Mesa Arts Center Announces NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE ARIZONA Lineup

From the depths of the sea to the birds in the sky, Mesa Arts Center and National Geographic Live today announced the 2012 National Geographic Live Speaker Series.  Now in its sixth season, National Geographic's popular speaker series features presentations by dynamic National Geographic explorers, scientists, photographers, and filmmakers. National Geographic Live speakers report cutting edge and compelling stories from the field through images and video. Four-part series tickets are available now; single tickets go on sale July 2. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is sponsoring the Speaker Series for the sixth consecutive year.  

Photographers and filmmakers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher are working against the clock to record the unique African ceremonies that are rapidly changing in the face of modernity.  Kenny Broad, an accomplished cave diver and National Geographic's Explorer of the Year for 2011, takes you to the blue holes of the Bahamas to solve problems of climate change and freshwater resource management.  Tim Laman, photographer and tree canopy researcher, and ornithologist Ed Scholes, take us deep into the New Guinea rainforest to observe the secret lives, bizarre displays, and dazzling courtship antics of the Birds of Paradise - a living laboratory of evolution.  Polar adventurer Børge Ousland is the first person to cross Antarctica solo and unsupported, and the first to cross the Northwest and Northwest Passages by sea in a single season. 

National Geographic Live and Mesa Arts Center will present a matinee performance specifically geared for middle school students. Lesson plans and other related materials will be available prior to the event/shows.  Schools may find more information about these matinees at www.nglive.org/arizona. Tickets for Student shows are $2 per student.  Information about the fees and ticket/bus waivers are available at MesaArtsCenter.com.