This month we celebrate Halloween with a creepy collection of stories about the animals that live in the deepest parts of the ocean! Learn how elephant seal's can dive to 5000 feet and stay underwater for 2 hours at a time without imploding (!), find out how a sperm whale ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Summer-dry native plants for home landscapesJoin the Garden's California Area horticulturist, Ben Anderson, in an exploration of California's native plants as part of Bringing Back the Natives.
UC Elkus Ranch Environmental Education Center provides unique hands-on learning experiences for Bay Area children and families. Come take a splash, walk, and/or chase (after a butterfly) with ranch Director Dr. Virginia Bolshakova as she shows off the learning laboratory from the bug's eye-view. This small group will explore insect ...
Our Hawk Talks and Banding Demonstrations occur every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2 pm (weather permitting – heavy fog or rain cancels) during September and October, except for Fleet Week weekend. The Hawk Talk begins at noon, when a GGRO volunteer speaks about hawk migration and identification, and ...
Explore the inner workings of the Zambryski plant microbiology lab at UC Berkeley. See plants, meet microbes, and investigate the novel techniques being used to understand their inner workings, including electrophoresis and visualization by fluorescence.Attendance for this tour will be First Come, First Served.
You are invited to a behind-the-scenes tour of a UCSF Parasitology Lab where you'll have the chance to see live parasites (worms and protozoa)! You'll also get to hear about research to discover drugs to treat parasitic diseases that affect millions of people worldwide. This lab are located at the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Black Holes in the Universe (and Hollywood)Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity implies that black holes could exist, astrophysicists demonstrated that they should exist, and astronomers observing with many different telescopes havediscovered that they are common in the universe. The strange and wonderful behavior of black holes will be described and compared with alternate realities created in ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Full-Spectrum Science with Ron Hipschman: Science FictionScience fiction has predicted many things. Some have come true (think touch screens, submarines, bionic limbs), others, not so much-or at least, not yet. If you've ever wondered where your flying car or rocket belt is, or why you don't yet have a robot servant, find out at Full-Spectrum Science.Talks ...
Come take a closer look at the sea cliffs at New Brighton State Beach. The rocks forming these dramatic cliffs are part of the Purisima Formation, which is exposed along the California Coast from Point Reyes to southern Santa Cruz County. We will discuss the formation of marine sedimentary rocks, ...
Where: CapitolaCost: Free, Parking $10
Fall Tarantula Hike with Lindsay Wildlife at Mount DiabloExplore the habitat of local tarantulas along the north face of Mount Diablo with an experienced naturalist. Fall is the time for these eight-legged, carnivorous yet docile creatures to come out of hiding in search of mates. The hike covers a distance of 2 miles, hiking shoes and bottled water ...
Where: Walnut CreekCost: $10 member ($15 non-member)
The University Herbarium (UC) and Jepson Herbarium (JEPS) have a current combined total of about 2,200,000 preserved specimens that are irreplaceable physical records of biodiversity. The collections are a tool for basic research in systematics, ecology, phytogeography, and evolution. They are actively used in teaching, and are a resource for ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
CEPHEID'S AND LEAVITT'S LAWDr. Vicky Scowcroft of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, will detail a class of pulsating stars, used as "Standard Candles" to measure distances in the Universe.
On August 3, President Obama and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Clean Power Plan (CPP). Issued under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, these are the first-ever national standards addressing powerplant carbon emissions and will change the entire landscape of America's electricity system. Professor Wara will ...
What makes us human? Join world renowned neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky for an evening exploring one of the most fundamental questions about our existence.Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we'll investigate different aspects of our evolution, our behavior, and the ...
Basic science is common to all humankind and helps unify the world, even among nations in political conflict. "Where do we come from?" and "Why do we exist?" are global themes driving scientific research. Recent examples include collaborations among Israel, Iran and the Palestinian Authority.Join two UC Berkeley scientists who ...
The Story Collider is coming to San Francisco! Join us for and evening of four true, personal stories about science. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes so bizarre you won't believe what's happening, we always find stories of the ways science intersects with people's lives. Hosted by Brian Wecht.Storytellers announced soon!Tickets
MIT technology and society specialist psychologist Sherry Turkle (Alone Together) has been called the Margaret Mead of Digital Culture and our techno-Freud. In her latest book, Reclaiming Conversation, she discusses the power of conversation and the importance of reclaiming it in the digital age. Turkle argues that social media provides ...
Celebrated public astronomer Andrew Fraknoi takes us behind the scenes on Pluto's demotion to "dwarf planet," explaining why its story might still turn out OK. In July, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by the double planet Pluto-Charon and gave us superb close-up views of both worlds for the first time. Though New Horizons data will keep ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: $20 General, $12 Member, $8 Student
Tuesday, 10/27/15
Checking on the Neighbors: Searching for Planets around Alpha Centauri - TIME CHANGEThe alpha Centauri system - our next door neighbor in space - represents a very attractive target for exoplanet searches. Owing to its proximity, a planet found around any of the three stars in the system would be an ideal target for detailed follow-up studies with next generation ground- and ...
Come and enjoy a unique evening with Tanya Atwater, one of the pioneering scientists whose explorations and analysis in the 1960s and 70s led to the plate tectonics revolution in earth science. Plate tectonics is a new and beautiful way of understanding our earth which is often hard for us ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
The Most Famous Grizzly Bear: How Will She and Other Grizzlies Survive U.S. Trophy Shootings?Since 1975, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the grizzly bear as "threatened," with the goal of recovering the animal's range and helping populations recover. Today, the federal government may soon remove grizzly bears' protection under the Endangered Species Act, allowing people again to trophy hunt grizzly bears ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Members, $7 Students
The science of genetics has developed rapidly over the last century, bringing with it a number of astounding new technologies. These biological technologies can improve human health, provide energy, and protect our environment. However, every new technology also poses significant social, legal, and ethical questions - sometimes even causing new ...
Where: AlbanyCost: Free
DTV Trend and Technologies for DRAMTV has had continuous evolution toward best picture quality and bigger display size. TV industry keeps on developing new technologies to improve better picture quality, but these new technologies have impacted on DRAM increase in terms of bandwidth and density.It will be good chance to review and talk aboutDTV market ...
Where: Santa ClaraCost: $10 General, Members price varies
For the last 15 years, Cetos Research Organization has used underwater videography with a variety of recording set-ups that allow us to capture both video and sounds in our studies of Hawaiian humpback whales. While collecting data on sounds and behaviors, we also, when possible, obtain photo identification of humpbacks, ...
Collection of biological samples in the field often presents issues of specimen damage or degradation caused by preservation methods, handling, and transport to laboratory facilities for identification. Traditionally, the collection of high quality microscopic images in the field has not been a realistic possibility due to the size, weight, and ...
Dr. Kenneth Loh, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, serves as CITRIS campus director at UC Davis. Professor Loh directs the Nano-Engineering & Smart Structures Technologies (NESST) Laboratory and recently won the 2014 Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from the UC Davis College of Engineering. His research ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Solving the Color Cubes PuzzleGiven a palette of colors, a color cube is one where each face is colored with exactly one color and all colors in the palette appear on some face. To solve the puzzle you need to arrange a subset of the collection into an n x n x n cube ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Four Presentations at the Romberg Tiburon CenterRubaya Pervin: Identifying Changes in Mangroves in Trat Province, Thailand and Koh Kong Province, Cambodia Kechaunte Johnson: Comparison of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic variation of copepods in the San Francisco Estuary Gaurav Rele: TBA Tim Fuller: The Tiny Fish Invasion: Travels Through Space and ...
Where: TiburonCost: Free
Creating Silicon Valley's World: A Conversation with Author Ann BridgesMichael Fallon, Director of SJSU Center for Community Learning & Leadership and professor of sociology, will have a conversation with Ann Bridges, the author of Private Offerings (hardback and paperback both available September 15, 2015), about the fast-paced business world of Silicon Valley as found in her novel, in Dave ...
Come tour the UCSF Human Performance Center and experience various ways we test human movement and performance. After a tour of the lab we will be demonstrating the use of our motion capture equipment. 1-2 volunteers will be suited up with reflective markers and get to see how we measure ...
Social media, mobile marketing and cloud-based computing are the most widely understood mega-trends that are revolutionizing online communications. In this eye-opening presentation, media innovator and pioneer Jon Leland goes a step further to illuminate how these new forms of multimedia-and digital video in particular-are creating revolutionary new channels that are ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Member, $7 Student
Science and Reason with Skeptics in the Pub, West BayIf ye value critical thinking, and if ye scorn the flim-flam man, join us, your friends. Skeptics in the Pub is a group of like-minded people informally discussing the latest in science or pseudoscience over good eats & ale.Skeptics in the Pub is a monthly meeting for discussion of topics ...
Take advantage of a unique opportunity to tour the inside of SF State's marine science lab with the scientists, and learn first-hand about their research. See our beautiful and historic bayfront site tucked away on the Tiburon Peninsula, listen to underwater sounds, and "Be a Diatom!"Restrictions: 150 guests. Ages 10 & ...
White sharks visit and feed in San Francisco Bay. The recent spectacular sighting near Alcatraz Island has been covered extensively in the news, but did you know that over 7 other shark species regularly feed, breed, and inhabit the Bay? Join shark experts Michael Grassmann (Aquarium of the Bay) and ...
The creatures come out at night as NightLife joins forces with the Bay Area Science Festival for an evening of spine-tingling science.Come in costume for this annual Halloween bash and catch a drag show and costume contest hosted by hostess of horror and local drag queen legend Peaches Christ, along ...
Have you ever wondered what happens to the dirty water from your shower, laundry and toilet after it goes down the drain? What about the runoff from lawns and gardens, and rainwater and car washing? You'll see first-hand what happens after your flush down the toilet, learn about the wastewater ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Computational Thinking and the Pedagogy of Computable ContentLast year, I gave a keynote that launched from the idea of "computational thinking" and then put forward that computing generates new knowledge (which is why we care about reproducibility in computational science) and proposed that computing is hence a form of learning. I had this insight from seeing students ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
The Incentive to Overinvest in Energy Efficiency: Evidence from Hourly Smart-Meter DataMost consumers of electricity pay a marginal price that far exceeds the marginal social cost of providing that electricity. We show that such pricing schemes provide a large subsidy for energy efficiency investments. Using hourly smart-meter data for consumers that face increasing block pricing, we estimate the effect of an air conditioner upgrade on ...
"Smart Cities" are an example of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) with direct impact to urban settings, where sensor and actuator networks are deployed to monitor the environment and civil infrastructure. Based on data collected, the goals include improvements in traffic control, energy distribution, emergency response, and location- based commerce, to name ...
Join us for a special dusk/night hike (relatively flat) in search of the two inhabitants whose nightly sounds "haunt" many of our human visitors: The coyote and the great horned owl. Along the way, we will learn more about the secret lives of these reclusive creatures.Estimated time: Five miles in ...
In 2003 we sequenced one complete human genome. It took over a decade and billions of dollars.Now in 2015, we can sequence a genome in a few days for one one-millionth of that price. We have already sequenced tens of thousands of genomes, and genotyped millions more. The next decade will see an explosion ...
Where: Santa ClaraCost: $10 Donation
Saturday, 10/31/15
Two day clinical and experiential workshop with Dennis TirchThe training will be an introduction to Compassion Focused Therapy, CFT. Compassion focused therapy (CFT) is a system of psychotherapy developed by Paul Gilbert that integrates techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy with concepts from evolutionary psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, Buddhist psychology, and neuroscience. Register now- Use code "FULLCALENDAR" for ...
Merritt College's Celebration of Science Fun & Science Futures for All Ages.Explore job opportunities in the fields of biotechnology, and the training opportunities in fields such as genomics, microscopy, and histotechnology at Merritt College, as well as citizen science projects in your community that you can participate in. Learn more ...
Come learn about the local bats with Director of NorCal Bats Corky Quirk. In her presentation you will learn about bats and discuss the harmful myths that surround these animals. You'll also learn the importance of bats in our environment. Live bats will be presented for viewing and discussion.
Where: BerkeleyCost: $15 General, $10 Member, $5 Age 3-17
Marshland of DreamsJoin Paul Mueller on a 1-mile walk of the LaRiviere Marsh Trail to find traces of the past. Prior to marsh restoration, learn how Californians utilized the area for farming, quarrying, salt production, and transportation. There will opportunities for bird watching as well.
Come celebrate math with puzzles, games, magic, and much more!Kids ages 8 and up, and grown-ups who are kids at heart, will enjoy this afternoon filled with a dozen or more different hands-on activities. The event honors the life and work of Martin Gardner, former Scientific American columnist who inspired a generation ...
Watch pumpkins fly across the sky in the Pumpkin Catapult show and experience Halloween-themed science in our Happy Creepy Halloween event. Meet slimy, hairy, and creepy critters. Use hydraulics to build your own pumpkin lifts. And, wear your costume and get a free ticket to the National Geographic 3D Theater.
Learn how spiders use vibrations to capture their prey, sample the food a spider eats (bugs!), create crafts and take home a trick-or-treat prize. After you've discovered spiders are cool, not creepy, hold a live tarantula during this spider themed Halloween event!
This event is the perfect mix of technology, creativity and Halloween celebration.. There are activities for Makers and trick-or-treating – it's free and fun for the whole family!Bon Air Center hosts Marin Maker Mobile, offering lots of free Halloween-themed maker activities, from costumes, to trick-or-treat bags, to monsterously fun make-and-take ...
Our Hawk Talks and Banding Demonstrations occur every Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2 pm (weather permitting – heavy fog or rain cancels) during September and October, except for Fleet Week weekend. The Hawk Talk begins at noon, when a GGRO volunteer speaks about hawk migration and identification, and ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Fremont Fixit ClinicEveryone's heartily invited to attend the Halloween Fixit Clinic at the Fremont Public Library. For those of you not familiar with Fixit Clinic: it's an all ages participatory workshop where families and individuals bring their broken household items to disassemble, troubleshoot, and attempt repair. Typically, 70% of the items brought ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Saturday Cinema: HalloweenSaturday Cinema is a core weekly program that captures the ideas which animate the Exploratorium. We highlight works that blend observation, poetry, and surrealism, and celebrate films that utilize unique, handcrafted processes. Appropriate for all ages and mediated by cinema arts staff, these screenings encourage the viewer to respond to ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Included with museum admission.
7 Tools You Can Use to Find the Elusive Gray FoxDo you sometimes see paw prints in mud or scat (poop) on the trails and assume that a dog left it? It could be from something else. Come along with me and I will show you how to distinguish and identify the markings of a gray fox. Gain some insights into the fox's nature and ...
Halloween is the perfect day for a deep and magical dialogue on the supernatural! Michael Shermer is the founder of The Skeptics Society, and monthly contributor to Scientific American magazine. He has written many books, including The Moral Arc and Why People Believe Weird Things, and he has appeared on The Colbert Report, Dateline, and Charlie ...
Can the greatest escape artist even escape death? In the spirit of scientific skepticism, TWO on-stage séances will summon the ghost of Harry Houdini - on Halloween, the anniversary of his death. The first séance will be earnest, conducted by a professional "psychic medium." The second will be full of illusion and ...
