Hudson River Mythbusters In Yonkers 12/19

Yonkers, NY - A panel of experts tackles observations about the Hudson River and shows what's real and what's fiction at Hudson River Mythbusters on Saturday, December 19 at 7:00 PM at Beczak Environmental Education Center, 35 Alexander Street, Yonkers, NY.

Hudson River Mythbusters is FREE and includes holiday refreshments. For more information, call (914) 377-1900 x 13. This event is funded by the New York Council for the Humanities.


The Half Moon was the first European boat to sail up the Hudson. 
The Palisades cliffs were formed by dynamite.

Truth isn’t as simple as it seems—that’s where the Hudson River Mythbusters come in. On the expert panel: Dr. Roger Panetta, Professor of History at Fordham University and author of many Hudson River books, most recently, Dutch New York: The Roots of Hudson Valley Culture; Kimberly Flook, Historic Site Manager of Philipse Manor Hall known for her presentation of Pirates of the Hudson; Margie Turrin, Science Educator with Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and coordinator of the annual Hudson River sampling and education event, “A Day in the Life of the Hudson River.” The Mythbusters Moderator is Daniel Wolff, author of How Lincoln Learned to Read and A Glimpse of the Lenape.

This light-hearted and entertaining event requires audience participation. People are invited to come with questions and encouraged to cast their vote for “Truth” or “Urban Legend” to statements like these:

- The dredging of upstate PCBs will solve that pollution problem.
- The Hudson River doesn't freeze very often because of global warming.
- The Hudson is once again clean enough to swim in.
- Slavery was a minor institution in the Hudson Valley and ended early.
- The Hudson River is a freshwater river.

Teachers have also been invited to submit favorite things students say about the Hudson—both ones that make them laugh as well as those that pose serious, complex questions that need an expert answer.

Hudson River MYTHBUSTERS is an end-of-year event that wraps up Beczak’s popular 2009 Hudson Quadricentennial Lectures, a series of ten presentations that ranged from The Palisades Revealed with Eric Nelsen, Historic Interpreter of the Palisades Interstate Park to Secrets of the Deep with Dr. Frank Nitsche of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

ABOUT BECZAK ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER
Beczak Environmental Education Center is a non-profit organization that presents exhibits and programs for all ages to raise environmental awareness and to encourage informed stewardship of rivers.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation calls Beczak’s rehabilitated property an “environmental recovery success story.” Located on the banks of the Hudson in the City of Yonkers, at River Mile 18, this spacious interpretive center is an adaptive reuse of the former social club for Habirshaw Cable & Wire Co. It’s two-acre park features a welcoming riverfront lawn, an easily accessible tidal marsh and a beach used for river exploration and seining.

Beczak educators work with approximately 20,000 children and families each year through in-school river education programs, field trips at its riverfront center and after school environmental clubs. Public programs include River Explorers and Fish Tales for children, Saturdays by the Fire lectures and Urban H2O concerts, Lunchtime Learning for seniors, Summer Adventures camp, and professional development for educators.