This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Dominic Meiklejohn

Part of UK in USA [New York]

11th June 2010 New York, USA

Explorers Here, Climate Map There, Penguins Everywhere

Today a guest blog from Clare Risman, Vice Consul for Devolved Administrations at the Consulate.

Growing up in London, the Natural History Museum was one of my favourite places.  My children share a similar sense of excitement and wonder at the delights of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) – their imaginations have been inspired to take journeys to the ocean floor, outer space or a pre-historic world. 

In early 2009, I enjoyed telling my sons about my meeting with Ross MacPhee, curator at AMNH, to discuss a journey of a different kind – to one of the harshest environments on earth, Antarctica. 

Ross, aided by a number of images, outlined plans for the exhibition to bring Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen’s journey to a new generation.  I soon discovered that Ross, a frequent visitor to Antarctica, was a leading expert on the Antarctic, and knows most of what there is to know about the early years of polar exploration.  He aimed to highlight the successes, failures and the lasting legacy of the expeditions including, the infamous side visit to collect Emperor Penguin eggs.  The exhibition would also look at modern Antarctica; the science, daily life and the environment.  AMNH hoped to create an interactive map that would identify geological and weather features.  Perhaps even, look at the impact of global warming on the region.   This was a good opportunity for the British Consulate; part of our remit is to communicate British government views on the impact of climate change.   We agreed to do this through the map and through associated programs.  We will be hosting a symposium at AMNH on the national security implications of climate change – this takes place later this month and aims to engage representatives from political, military, diplomatic, academics, scientists and business leaders. 

With each visit the exhibition came together.  Images were transformed into a scale model which Ross “walked” me through; diorama here; penguins there; interactive map, with elements explaining the impact of ice melt, here.  By the time of my next visit, the scale model had become the exhibition – and what an exhibition!   Based on my small sample group of two boys, children throughout New York will be inspired by the bravery of those men and will be mindful of the impact climate change could have on those penguins.  

The Race to the End of the Earth is at the American Museum of Natural History until 2 January 2011.  To plan your trip visit www.amnh.com. 

 

About Dominic Meiklejohn

I was born in Woking, outside London, in 1967 and attended Merton College, Oxford University, graduating in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. After university, I worked for HM Customs and Excise…

I was born in Woking, outside London, in 1967 and attended Merton College, Oxford University, graduating in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

After university, I worked for HM Customs and Excise before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1990. After working for the European Community Department, I learned Polish and began a posting at the British Embassy Warsaw, where I headed the British Know How Fund for Poland (1993-96). In 1997, I worked for the OSCE Mission in Albania, before heading up the India team in the South Asian Department of the FCO. In 2000, I was posted as First Secretary to the British Embassy Warsaw, with a particular focus on European Union issues in the run-up to Poland’s accession to the EU. In 2003, I returned to the UK as Deputy Head of the Environment Policy Department. From 2004-2005, I led the FCO’s Knowledge Management Programme. During this period, I led two deployments of the FCO’s Consular Rapid Deployment Team– to Sri Lanka, after the tsunami in 2004 and to Pakistan, after the earthquake in 2005. From 2006-2007, I served as Deputy Consul-General, Basra, Iraq. From June 2007 I worked with the FCO’s Change Unit.

I took up my current appointment on 22 January 2008. My wife Joanne and I are the proud parents of Olivia. Outside of the office, I cycle around Manhattan, play soccer (football) and, when parenting duties allow, enjoy the cultural riches offered by New York. I try hard to understand baseball.

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