FROSTBURG, MD (April 23, 2014)--Meet the scientists working in your community, participate in hands-on experiments for the whole family and explore ways in which you can help to protect and preserve our environment at a community Open House at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Appalachian Laboratory on Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Hands-on, family-friendly science activities will include:
- Join our research team to help restore American Chestnut trees: Learn about how you can participate in a “citizen science” project to restore these majestic native trees, including getting your own seedling!
- Pollen Detectives: Investigate and discover how Maryland’s forests have changed in response to climate change since the last Ice Age by using fossil pollen from the past.
- Critter Nation: View and learn about critters found in our local forests and streams like salamanders, snakes, and fish.
- Bat Time: Gain a better understanding of why bats are important to our ecosystems, how they use echolocation and more. Build a bat to take home with you!
- How can you detect water pollution?: See how scientists use chemistry to detect and pinpoint sources of water pollution.
An Experts Corner will feature researchers discussing shale gas development, tracking climate change, mercury pollution, brook trout, and species diversity.
This year’s Open House is being held in partnership with Frostburg State University and Allegany County Public Schools’ Western Maryland STEM Festival.
The Appalachian Laboratory is home to state-of-the-art research on plant and soil ecology, water resources, wildlife ecology, and conservation biology.
The Appalachian Laboratory is located at 301 Braddock Road, just ¼ mile north of exit 33 on Interstate 68. Parking is free and the event is open to the public.
The Appalachian Laboratory is located in the mountains of western Maryland, the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Since 1962, the Frostburg-based institution has actively studied the effects of land-use change on the freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems of the region, how they function in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and how human activity may influence their health and sustainability on local, regional and global scales. The scientific results help to unravel the consequences of environmental change, manage natural resources, restore ecosystems, and foster ecological literacy.
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science unleashes the power of science to transform the way society understands and manages the environment. By conducting cutting-edge research into today's most pressing environmental problems and training the next generation of environmental scientists, we are developing new ideas to help guide our state, nation, and world toward a more sustainable future. From the mountains to the sea, our five research centers include the Appalachian Laboratory in Frostburg, the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons, the Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, and the Maryland Sea Grant College in College Park. www.umces.edu
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