Marine Science Institute loves sharks! This special Shark Day invites one and all to learn about these amazing creatures, from the great whites that swim just off these ocean shores, to the gentle leopard sharks that are common in the Bay. You will be feeding and touching local leopard sharks ...
Where: Redwood CityCost: $20 General, $10 Members
Going to the Ends of the Earth to Study the Beginnings of TimeThe cosmic microwave background radiation is the oldest light we can see. Since it bears the imprint of the universe just after the Big Bang (at a mere 0.003% of the universe's age today), it has been a crucial tool in our quest to understand how the Universe began and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Mad Science: Fire & IceExplore "magical" chemical potions, the wonders of dry ice, and the dynamics of air pressure. Some of the topics the mad scientists will investigate include: the three states of matter, a gassy taste test and a super spectacular bubbling potion. Ages 5-12.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
BAASICS.4: WatershedThe Bay Area is home to stately mountains and forests, major metropolitan centers, sprawling suburbs, and an impressive nexus of roads, rail lines, bridges, and tunnels, but our region is named for the estuary that provides its contours. As Will Travis, former Executive Director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: FREE/SLIDING SCALE
A Thousand Words Photography and science make great partners. During his voyage with HMS Beagle, naturalist Charles Darwin could have made great use of photographic equipment especially a modern high resolution digital camera. In this presentation we will navigate a handful of photographs and reveal some of the many useful capabilities of digital ...
Male northern elephant seals are known for their massive size (weighing upwards of 4,500 lbs) and epic battles on the beach. While males do sometimes fight for access to females, the costs of doing so are extremely high. As a result, male elephant seals establish ordered social networks during the breeding season that limit ...
Do you know a young person interested in nature? Take them to Junior Academy: Naturalist Know-how!January's skill is Puzzling Out the Past: Learn what archaeologists and paleontologists do on a dig.Sign-up at 1:30pm) Naturalist Center / Lab (Level 3 across from the Planetarium exit)This program is designed for youth ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission
Robert Ferguson Observatory - Night Sky Spring Series, Class #1The three seasonal series (six classes each) are designed for everyone from total beginners to experienced amateur observers. Whether you want to learn the constellations or have a telescope and want to expand your knowledge of viewing objects, these classes have something for you. ((Email nightsky@rfo.org for pre-registration instructions.)) ...
Where: KenwoodCost: $23.00 per. session
Monday, 01/20/14
The Tech's Got 'Bots In honor of the new, cutting-edge era of robot human interaction, The Tech will celebrate all things robotic! Special robot programming and special guests throughout the museum throughout the day.Interact and see NAO, a humanoid robot, jam along to your favorite tunes!Program a human robot to perform in our RoboTheater.Visit ...
Since the Industrial Revolution, manufacturers have built things by a process known as "heat, beat, and treat." They use enormous amounts of energy to heat raw material, shape it with heavy machinery, and maintain its design, strength, and durability with toxic chemicals. Now, in a world of depleted natural resources, ...
Where: Corte MaderaCost: Free
Tuesday, 01/21/14
Some assembly required: Nature's instruction booklet for planetary migration We once thought planets formed peacefully in situ in their natal disks and subsequently followed their orbits like clockwork. However, there is growing evidence that the typical planetary system forms with "some assembly required" and undergoes a dynamical rearrangement through planetary migration processes. The nature of this migration remains debated, ...
Cosmologist Max Tegmark has discovered that the ultimate nature of reality is not at all what it seems. Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our ...
This talk focuses on a cognitive computing approach to handle common problems within utilities, concentrating on utility operations and exploring the concept of using cognitive models and the underlying technologies that support it. I will discuss such topics as big data, analytics, sensing and the Internet of Things (IoT), along ...
Seeing Voices: Optical Scanning Applied to Early Recorded Sound PreservationSound was first recorded and reproduced by Thomas Edison in 1877. Until about 1950, when magnetic tape use became common, most recordings were made on mechanical media such as wax, foil, shellac, lacquer, and plastic. Some of these older recordings contain material of great historical interest, may be in obsolete ...
Every day, 2.5 billion gigabytes of data are created. What can this "big data" tell us? Erez Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel, two young Harvard scientists, teamed up with Google to mine the Google Books archive, a collection of 5 million books from across centuries. Their results can help us learn ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25-$35
Black Widow Pulsars: Vengeful Star CorpsesNASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has revealed a violent high-energy universe full of stellar explosions, black hole jets, and pulsing stars. These cosmic objects are often faint when observed with visible light, but glow bright with gamma rays. Dr. Romani will describe the quest to discover the true nature of ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost: Free, $3 Parking Fee
Science and Reason with Skeptics in the Pub, West BayIf ye value critical thinking, and if ye scorn the film-flam man, and if ye drink, drink with us, your friends. If ye shun the brewer's art, at least help us lay waste to bangers & mash!Skeptics in the Pub is a monthly meeting for discussion of topics of science, ...
Financial and trade secret theft, fraud, technical attacks, privacy intrusions, malware and other online criminal activity is a significant problem. Millions of internet users and companies have already been victimized and perpetrators have caused considerable economic harm to the online economy. Increasing ubiquity (e.g. social media, mobile platforms), more valuable ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
PART 1 OF 2: CLIMATE AND ENERGY BASICS - WHAT'S MISSING IN THE MEDIA?In April 1970, Eugene Kranz, the Apollo 13 Flight Director said, "Let's work the problem. Let's not make things worse by guessing." S. Arrhenius, the Nobel-winning father of industrial chemistry, wrote about the effects of carbon-dioxide emissions in 1896 and 1905, before oil was an important power source. Even steam ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
The Science of Making ColorJoin Exploratorium scientist Ron Hipschman for colorful explorations of the physical world.Explore some of the many ways to make color-from neon signs to oil slicks to rainbows and more. Learn all about light, how it is made and interacts, and take home materials to build your own spectroscope. You'll see ...
The USGS Evening Lecture series is back after a 10 month absence due to government sequestration cuts.Monitoring the sleeping giant beneath Yellowstone National ParkWhat's all the buzz about -- is the Yellowstone area really dangerous?Learn about Yellowstone's amazing geological historyWhat's happening now with earthquakes, hot springs, and steam explosions?Hear how ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Fog and the Future of RedwoodsRedwood ecologist Emily Burns will describe how climate change is affecting the growth of our ancient redwood forests. From less fog to warmer weather, see how the tallest and largest trees on Earth are responding to today's novel climate.
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Friday, 01/24/14
Electronic Materials Reaching Out To Mechanical, Optical And Thermal FunctionalitiesElectronic materials are materials in which mobile electrons play an active role in defining their relevant properties. However, their functionalities and applications are not necessarily limited to the electronic sector. In this talk I will discuss our recent efforts in extending our understanding and engineering of electronic materials to ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Science of CocktailsScience of Cocktails is back! Join us for an evening that celebrates the artistry of master mixology shaken with the science behind the craft. Taking an in-depth, hands-on look at the physics, chemistry, and biology of cocktails, engage in an exploration of your favorite libations in ways you've never experienced ...
