This post on To The Artic 3D is part of my 21 Challenge. I am taking The 21 Challenge to raise money to support homeless and at-risk young people in Australia. There are more than 32,000 young people who sleep on our streets every night and I blogging a kids activity daily to raise funds to go to Open Family Australia who support these youths.
My challenge is to blog daily an activity I do each day with my kids, using only things we have at home or use what we have on hand when we are out. You can see all the children’s activities I have posted as part of the 21 Challenge by clicking on the tag 21 Challenge here.
********
To The Artic 3D
This evening myself and all but our eldest son went along to IMAX Melbourne to a media screening of To The Artic 3D. It is a stunningly beautiful film showing the journey of a mother polar bear and her two seven-month old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness.
The opening scenes with snow falling had the younger kids reaching out to touch it and when the ice titles broke and splintered you could see the kids flinching as it looked as though shards of ice were coming there way.
To The Arctic shows some amazing footage of a truly spectacular landscape. It is however a pretty sad story. Following the journey of the polar bears, you can see how we are losing this spectacular landscape as the sea ice melts. It is not just about the loss of beauty, it is the animals who call the Arctic home who are suffering the consequences.
Meryl Streep is the narrator and without losing focus on the animals, she does make the case for the need to change our behaviour and quickly if we are to at least slow the ice melting. The love the mother Polar Bears shows for her cubs is so warming and you
The kids watched the film intently and were emotionally connected to the Polar bears, at one stage the 6 year old did not want to look as he thought something would happen to the cubs. It wasn’t because it was scary, but because he was so drawn to the cubs and didn’t want to see anything bad happen to them. He knew how hard things were for them and that they were in constant danger.
For me that was the biggest learning. The knock on effect of the sea ice melting is significant. The Polar bears now struggle to catch seals due to the lack of ice. Male polar are prepared to eat young cubs to survive. The diminishing ice means the bears have to swim further and further .
The film also shows the impact on other animals like the caribou, due to the changing landscape. But it was through the journey of the Polar bears that the kids really began to understand how small things we do in our lives, combined with the billions of other people who live on this earth, add up to cause problems for the bears.
The 11, 8, 6 and 3 year old all truly enjoyed the film and the 13 year old was disappointed not to have seen it but footy training and homework commitments had to prevail. A beautiful family film to see with an important message.
To The Artic 3D – The Details
Ages: Family
Date/s: Various from 21 June. Check website closer to date for exact session times.
Location: Rathdowne Street, Carlton within the Melbourne Museum complex.
Cost:
Adult $18.00
Child $13.50
Concession $14.50
Student $14.50
Family 1Ad + 1Ch $30.00, Family 1Ad + 2Ch $40.00, Family 2Ad + 1Ch $45.00, Family 2Ad + 2Ch $55.00, Extra Child $11.50
Bookings: can be made online on the IMAX website
More information: IMAX Melbourne
Experience an Arctic Winter at IMAX
To celebrate the opening of TO THE ARCTIC 3D, IMAX Melbourne Museum will be hosting a fun filled snow weekend on the IMAX plaza. Kids will get to play in real snow, build snow men, have snow fights and take photos with an 8 foot giant snow polar bear!
When: 23-24 June, 10-3pm
Where: IMAX Melbourne Museum plaza
Cost: Free
Additional resources:
The creators of the film One World One Ocean have a dedicated section on their website to The Arctic, explaining:
Rising temperatures are changing the Arctic faster than anywhere on earth. Melting ice cover is threatening wildlife, habitat and native communities.
The Arctic is our early warning system.
There is a fab image which you can drag a slider across to show how much sea ice there was in 1980 and how much sea ice they are predicting there will be in 2050.
And a detailed page on what you can do to get involved in both big and small ways.
Have you seen a film at an IMAX cinema?
If you enjoyed this post, you are welcome to sponsor me in my 21 Challenge. Donations are tax deductible and can be made securely online here. Thanks!