Award-winning author Marty Essen will present his high-energy, multi-media show “Around the World in 90 Minutes” at 7 p.m. April 22 in the Hesston Mennonite Church sanctuary on the Hesston College campus as part of the college’s Earth Day celebrations. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Essen’s show features interesting facts, humorous stories and the best of thousands of photos he took during three and a half years of traveling the world with his wife, Deb, for his book “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents” (Encante Press, 2007). As they searched for rare and interesting wildlife, the couple swam with piranhas, hiked with the Porcupine caribou migration, had close-up encounters with humpback whales, were surrounded by wolves and survived a hippo attack. Audiences have fun laughing at the stories, admiring the photos and when it’s all done, realizing just how much they’ve learned.

“Marty’s presentation of wildlife and his travels to the seven continents was amazing,” said Katie Leao, coordinator of Student Life at Western Nevada College (Carson City). “His energetic and enthusiastic character brought each picture to life and there is always a fascinating story behind each photo.”

“Around the World in 90 Minutes” began as a show Essen presented in bookstores as part of his first book tour. After numerous refinements, the show took on a life of its own in colleges, museums and nature centers across the United States.

Essen has been the Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities’ most booked college speaker for 37 out of the past 41 months. “Campus Activities Magazine” also named Essen as one of their “Hot Speaker” picks for 2011. He has won multiple book awards for travel and essay writing, including the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Best Books Book Award and the National Indie Excellence Award. He also won first prize at the 2009 Green Book Festival in Los Angeles, and the Minneapolis Star-Tribune named “Cool Creatures, Hot Planet” a top-10 “green” book.

Hesston Mennonite Church is located at 309 South Main Street in Hesston.