Enjoy science, but you don't want to go to all these events by yourself? Don't fret...just join these meetups to network with other science lovers across the Bay Area:
The Science Festival Alliance: supporting the advancement of science festivals—extended celebrations of science, engineering, and technology that engage whole communities.
July is Astronomy month and we’re featuring one of our astronomical partners: The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The ASP has been around a whopping 120 years and they are celebrating with their annual meeting in Millbrae. This year’s theme is Science Education and Outreach: Forging a Path to the Future.
Dr. Patricia Burchat (Stanford University): “The Dark Side of the Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy”
In the last decade or so, astronomers have been forced to accept two mysterious observations. About a quarter of the universe is made of “dark matter,” which attracts things with its gravity, but is otherwise invisible. And roughly two-thirds of the universe is composed of “dark energy,” which causes space itself to expand at an ever-increasing rate. That means only a small fraction of the universe is made of ordinary matter — the stuff we understand! In this non-technical presentation, Dr. Burchat explores the evidence for the dark side of the cosmos, and the experiments that are being developed to investigate it further..
You can sign up to receive advance e-mail notification of each lecture by clicking here.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state stem cell agency, was established in 2004 following the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The statewide ballot measure provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions over 10 years.
CIRM funds adult and embryonic stem cell research at institutions and for-profit organizations in California. These funds are accelerating a field of research that holds the possibility of bringing new therapies for debilitating diseases.
CIRM publishes a series of videos ranging from the basics of stem cells to information about the latest research developments. Check out the below video on establishing new embryonic stem cell lines.
What would happen if you gave some teens control of a radio station? In our experience, very good things.
Youth Radio was founded in 1990 on the deeply held belief that underserved youth, ages 14-24 years old, have the creativity, technical skills and entrepreneurial spirit to become leaders in the multi-media industry and the community and to serve as mentors to other youth.
Each year Youth Radio introduces diverse groups of students to a broad spectrum of media-related careers and state-of-the-art technology. Its program goals are to strengthen basic life-skills, motivate them to graduate from high school and attend a two or four year university and prepare them for multi-media and other careers in the 21st Century Marketplace.
Youth Radio currently trains 1,300 youth each year to develop core competencies in audio, video, web and print and to produce the highest quality original media for the widest range of mainstream outlets. Its reporters are heard worldwide through radio, video and the Internet and through print media.
Check out this great piece, made in collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences, on how citizen scientists are making a big difference in cleaning up the toxic conditions of many local aging schools.
The Lawrence Berkeley Lab sponsors free informal talks by some of their premier scientists just about every month. Each of the talks take place at Berkeley Rep (it’s a cheap trip for some great seats). But here’s the topper, they video every talk and place them up on the internet.
LBL is the center of the energy revolution. It’s former boss, Steven Chu, is now Secretary of Energy in the Obama administration. I’d bet you’ll see some exciting development on green energy technology from that lab in the next few years.
So whether its solar energy, dark matter, or how much sugar we eat, LBL’s Friends of Science is a good watch.
Check out this great talk by Carolyn Bertozzi on how sugar can be good for your health (by advancing targeted medicinal treatment using sugar coated cells – don’t binge on M & Ms)
UCSF produces a weekly podcast on the culture and science behind all the biomedical breakthrough’s at the university. Each weekly segment features a 5-10 minute conversation with a UCSF researcher along with all the relevant links to fill out your education needs.
The talks are not overly technical, easy to understand for all age ranges. I personally love the background stories of most of the scientists, you get a feel for how their love of science and research continues to drive them today.
From UCSF’s Science Cafe:
“Scientists are the spirit and soul of UCSF. Their curiosity fuels all the discoveries that ultimately improve human health and while they might be far removed from the bedside, make no mistake. That drug you take, that healing therapy you enjoy, that hope you feel, often began in the mind of a scientist who wondered why something works as it does or why it fails so completely.”
Who wouldn’t want to listen to a great series grounded in that statement?
Evolve 2009 honors Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. Programming and events will commemorate and investigate arguably the most important scientific concept of our time. All year, participating organizations will celebrate Darwin and evolution with lectures, performances and educational programs from the world’s foremost scientists, writers, thinkers and artists.
Programs will include lectures and presentations on Darwin, plant and animal diversity, sustainability of life on earth, and the application of evolutionary theory to such wide and disparate subjects as psychology and education. Join us as we ask: We’ve had the theory of natural selection for 150 years: what have we done with it? Throughout San Francisco, 2009 will be the year we reflect on what it means to evolve!
I’m partial to the Neil DeGrasse Tyson discussion on Pluto at the Commonwealth Club. Here is a great interview with him by one of our best journalists:
Understanding Science is an interactive website designed to illustrate how science works in the modern world. You can throw out that old diagram of the scientific method. This site was developed by the UC Museum of Paleontology.
About Understanding Science
The process of science is exciting, but standard explanations often miss its dynamic nature. Science affects us all everyday, but people often feel cut off from science. Science is an intensely human endeavor, but many portrayals gloss over the passion, curiosity, and even rivalries and pitfalls that characterize all human ventures. Understanding Science gives users an inside look at the general principles, methods, and motivations that underlie all of science.
Cliff Stoll, a local scientist, astronomer, and all around character, talks about….well honestly I don’t really know what he talks about. But it sure is entertaining.
An astronomer (though his astronomy career took a turn when he noticed a bookkeeping error that ultimately led him to track down a notorious hacker), researcher and internationally recognized computer security expert — who happens to be a vocal critic of technology — Stoll makes a sharp, witty case for keeping computers out of the classroom. Currently teaching college-level physics to eighth graders at a local east bay high school, he stays busy in his spare time building Klein bottles.
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