Explore the current facts about climate change, including its potential causes, both natural and human, and the possible future effects of global warming. Discover what these changes will likely mean for you and investigate the personal, national, and international actions that could reduce the negative effects of global warming.

Feel The Greenhouse Effect and the difference between a natural atmosphere and one with an enhanced greenhouse effect by placing your hands on each side of a large copper globe. Insulating chemicals on the surface of the globe simulate the heat generated by higher greenhouse gas concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere, which trap infrared energy and warm the planet.

A large, sealed glass biosphere, containing shrimp, plants, water, and air, demonstrates The Natural Carbon Cycle. This three-foot-diameter, self-sustaining sphere illustrates how nature has maintained a relatively constant level of atmospheric carbon dioxide throughout much of its history.

A lifelike model of a cow – one of today’s major methane emitters – illustrates the second most significant cause of greenhouse warming. Other causes of climate change described include natural processes such as volcanic eruptions and solar variations, and human causes such as land-use changes and black soot in urban smog. The relationships between the causes of climate change and some of the most significant past climate variations can be viewed in animations of the Ice Age cycles, American Dust Bowl, El Niño oscillation, and Earth’s recent period of dramatic warming.

A sliding plasma screen displays A Century of Change in temperature across the globe. Actual year-to-year temperature variations appear on the screen as it is moved along a timeline of the last century. Check out the temperature trends that have occurred in any region of the world on an interactive map. The various tools scientists use to determine recent and prehistoric changes in the climate are presented including tree, sediment, ice and coral cores, as well as modern measurement tools that allow for direct observations of the atmosphere and oceans.

A second sliding plasma screen reveals A Changing But Uncertain Future for the next century based on climate models by the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. While almost all climate models predict that temperature will continue to rise, the amount and location of the projected warming vary per model. Visitors examine the uncertainties that lead to these differences, including the unpredictability of the natural climate system and the unknown human factors that may affect the warming trend. Visitors compare the current and projected levels of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States with those of other countries, and discover the effectiveness of various actions in reducing these emissions.

At a large computer kiosk, visitors are asked to consider alternative scenarios for responding to climate change and record the particular trade-offs they are willing to make regarding money, quality of life, and the environment. Responses are compared on screen to those of other visitors. Throughout the year, these responses will be compiled by Penn State researchers as part of a study on ways to improve public policy in light of the trade-offs people are willing to make.

Visitors discover just how Climate Change Hits Home by seeing the impact of global warming on different geographic regions. One of the most significant effects is the projected rise in sea level around the world due to warmer temperatures and melting glaciers. Sea level rise projections for the year 2100 range between several inches and nearly three feet; the latter would likely cause the loss of coastal ecosystems, the flooding of cities, and an increased vulnerability to storm surges. To bring these possibilities home, interactive displays allow visitors to flood the Chesapeake Bay region and examine ways humans may adapt to these changes. The geographic diversity of climate change and its impact on society and nature are illustrated on different globes detailing the projected effects on agriculture, animals and plants, water supply, human health, and traditional cultures.

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