Arctic 'Doomsday' Seed Vault Opens (broadcast Friday, March 7th, 2008)

Go inside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault for its opening ceremony. Cary Fowler, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf and others sound off about why the Seed Vault is important, and whether all those seeds are actually safe. (Credits: Courtesy of Dinamo Story) See More Videos

A frozen vault containing samples of seeds from around the world has begun accepting seeds for storage. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, nicknamed 'the doomsday seed vault' by some, aims to preserve samples of seeds from around the world to protect the planet's crop diversity.

The structure is located near the village of Longyearbyen, Svalbard, a group of islands nearly a thousand kilometers north of mainland Norway. The vault was dug into the side of a mountain, and is surrounded by permafrost and thick rock.

"The opening of the seed vault marks a historic turning point in safeguarding the world’s crop diversity," said Cary Fowler, Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. In this segment, Ira talks with Fowler about the project and its aims. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.