New England Aquarium will lead $5.5 million climate change effort

The National Science Foundation is giving The New England Aquarium and a consortium of other institutions $5.5 million to better communicate the science of climate change in the ocean.

Called the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation, the money will be used to research strategies to better explain the complex processes of global warming and then have staff at aquariums and zoos use those techniques. More than 60 percent of the public each year visits a zoo or aquarium or other "informal science venue", according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, so they are ideal places to hold education programs.

The "challenge is to engage Americans in seeing themselves as part of the stories that they find in our exhibits,'' said Bud Ris, President and CEO of the New England Aquarium. "We are aiming to shift the dialogue about climate change to a tone that is interesting, positive and leads to a problem solving mindset.

The Aquarium will lead the effort. Other partners include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, The Association of Zoos and Aquariums, FrameWorks Institute, Monterey Bay Aquarium in California and the National Aquarium in Baltimore.