  Degenerate quantum gases of alkaline-earth-like elements open new
opportunities in research areas ranging from molecular physics to the study of
strongly correlated systems. These experiments exploit the rich electronic
structure of these elements, which is markedly different from the one of other
species for which quantum degeneracy has been attained. Specifically,
alkaline-earth-like atoms, such as strontium, feature metastable triplet
states, narrow intercombination lines, and a non-magnetic, closed-shell ground
state. This review covers the creation of quantum degenerate gases of strontium
and the first experiments performed with this new system. It focuses on
laser-cooling and evaporation schemes, which enable the creation of
Bose-Einstein condensates and degenerate Fermi gases of all strontium isotopes,
and shows how they are used for the investigation of optical Feshbach
resonances, the study of degenerate gases loaded into an optical lattice, as
well as the coherent creation of Sr_2 molecules.
