367413 Real People, Real Climate, Real Changes: A Traveling Exhibition Reaches Broad Audiences in order to Engage Communities in Discussions about Impacts and Solutions

Tuesday, 14 January 2020
Hall B1 (Boston Convention and Exhibition Center)
Becca Hatheway, UCAR, Boulder, CO; and R. Haacker, L. Medina Luna, D. Zietlow, L. S. Gardiner, R. Henson, and K. dagon

The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has completed the development of a traveling exhibition about climate change. Titled Real People, Real Climate, Real Changes, this exhibition invites the public to explore how climate change is impacting different U.S.regions with a focus on solutions and how individuals and communities can address these challenges.

This exhibition builds on an existing climate science installation at the NCAR Mesa Lab Visitor Center in Boulder, CO, and takes this information on the road to communities across the United States. Phase 1 of the exhibit tour includes several smaller communities in areas of the country that are vulnerable to different impacts of climate change, such as coastal Louisiana, central California, and the midwestern U.S. Host sites include public libraries, community centers, and universities.

While on tour, the exhibition will be supplemented with events such as public science talks and youth engagement activities. Scientists who partner with NCAR and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) are being invited to engage with host sites to support their staff in sharing this information with their audiences.

In addition to sharing scientifically accurate information about climate change, Real People, Real Climate, Real Changes includes hands-on interactive elements about sea level rise and human carbon footprints, as well as a community engagement space where visitors are invited to share their personal stories of how they have been impacted by climate change and what they and their communities are doing to respond to these challenges. This exhibition is expected to tour to different locations throughout 2020 and potentially for several additional years.

This presentation will share how the project team chose content for the exhibition, and the ways it is engaging with communities to discuss climate change and provide a voice for people to share their climate stories.
- Indicates paper has been withdrawn from meeting
- Indicates an Award Winner