After years of planning and 2 years of work writing educational materials. We finally arrived at the debut of “Piccolo Orso e la montagna di Ghiaccio”. Where two polar bears get separated after their ice floe breaks in half separating them. One is rescued by the Regina dei Ghiacci, and the other is found by Mangia Neve. A character who seems good but has ulterior motives! This work was written by Gianfranco di Cataldo, with the composition by Giovanni Sollima in collaboration with Opera Domani and Fenice Education. CNR ISP as part of the LIQUIDICE project are proud to be the scientific partners in this wonderful initiative aimed at young students.
The scientific story behind Piccolo Orso, the title of which in English is Little Bear and the Ice Mountain is clearly in line with LIQUIDICE and its objectives. With sea ice melting due to the ocean being too warm, the ice floes become unstable and break, and the two bears, a brother and sister become separated. The sister is found by the ice queen who cures and looks after here, the brother by Mangianeve (snow eater) who presents himself as someone who’ll bring abundance and fun to where they live. They go looking for the ice queen because she is blocking progress by keeping the mountain cold and find a tourist who decides to help. All the while the ice starts forming black marks due to black carbon deposition accelerating the melting, towards the end mangianeve reveals himself as his clothes are becoming darker and wants to build an ice theme park by stealing the land uncovered by ice melt. In the end all understand that he is the bad guy, not the mysterious ice queen and with a final song the ice starts to heal.
Photo credits: WARREN RAYMOND LEE CAIRNS