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The Lamont Open House Web site is available on the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Web, which is on the ColumbiaWeb main page. |
Lamont Open House Set for Oct. 4By Faye S. Yates ow old is the earth? How small was the smallest dinosaur? What was the largest earthquake—in Rockland County? Can we predict climate change? What are we learning in Biosphere 2?
Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y., will offer answers to these and many other questions related to earth sciences at its annual Open House on Sat., Oct. 4 from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The world-famous earth sciences research center invites the community to explore campus, scientists and staff will display equipment and instruments, explain their research, and answer questions about earthquakes, volcanoes, climate change, earth history, oceans and ocean-floor mapping, dinosaurs, glaciers and other Earth phenomena. Highlighting this event will be a series of exhibits on the new International Research Institute for Climate Prediction. Using climate monitoring and modeling, researchers will discuss the current El Niño-Southern Oscillation patterns with people interested in learning about climatic and economic effects on parts of the world. Additionally, visitors will be able to go on a virtual tour of Biosphere 2, examine rocks and tree rings, and learn the geology of Rockland County. They can see deep-sea sediments taken from the Atlantic, as well as make their own earthquake in order to record and interpret seismic waves. In a popular exhibit, visitors will experience how the Earth's surface can behave like a solid and a liquid at the same time. Young explorers can earn a Lamont-Doherty junior explorer's badge in an earth science scavenger hunt. Scheduled lectures include: "How old is the Earth—and how do we know?," "Fire and Ice: Active Volcanoes beneath the Antarctic Sheets," "Where did Life Begin?," "Dinosaurs," and "Microworld"—a slide presentation by the artist-scientist Dee Breger. The Open House is free and open to the public. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Visitors are asked to park at the IBM Conference Center (1.4 miles north of Lamont on Route 9W) and take a free shuttle bus to the Observatory. A free shuttle bus will also leave Columbia's Morningside campus at W.116th St. and Broadway at 9:30, 10:00, 11:00, and 11:30 A.M. and will return at 2:00, 2:30, 3:30, and 4:00 P.M.. For further information or to request handicapped parking, call (914) 365-8100.
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