Behind the scenes at the Traversing Antarctica launchNiki Comparti's blog | Created 1 decade agoThe WA Maritime Museum transformed into Antarctica for the very cool official launch of Traversing Antarctica: the Australian experience last night. Guests were greeted by the adorable huskies from the Western Australian Sleddog Sports Association (yes – I didn’t know we had one either!?) and snow, and entertained as a block of ice became an impressive Emperor Penguin by the end of the night. Here are a few behind the scenes snaps: Image by Pace Photography pacephotos.com.au IT'S SNOWING! Image by Pace Photography pacephotos.com.au Expeditioner talk; handy if you ever need to text someone “Penguins have begun to arrive” (WUVNE), “I have grown a beard which is generally admired” (YIKHE) or “The food is first rate and I’ve put on some weight” (YINAP) in a hurry: Shep the husky, who was born at Mawson’s station in 1980 and later died in a blizzard in 1983. The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection (Madrid Protocol) banned all introduced species except humans from Antarctica and the last huskies left the frozen continent in 1993. WA Museum-ers Dan (lead designer for Traversing) and Lian (graphic designer – marketing) dressing the expeditioners before the guests arrive. (Naked expeditioners are usually frowned upon at exhibition launches) The Emperor Penguin in progress... ... and after with the lovely Luisa! Lian and Tracy (audience research) having a cuddle with Sasha. Thanks to all who attended – we hope you had as much fun as we did! Traversing Antarctica: the Australian experience is open at the WA Maritime Museum until February 24, 2013.