As part of the Drake University Engaged Citizen Experience Film Series, a screening of the critically acclaimed documentary The City Dark will be held on Thursday, April 11 at the Science Center of Iowa, 401 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. This event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a student art display, followed by the film screening at 7:30 p.m.
The City Dark follows filmmaker Ian Cheney’s journey across America, discovering the alarming disappearance of the night sky due to light pollution. Cheney travels to the dark corners of cities in America, asking astronomers, scientists, and ecologists about the implications of disappearing darkness. The documentary has won several awards at notable film festivals across the country.
This event is a collaborative and interdisciplinary project among three different departments at Drake University, and is sponsored by the Drake University Engaged Citizen Experience, the Des Moines Astronomical Society, the Golder Family Foundation, and the Science Center of Iowa. This collaborative project is being led by Drake students and faculty in the following three departments: Angela Battle, associate professor of art and design; Charles Nelson, department chair and associate professor of physics and astronomy; and, Amahia Mallea, assistant professor of history.
A panel discussion will immediately follow the screening. The panel, which consists of an astronomer, a humanist, a citizen, and a public policy specialist, will offer differing perspectives on darkness. Guests can also view the night sky in the Drake Observatory following the film.
The theme for the 2013 Drake University Engaged Citizen Experience is “Sustainability, Climate Change and the New Green Revolution.” The Drake Engaged Citizen Experience is part of the Drake Curriculum, which provides interdisciplinary and experiential learning opportunities for students through coursework, classroom, and community activities.
For more information about the event, contact Katherine Grasso at 515-271-2405 or at katherine.grasso@drake.edu.
For more information about The City Dark, visit: www.thecitydark.com/ or www.imdb.com/title/tt1863406/.