the world's most inhospitable continent while sledging 1,700 miles across Antarctica to supply Shackleton's aborted mission.

Photo ©Joan Myers. Crystal Sound.

Book Display: Big Chill. Teton County Library welcomes winter with a book display featuring titles linked to winter, cold weather and cold places, including Antarctica. Check out the display's January highlights from penguins to glaciers in the library's Main Room.

A full-color companion book complements the national traveling exhibition. "Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey" was published by SITES/Smithsonian Books in 2006. For more information, visit the distributor's Web site, www.hapercollins.com.

Since 1991, exhibit sponsor Quark Expeditions has taken travelers, including Myers, to the polar regions, pioneering the use of powerful Russian icebreakers and ice-strengthened vessels for adventure travel. For more information, visit the Web site: www.quarkexpeditions.com.

SITES has been sharing the wealth of the Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for more than 50 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. Exhibition descriptions and tours schedules are available online at: www.sites.si.edu. The exhibit is sponsored locally by the Teton County Library Foundation. For information, call the library at 733-2164 ext. 113 or visit the Web site: www.TCLib.org.