The Polar Rink Opens

A new state-of-the-art skating rink, The Polar Rink opened today at The American Museum of Natural History. Located on the Arthur Ross Terrace on the Museum's north side, The Polar Rink offers magnificent views of the glowing Rose Center for Earth and Space and is surrounded by Theodore Roosevelt Park. Skaters glide around a 17-foot-tall polar bear festooned with pine boughs and twinkling lights.

Non-skaters can enjoy the splendor of The Polar Rink from surrounding benches on the Terrace under trees adorned with lights, or from the glassed-in North Galleria adjacent to the rink, where hot cocoa and snacks are served.

The Polar Rink measures 150 x 80 feet, or 12,000 square feet. It can accommodate up to 200 people for each one-hour session. The rink is made of an artificial ice, or "synthetic ice," surface that allows ice skating blades to glide smoothly. It is a one inch piece of plastic you can skate on. The use of synthetic ice has environmental benefits; natural ice requires a significant amount of electricity for refrigeration, and the synthetic surface is made of 100% recyclable and non-toxic materials. The synthetic ice does impose some skating limitations: skaters cannot use skates with double blades.

During the summer, the site for the rink is the popular Ross Terrace near the Rose Center for Earth and Space. But now the rink, which includes a large statue of a polar bear, expects to be just as popular..

The rink will remain open through the end of February.

For more information go to amnh.org.