Most fun for the adults: Seeing first hand the effects of global warming in distant places.

Most fun for the kids: Seeing pictures of the animals like penguins, bears and caribou.

Best ages for this attraction: 6+

Price per tickets: Free with price of admission to the Field Museum.

Polar Thaw: Global Warming in the Artic is on display at the Field Museum from September 23, 2003 through November 16, 2003. This is a photographic exhibit which helps the visitor discover the environmental consequences of a steadily warming Earth. Color photos of the Artic and Antarctic are displayed

Nationally recognized photographer Gary Braasch documents the startling effects of global warming-the result of rising concentrations of carbon dioxide and other heat- trapping gasses in the atmosphere. The exhibition features 34 beautiful images that reveal the impact of climate change on the icy landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic and their inhabitants, including polar bears, caribou, penguins, and humans.

While we all know about the effects of global warming, they do not hit home too often because they affect places so far away. There are photos of fjords which have receded hundred of feet from where they were only thirty years ago. We see the pictures of penguins that keep coming to the same nesting ground due to years of habit. These grounds are no longer good for their eggs and are covered with snow. The penguins lay their eggs in the snow anyways and the eggs never hatch.

You can expect to learn a few things as well. One interesting fact I learned was about some beetles that destroy trees. Since the weather is not as cold as it used to be, their larva lives longer is are not killed off by the cold. These larvas grow into beetles and have destroyed the trees in the region.

I love the pictures of the animals and land that are exhibited. Reading the captions, you wonder how many more years these environments will be around.