Cosmos and Ecology - Stories of the Universe

Cosmos and Ecology: Stories of the Universe is a free event organized by graduate students from the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES) and the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS). It will be held on October 8th and 9th, with showings running hourly from 10:30am - 5pm on both days. Free admission to the portal and all the workshops!

The general overarching themes are global/planetary consciousness and sustainability. The goal is to engage our campus and general community in exploring the important connections between communities, sustainability and cosmology through the power of visual immersive technology and storytelling. We believe that the understanding of the deep interconnectedness between humans and ecosystems, in a global and planetary sense, our role and place in the Universe, along with the values, meanings and the narratives of sustainability and the future we wish to live in, are all an essential part of the sustainability challenge.

Moreover, we believe this challenge is ultimately an imaginative one!

So come share your stories, engage in discussion, and help transform the way we live and learn.

Our special guests, creators of the StoryDome, will showcase their immersive learning environment housed inside a 30 foot inflatable dome, which will act as a centerpiece for discussion and workshops. Using the latest NASA visual technology features, they produced a 30-minute feature film: "Earth Portal: A Guided Tour of the Universe and Our Place In It" to demonstrate the effectiveness of this immersive approach to storytelling for science education, community engagement, and the development of a more ecocentric worldview.

Schedule:

Whidbey GeoDome Project
Hosted at CIRS, on-going free admission StoryDome shows inside the 30 foot inflatable dome from October 8th to 9th from 10:30am-5pm.

The shows include:

- The Earth Portal: A Guided Tour of the Universe and Our Place In It;

- Where Many Voices Meet: The Puyallup Watershed Story;

- Losing The Dark: Effects of Light Pollution.

We will also host a number of workshops, discussion sessions, presentations and screenings at CIRS in Policy Labs A/B on cosmology, climate change, and spirituality. Please see our Facebook Page for more details.

Tues 8th @ CIRS Policy Labs A/B

1.30-4.30pm: Sustainability and the Sublime: The Evolutionary Advantage of Being Awestruck - Includes Movie Screening of 'Journey of the Universe', and many more inspirational videos, followed by a creative workshop. Coffee, tea, and treats from Agora Cafe will be provided.

Wed 9th @ CIRS Policy Labs A/B

3-4pm: Jason Brown - The New Cosmology: Where Religion and Science Meet. Coffee, tea, and treats from Agora Cafe will be provided.

Wed 9th @ The Liu Institute

"Greening The Self" Workshop by Dr. Richard Ingrasci.

There is nothing more powerful than a story whose time has come. Details and Registration Here!

We hope to see you there!

Click here for a map to the CIRS building.

Centre for Research on Interactive Sustainability (CIRS)
2260 West Mall
Vancouver BC

Generous support and funding for this event is provided by the AMS Sustainability Fund, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, the Global Lounge, and the Liu Institute for Global Issues. Thank you to our sponsors!