Join us for a three-mile stroll (mostly flat, with a relatively steep section) through an old-growth redwood forest. Wander through an awakening forest, hear tall tales, soar in the sounds and smells, and wonder and the historical and ecological story of Muir Woods.Designed to engage adults; may be over the ...
The effect of the physical environment on the living environment is a key aspect of marine ecosystem dynamics across scales from microbes to whales. My research has focused on biophysical interactions in the ocean to understand the impacts of oceanographic processes on marine ecosystem production and trophic structure. Throughout my ...
Where: Moss LandingCost: Free
Water Birds at Lake MerrittMigrating birds are here! See which winter visitors are currently at Lake Merritt, the nation's oldest wildlife refuge.  Join us for a short walk along the lake. Learn about the Pacific Flyway and how to identify some winter migrants as well as year-round residents. We'll begin the walk in front of the ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free! $20 suggested donation
Optimal Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Shares of Renewable EnergyPower systems with large shares of renewable power will also need better hour-by-hour forecasts for these resources. In the second part of this seminar I will discuss research which shows that forecast models can be improved significantly if they are trained using asymmetrical cost functions, reflecting the high cost of ...
Can Clean Tech Clean Up Our Future? - SOLD OUTWith stock market values at near-record highs, again, how is the clean tech sector doing? One index of solar stocks is down 50 percent from a year ago and the industry was stung by the high-profile flame-out of SunEdison. Overall, however, the clean energy industry is growing and creating jobs. ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, Free members, $7 Students
The High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory, which is located at 14000’ elevation in central Mexico, began operating in March 2015 and is detecting the highest energy gamma rays ever observed. These gamma rays come from supermassive black holes in distant galaxies as well as sources within the Milky Way ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members and Seniors
Join Eureka! as we discuss Population Stabilization with physician, hedge-fund manager, and investor Dr. Joon Yun. Tix here:Â http://tix.eurekacomedy.com/eurekc742Joining hosts Allen Saakyan and Kevin Whittinghill will be the hilarious comedians Mark Smalls (SF Sketchfest) and Justin Lucas (HBO). Put on your smarty pants and enjoy this evening of laughter and learning.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15
Tuesday, 02/07/17
Stellar occultations of planetary rings: from Palomar to CassiniChance observations of stars as they pass behind planets have provided some of our most valuable data on the structure of planetary ring systems, beginning with the discovery of the uranian rings with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory in 1977. As a graduate student at Caltech in the 70s, I became ...
California has the most ambitious climate policy framework in the world, and the Bay Area has the resources, political temperament and innovative spirit to demonstrate how to work toward eliminating fossil fuel use. But is that spirit enough to go fossil-free? San Jose is doing exploratory work on a clean ...
Where: San JoseCost: $10 General, Free for members
Oaks in OaklandLearn all about the trees that Oakland is named after! We'll look at the different oaks around Lakeside Park. We will discuss the natural history of oaks and how to identify different both native and exotic species.
The Bee-Friendly GardenPlanting pollinator gardens not only ensures your vegetables, flowers and fruit trees are pollinated, but can help perpetuate plants that depend on pollination - over 80% of the world’s plants! Though many of us think of honeybees when we think of pollinators, there are 1600 species of native bees in ...
Peter Norvig is a Director of Research at Google Inc. Previously he was head of Google's core search algorithms group, and of NASA Ames's Computational Sciences Division, making him NASA's senior computer scientist. He received the NASA Exceptional Achievement Award in 2001. He has taught at the University of Southern ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
The Future of Sensory PerceptionScientists and other sensory explorers are developing powerful new technologies that can change, enhance and perhaps expand the limits of what we can perceive. They are building retinal implants to restore vision to the blind, creating robotic limbs to touch at a distance, testing whether Tylenol can soothe the hurt ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $10 General, free for UC Berkeley students/staff
Introduction to Mushrooms at Lake MerrittDuring this short walk, we'll discuss how to find and identify mushrooms, their basic life cycle, and the important role they play in the ecosystem.Please note: Mushrooms may not be collected during this walk.
In December 2015 over 190 countries met in Paris for the 21st meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change where they succeeded in creating a new international climate agreement. Many have heralded the outcome as a groundbreaking achievement for international diplomacy and global climate action. Others have ...
Program (the order of the speakers might change):7:00-7:25: Carlo Sequin(UC Berkeley) on "Klein bottles and Super-Bottles"Super-Bottles are topological models that can yield artistic creations...Read more7:25-7:50: Andra Keay(Silicon Valley Robotics) on "Designing Good Robots"In science fiction the robots are either very good, or very bad. But in reality what ...
Doing science and making culture are increasingly intertwined as more and more amateur naturalists crowdsource the multi-layered experience of life on this planet. Authors of two new books Mary Ellen Hannibal (Citizen Scientist: Searching for Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction) and Ursula Heise (Imagining Extinction: The Cultural ...
The Search for a Cousin of Earth: Science or Fiction?Dr. Franck Marchis, Senior planetary astronomer at the Carl Sagan Center of the SETI Institute will discuss the search for an Earth-Like exoplanet conducted at SETI Institute in collaboration with institutions around the world. Over the past 15 years, this group led the development of the Gemini Planet Imager which ...
Where: Santa RosaCost: Free
Thursday, 02/09/17
Botany Series: Basic BotanyHow do plants work? If it’s been way too long since that high school biology class, come take a step back with Annette Russell (Presidio Nursery Manager). We will learn the basic processes that plants go through in life, how they have adapted to the changing earth environment over time, ...
Noise Pop NightlifeBeauty is in the ear of the beholder this week as Noise Pop Music and Arts Festival takes over NightLife for an evening exploring the science of sound�"just in time for Noise Pop’s 25th anniversary.In the Piazza, catch a DJ set from acclaimed experimental pop band Animal Collective.At 7:30 pm, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members
Our Constitution, Our Climate, Our Kids: Is There a Right not to Be Harmed by Climate Change?Climate change has an immediate, disproportionate effect on our youth, present and future generations. As with the civil rights movement, young people are turning to courts and regulatory bodies to require governments to implement plans to phase out pollution in line with science. The question is this: Do present and ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $8 Members, Free for students
Aging at Home with Chronic IllnessDr. Lin will discuss best practices and new technology to assist aging at home for patients and their caregivers focusing on challenges with mobility, memory loss, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. He will draw from the medical literature and his own experiences at Stanford leading a team of medical students ...
Program (the order of the speakers might change):7:00-7:25: Susan McConnell(Stanford/Biology) on "Conservation Photography: Putting Images to Work for the Environment"Nature photography with a mission...Read more7:25-7:50: Vanessa Sigurdson(Autodesk Artist in Residence) on "Autodesk Artist in Residence"The Pier 9 AIR program at Autodesk...Read more7:50-8:10: BREAK. Before or after the break, ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Unsupervised Machine Learning: Application to Data FusionFusion of information from multiple sets of data in order to extract a set of features that are most useful and relevant for the given task is inherent to many problems we deal with today. Data-driven methods based on source separation minimize the assumptions about the underlying relationships and enable ...
Alan Wallace, a world-renowned author and Buddhist scholar trained by the Dalai Lama, and Sean Carroll, a world-renowned theoretical physicist and best-selling author, discuss the nature of reality from both spiritual and scientific viewpoints. Their dialogue is mediated by theoretical physicist and author Marcelo Gleiser, director of Dartmouth’s Institute for ...
Time may be �" simultaneously! �" both the most mundane and the most mysterious feature of our universe. Wonderfest and Bookshop West Portal present The New Yorker’s Alan Burdick in discussion of his new book, Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation. What is time, really? Do children experience it ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Friday, 02/10/17
An Introduction to Seed PropagationCome learn about seed basics, seed treatment, sowing, and aftercare. After an overview of seed propagation of the Garden Collection, Susan Malisch, Garden Propagator, will share general information and tips for starting your own successful seedlings at home. The workshop includes a hands-on seed activity.
How serious is the biodiversity crisis and what to do about it? In this talk I will argue that although we do not face yet a mass species extinction, a major biodiversity crisis is on-going with dramatic implications for the planet and for us. I will discuss recent assessments about ...
Join park staff and docents for a tour down the Point Bonita Trail, through the hand-carved tunnel and out to the Lighthouse.We will walk along a half-mile trail, which is steep in places.Arrive early as parking is limited. Meet at the Point Bonita Lighthouse trailhead.Dress warmly and bring a flashlight.Limited ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Green FridayThis month's Green Friday presentation will be given by Ken Gibson of the San Francisco Bay Chapter Water Committee. Ken's presentation will look at the current structure of residential water pricing applied by water agencies in the SF Bay Area and consider how those structures could evolve to encourage water ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $3 donation requested
Orion's TreasuresPublic Astronomy Viewing Nights at Sonoma State University
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
The Fastest Eye on the Sky: The Large Synoptic Survey TelescopeWhat is the Universe made of? In modern cosmology only 4% of the universe is deeply understood, while the other 96%, Dark Energy and Dark Matter, remains a mystery.  The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), currently under construction, will observe billions of galaxies, billions of stars in our own galaxy ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost: Free ($3 parking)
Saturday, 02/11/17
Good Fire Day: Learning About the Role of Fire and Management in Ecosystems - POSTPONEDThe National Parks Service, Green Gulch  Zen Center, Muir Beach Volunteer Fire Department, Central Coast Fire Council and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy invite you to participate in an event addressing the cultural fire history of the area and the roles fire plays in our ecosystems. Come and learn about fire ...
Where: Muir BeachCost: Free (donations suggested)
Trekking the ModelJoin a ranger-guided tour of the Bay Model, a 1.5-acre hydraulic model of the San Francisco Bay and Delta. Discover the stories of the two major operations that took place at this location between 1942 - 2000.
Join Bay Nature's Eric Simons and the California Center for Natural History to explore the Bay on your own terms at Heron's Head Park in San Francisco. Walk through the Bay's past, present and future and admire winter shorebirds as you hike with us out to a panoramic viewpoint spanning ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Has the revolution in technology led to narrow-minded politics?Yuval Harari, author of the bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, will share insights from his forthcoming book, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow.  Twentieth-century politics was a battleground between grand visions for the future of humankind. Communists, fascists and liberals all wanted to destroy the old world and build ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Oceans Aglow: Family Night Hike and Campfire - SOLD OUTJoin NatureBridge Golden Gate as we discover one of the most amazing natural phenomenon, bioluminescence.  We will hike out to Rodeo Beach and explore the sands for twinkling plankton. Where did they come from? Why are they blinking? Are they here all the time? We will try and answer all these and other ...
Where: SausalitoCost: $15
San Francisco City Star PartyCome join us for our monthly San Francisco City Star Party. SFAA members provide telescopes for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to check the SFAA website for the latest updates…bad weather or overcast skies will cancel!
