Science Film Screening “History of the Antarctic Exploration – Antarctica 1”

2017.08.24
ACADEMIA

[Date] Tuesday August 24, 2017　16:00 (Doors open at 15:45; expected to end at 17:30)
[Venue] Intermediatheque 2F Lecture Theatre ACADEMIA
[Language] Japanese (No interpretation provided)
[Admission] Free (no reservation required)
The number of seats is limited to 48. Your understanding is appreciated.
* Photographing, filming and recording are strictly prohibited.
* Please refrain from eating and drinking in the museum.

The Antarctic exploration ship Soya departed Japan in November 1956 to join the research expedition in Antarctica. It was just 11 years after the end of World War II, and a defeated nation’s attempt to reach the excellence of an international scientific expedition met many difficulties.
The Japanese people welcomed this participation with excitement, as a symbol of their country’s comeback to the international stage. In the midst of this enthusiasm, Nippon Press produced a series of slides for educational purposes. The format was 35mm roll film, popular in these days before it abolished in favor of mounted slides. Three titles on Antarctica were produced: “History of the Antarctic Exploration,” “The Arctic and the Antarctic” and “Scientific Survey in the Antarctic”.
Thanks to Junichi and Hitomi Oshima’s findings, we now unveil these slides in digital format. In this presentation series, we reconsider the past era’s passion for the last terra incognita, as well as its importance in global science. “The Arctic and the Antarctic – Antarctica 2” and “Scientific Survey in the Antarctic – Antarctica 3” will be screened in this series.
For the first session of the series, we invite Yuki Watanabe, associate professor at the National Institute of Polar Research, to give a general introduction to recent polar studies. This will lead us to appreciate the historical turning point when competition among nations eventually led to their joint presence for international collaborative study, amidst inexhaustible enthusiasm for the Antarctic.

[Organizer] The University Museum, the University of Tokyo (UMUT)
[Cooperation] Junichi Oshima, Hitomi Oshima
[Program Conception] Intermediatheque Department, The University Museum, the University of Tokyo (UMUT)

【Screened Film】
“History of the Antarctic Exploration”
1950s / 26 slides / Digital version of original 35mm film / Color slides
Producer: Nippon Press / Supervisor: Takeshi Nagata, Eizaburo Nisibori / Leading staff: Masashi Miyaji

【Guest speaker】
Yuki Watanabe (Associate Professor, National Institute of Polar Research) is a leader of studies on penguins and other maritime animals with the biologging method, that is a study method to analyze the animals’ behaviors by attaching data-loggers onto animals. Also he has joined the research teams in the Antarctic.