Seattle Center to Present The Next Fifty Water & Habitat Weekend, 5/5-6

Explore ways to protect and sustain our most precious resource, water and watersheds, and reorient ourselves within our community ecosystems and local habitats at The Next Fifty Water & Habitat Weekend, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. May 5; 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. on May 6, at Next 50 Plaza, Alki Courtyard and Intiman Playhouse. All of the events are free-of-charge and open to the public.

Water & Habitat Weekend is part of The Next Fifty Sustainable Futures month, Apr 22 – May 31, the first of six months of Next 50 activities focusing on areas of importance globally and to the Pacific Northwest presented by Seattle Center and Seattle Center Foundation in partnership with hundreds of community organizations in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, Apr 21 – Oct 21, 2012.

The Activity Tent in Next 50 Plaza, located between Seattle Center Armory/Center House and EMP Museum, serves as the daytime activity hub for Water & Habitat Weekend, opened 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Here families will find essential information and absorbing displays. They may take part in learning explorations presented by Seattle Public Utilities and King County Wastewater Treatment Division, Department of Natural Resources and Parks; the Plant Survival Game, offered by Forterra and Friends of Cedar River Watershed; and Café Vita giveaways.

reLeaf Tree Ambassador Table will greet visitors at the Activity Tent, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and Seattle Center campus tree tours depart from there, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. on both days. The National Parks Service/Olympic National Park will host a model and exhibit of the Elwha Dam project, and Green Infrastructure Partnership (GRIP) will offer a raingarden display and book readings. In addition, visitors may meet the Salmon mascot and participate in a parade to Intiman Playhouse with the mascot at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Seattle Public Utilities and King County Program highlights continue from 4 p.m. -7 p.m. on May 5 and 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. on May 6 in the Intiman Playhouse.

To highlight sustainable design features on the campus, tours of Theater Commons are offered 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. on Sunday with Seattle Center staff and project designers from Gustafson Guthrie Nichol. Theater Commons, completed in 2010, is a 1.6-acre site located at the north entry of Seattle Center between the Intiman Playhouse and Seattle Repertory Theatre that serves as a demonstration project for sustainable landscape design and storm water management.