MBL To Offer Free Earth Day Screening of Penguin Documentary, April 22

MBL, WOODS HOLE, MA—“Why would anyone count penguins for a living?” Filmmakers Harriet Gordon and Peter Getzels set out to discover the answer to this question when they filmed “The Penguin Counters.” Families are invited to view this new documentary which will be screened at 10:00 AM on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Lillie Auditorium, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole.  The free event is sponsored by the MBL Associates.

Following the film, Christopher Neill, Director of the MBL's Ecosystems Center, will answer questions and discuss the perils and pleasures of field research. Registration is not required and free parking will be available at the MBL’s Bar Neck Road parking lot.

“The Penguin Counters” explores the experiences of Ron Naveen and his team of field biologists at the bottom of the world. Naveen’s Antarctic Site Inventory project is about to enter its 20th anniversary field season. It’s science in its most basic form. The weather is grueling, the terrain is hostile, and the scientists carry only golf-ball-sized counters and waterproof spiral notebooks. But the biologists’ data has been instrumental in the formation of policies among polar scientists and the 50 member nations of the Antarctic Treaty Organization.

“It may seem like mad, crazy science to count hundreds of thousands of ice-cold loving penguins in this rapidly warming region," said filmmakers Gordon and Getzels. "But we love the idea that penguins are proactive in the face of climate change, and that is what we want to share with you."

Recently screened at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History as part of the DC Environmental Film Festival, this documentary, with a running time of 65 minutes, is recommended for middle-school age students and older.

Sponsored by the MBL Associates.

For more information on this event, contact the MBL Associates Office at (508) 289-7281 or comm@mbl.edu.

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The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery and improving the human condition through research and education in biology, biomedicine, and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago. The MBL Associates are a group of individuals and businesses that support the scientific mission of the MBL through their gifts to the Annual Fund. The Associates sponsor educational and research programs for the MBL and raise funds for special projects. In addition, they operate the MBL Gift Shop, located on Water Street in Woods Hole, the profits from which support scientific fellowships.