Lars – The Little Polar Bear is in Kiel. The Mediendom at the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel and the Cluster of Excellence "Future Ocean" have developed a "dome" presentation based on the picture book story "The Little Polar Bear and the Whales" by Hans de Beer. In this adventure Lars saves the whales from whale hunters and from a dangerous situation created by a glacier melting. The latest production of the Mediendom presents the constellation of the Great Bear (Big Dipper) to children aged five to eight and introduces them to the threatened habitat at the North Pole using the story of Lars as a basis. The children learn more about the polar bears and why their habitat is threatened by climate change.
The production has recently been decorated by the German Comission for UNESCO for the particular contribution to the concept of Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung (Learning for sustainable development). The decoration is dedicated to initiatives that realize projects imparting knowledge of sustainable development and motivating sustainable thinking and acting of children and adults.
The habitat of the polar bears is the Arctic and here climate change is most noticeable. Up to now the Arctic was covered by an up to three meter thick layer of ice, the so-called sea ice - a fascinating habitat for many animals and organisms. In the last 30 years the sea ice has shrunk increasingly every summer - both in thickness and in surface dimension. How much longer the polar bears will be able to call the Arctic home is the subject of current research. In 2010 the sea ice was melting again at a record pace - not a good sign for the polar bears.
Link to the trailer of the production
Shows in Kiel (link to the online program)
Planetariums, in which "The Little Polar Bear Lars" will also be shown:
- Planetarium Augsburg
- Planetarium Berlin
- Planetarium Bochum
- Planetarium Erkrath
- Planetarium Flensburg
- Planetarium Freiburg
- Planetarium Fulda
- Planetarium Jena
- Mediendom der Fachhochschule Kiel
- Planetarium Lichtenstein
- Planetarium Mannheim
- Melsungen (mobiles Planetarium)
- Planetarium Münster
- Planetarium Neunburg vorm Wald
- Planetarium Osnabrück
- Planetarium Potsdam
- Planetarium Wolfsburg
- Planetarium Schwaz (Austria)
- Beckley, West Virginia (USA)
- MadaPark Planetarium, Kiryat Yam (Israel)
- The Children's Museum, West Hartford, Connecticut (USA)
- Timmons Planetarium, Greenville, South Carolina (USA)
Background Informationen
The story about the Little Polar Bear Lars is a dome production based on the children's book series from Hans de Beer published by NorthSouth Books. It was developed in cooperation with the marine science Cluster of Excellence "Future Ocean" (Dr. Katrin Knickmeier) and the Mediendom (Eduard Thomas) of the Center for Culture and Scientific Communication, University of Applied Sciences Kiel.
The production is supported by "BINGO - die Umweltlotterie", the "Filmförderung Hamburg-Schleswig-Holstein" (Film Development Schleswig-Holstein) und the Development Association of the Kiel Planetarium.
Contact
Dr. Katrin Knickmeier,
School Programs Cluster of Excellence "Future Ocean"
Tel.: (0431) 880-3031, kknickmeier@uv.uni-kiel.de
Eduard Thomas,
Head of the Center for Culture and Scientific Communication,
University of Applied Sciences Kiel,
Tel.: (0431) 210-1721, Eduard.Thomas@fh-kiel.de
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