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“Treasures of NOAA’s Ark—Pioneers: People and Technology” Exhibit Arrives in Seattle

exhibit entrance
Entrance to the Treasures of NOAA’s Ark exhibit at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center.  Photo by Cheryl Oliver.
 

View a slide show of the event.

For the past year a group of NOAA staff, led by AFSC outreach coordinator Rebecca Reuter, has been working in partnership with the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington, to showcase the NOAA exhibit “Treasures of NOAA’s Ark—Pioneers: People and Technology.” The exhibit, which opened at the Pacific Science Center on 3 March, is one of several events planned in the Seattle area to help NOAA celebrate its 200th anniversary and the formation of its predecessor agency the Office of Coast Survey.

The “One NOAA” event was regionalized with additional exhibits specific to NOAA’s history in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, including contributions from many of NOAA’s line offices. The NOAA Corps and National Ocean Service (NOS) contributed models of NOAA vessels that have surveyed West Coast and Alaska waters along with corresponding nautical charts. In addition, the NOS National Marine Sanctuary Program provided a 3-D display showcasing the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory contributed a model tsunami buoy with video explaining how the buoy sends and receives data. NMFS and NOS created an exhibit on the history of the commercial fur seal harvest on the Pribilof Islands and NOAA’s role in fur seal conservation and research.

With help from the University of Washington Fish Collection, NMFS also coordinated a display of local fish in the exhibit’s fish laboratory, which is named for the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Montlake Laboratory. The exhibit’s weather forecast office is an informal representation of the Tatoosh Island Forecast Office, and weather observer log books and correspondence dated into the early 1900s was supplied by the National Weather Service (NWS) Seattle Forecast Office. A monitor showing real-time weather, including satellite and radar information, is also part of the exhibit.

In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson founded the Office of Coast Survey to provide nautical charts to the maritime community for safe passage into American ports and along the Nation’s extensive coastline. The Weather Bureau was founded in 1870 and, one year later, the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries was founded. Individually, these organizations were America’s first physical science agency, first agency dedicated specifically to the atmospheric sciences, and first conservation agency. The cultures of scientific accuracy and precision, service to protect life and property, and stewardship of resources embodied in these three agencies were brought together in 1970 with the establishment of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency within the Department of Commerce.

  Bryce Seidl and John Oliver
Pacific Science Center President/CEO Bryce Seidl and National Marine Fisheries Service Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations John Oliver.  Photo by Cheryl Oliver.
 

The Treasures of NOAA’s Ark exhibit leads the visitor into an old government warehouse where crates of scientific artifacts await discovery. When experiencing the exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, visitors delve into the incredible history of science, service, and stewardship behind NOAA. Visitors learn how scientists at NOAA often act as ‘detectives’ working to unravel the mysteries of our environment, ‘pioneers’ as they create the new technologies that will help them detect and monitor changes around us, and ‘visionaries’ as they explore and protect our planet and our natural resources. The exhibit provides hands-on activities, interactive exhibits, and engaging demonstrations. Treasures of NOAA’s Ark runs at the Pacific Science Center through 3 September. More information is available on the web at http://www.pacificsciencecenter.org, http://www.preserveamerica.noaa.gov or http://www.celebrating200years.noaa.gov.

The Seattle exhibit of Treasures of NOAA’s Ark represents the collaborative efforts and talents of many NOAA staff, including Rebecca Reuter, Lisa Hiruki-Raring, Karna McKinney, Wendy Carlson, Dave King, John Clary, Rolf Ream, Jeremy Sterling, Mary Anne Lea, Rod Towell, Chuck Fowler, Kym Yano, Bob Caruso, and Jim Thomason (NMFS/AFSC); Vicky Krikelas (NMFS/NWFSC); Mike Williams (NMFS/AKRO); Mark Oswell, Frank Bonadonna (NMFS/OLE); Dave Neander (NOS/OCS); Vicki Loe, Don MacDonald, Kristina Worthington (NOS/ORR); Robert Pavia, Robert Steelquist, Carey Floyd (NOS/NMS); Paula Souik, John Lindsay (NOS/ORR/Pribilof Project Office); Paul Hillman (NOS/ORR/OMC); Mike Hopkins, Ann Thomason (OAR/PMEL); Kirby Cook, Ted Buehner, Brad Colman, Valencia McNair (NWS/Seattle Forecasting Office); Jon Rix, Mark Ablondi (OMAO/MOC-Pac); Bill Zahner, John Collins (NMFS HQ); and Cheryl Oliver, Gina Stoney, Sasha Pryborowski (NOS HQ).

By Rebecca Reuter
 

 

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