Free showing Feb. 22 of Antarctic research documentary

A free public screening of "Secrets Beneath the Ice," a documentary about ANDRILL, the international Antarctic research project led by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will be Feb. 22 at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center, 313 N. 13th St.

The hour-long documentary will be shown at 7 p.m. This NET Television documentary premiered nationally in December on the PBS series NOVA. "Secrets Beneath the Ice" features researchers working with ANDRILL, the Antarctic geological drilling program that is revealing clues to past and future climate change in the rock and sediment beneath Antarctica.

Following the documentary, UNL scientists who work on the project will answer questions from the audience. UNL scientists have leading roles in this work, and the team recently returned from a season of fieldwork in Antarctica. UNL is home to the Science Management Office for the project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. ANDRILL involves more than 200 scientists, students and educators from Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Researchers from UNL and 10 other universities collaborate on the U.S. effort.

An NET Television crew made several trips to Antarctica to create the documentary. The documentary was part of a broader informal science education project called Antarctic's Climate Secrets, designed to increase understanding of Antarctica and the importance of ANDRILL's scientific discoveries. Through this NSF-funded project, the University of Nebraska Museum and NET collaborated with ANDRILL, 4-H youth groups in 22 states and TERC, a science curriculum development center, to create hands-on learning activities, video podcasts and educational materials about ANDRILL's research and Antarctica.

WRITER: Vicki Miller