Milstein Science Series: Great Barrier Reef

Dolphins, sea turtles, sponges, and rays are just a few of the organisms that rely on the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system off the coast of Australia. Through scientist presentations, question-and-answer sessions, and hands-on activities, this Milstein Science Series program will educate visitors about the threats posed to the Great Barrier Reef by climate change, pollution, invasive species, and fishing. It will also explore what can be learned from the biodiversity that exists there and how this important resource can be protected.

At 5 pm, see a special presentation of Lynette Wallworth’s Coral: Rekindling Venus in the Hayden Planetarium Space Theater. As Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun in 1761, scientists around the world worked to measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun in a unique act of global cooperation. This June, Venus will pass between the Earth and the Sun once again. Australian artist Lynette Wallworth is using Venus’s transit as a rallying point for worldwide scientific cooperation around this century’s pressing issue: climate change. Her immersive dome experience, called Coral: Rekindling Venus, focuses on the Great Barrier Reef to illustrate the complexity of coral ecosystems and their struggles to handle environmental stresses such as rising ocean temperatures.