Natural Discourse Symposium: Artists, Architects, Scientists and Poets in the GardenJoin the discussion with Natural Discourse: Culture and Ecology. This is an exciting opportunity to interact with a diverse group speakers who will address questions about how man's invention and interpretation of nature has influenced their practice. Registration required; $65 general , $30 students. Ticket price includes lunch and refreshments.Speakers ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $65 General, $30 Students
Culture and human adaptationThe human species is exceptionally good at adapting. Since emerging from Africa only 60,000 years ago, humans have spread to virtually terrestrial habitat, utilizing a wider range of subsistence and social systems than any other mammal. The standard explanation for our capacity for rapid adaptation is that we have superior ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Darwin/Evolution Day at the Essig MuseumCome join us for behind-the-scenes tours of the museum. Learn more about insects, evolution, and some of the naturalists whose discoveries have helped us to better understand the evolutionary process. Tours will take place at noon, 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m.Limit 20 per tour, RSVP Required.
The National Academy of Engineering hailed the electric power grid as the 20th century's engineering innovation most beneficial to our civilization. A 21st century electric system is essential to America's ability to lead the world and create jobs in the clean-energy economy of the future. Specifically, California is embarking on ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Slumber with the StarsSpend a night under the stars or with some really cool exhibits. Join us for Slumber with the Stars, Chabot's family night out. An overnight in the Center includes games, a guided hike, the live Planetarium Show Cosmos 360, Exclusive Telescope Viewing with an Astronomer (Weather Permitting), After Hours Exhibit ...
Where: OaklandCost: $85 General, $75 members
Come to Foothill Observatory and join us in the exploration of our Universe!Foothill Observatory Friday Evening ProgramCome to Foothill Observatory and join us in the exploration of our Universe!Foothill Observatory is open for public viewing every clear Friday evening from 9:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m. Visitors can view the wonders of the universe through the observatory's new computer-controlled 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Views ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost:
Saturday, 02/11/12
Love x Infinity Weekend The Science of LoveThe universe is a very romantic place. Chabot celebrates love with weekend activities including a chance to a fly a simulated space mission with your loved one, celebrate a successful landing back on earth with an elegant dinner for two and science of love crafts and demonstrations. ...
Where: OaklandCost: $16 +
Solar Electric Basics for Residential CustomersIs solar electricity right for you? Hear about current market-ready solar power technologies and the key steps necessary to own a solar electric system for your home. Come learn the key factors to ensure a successful project and bring your solar questions. This is not an advanced class. This short ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
All About OwlsLearn all that you've ever wanted to learn about owls here at the refuge! Where do owls eat? How do we not hear them when they flap their wings? Are owls the brainiacs of the bird world? Through an interactive presentation and owl pellet dissection, we'll find the answers to ...
Where: AlvisoCost: free
The Plastic PlaguePlastic may make our lives easier, but at what cost? Join a park ranger to learn the ways that this invention of the 20th century is wreaking havoc on life on both land and water.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Oh Where Oh Where is the Little Grey FoxCome learn about the California grey fox, the only canine which can climb trees. What do they look like? Where do they live? What do they eat? Where have they been seen? What's in our habitat that makes them unique to the Bay Area? Program is a 1- mile hike ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Sunday, 02/12/12
Love x Infinity Weekend The Science of LoveThe universe is a very romantic place. Chabot celebrates love with weekend activities including a chance to a fly a simulated space mission with your loved one, celebrate a successful landing back on earth with an elegant dinner for two and science of love crafts and demonstrations. ...
Where: OaklandCost: $16 +
Valentines Day Tea for KidsEnjoy a special celebration of herbs and flowers at this afternoon tea party. We'll use our senses to explore these fragrant edibles, talk about their uses and benefits, and see how they grow. Make fresh teas and bite-size herb finger sandwiches. Also make valentines from pressed botanicals to take home. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $18 General, $15 Members
Climate Action and Adaptation Tour at the EcoHouse - FULLDraw inspiration to reduce your impact on climate change, and climate change's impact on you. We'll present ideas for do-it-yourself projects with a tour that features our toolshed built with 4 different natural building methods--strawbale, rammed earth, clay, and cob--all topped with a living roof; our ground-breaking constructed wetlands and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Valentines Day Tea for KidsEnjoy a special celebration of herbs and flowers at this afternoon tea party. We'll use our senses to explore these fragrant edibles, talk about their uses and benefits, and see how they grow. Make fresh teas and bite-size herb finger sandwiches. Also make valentines from pressed botanicals to take home. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $18 General, $15 Members
Mysteries of Wastewater TreatmentThe San Jose-Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant treats hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater from millions of people every day using some of the most advanced treatment technologies available. Come and learn about what it takes to make this interesting process happen through a slideshow and hands-on activities ...
Where: AlvisoCost: free
The Salt Marshes: Then and NowApproximately 85% of San Francisco Bay's wetlands have disappeared over the last 200 years due to industry and development, impacting the wildlife that lived in and around them. Some of the plants and animals have made a comeback. Learn the history of the salt marshes and the plant and animal ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Younger Lagoon Reserve TourExperience the wildlife and natural beauty that make Younger Lagoon an exceptional local treasure on this docent-led tour to the lagoon and its beach habitat. Learn about the ongoing research and habitat restoration work that help this vital ecosystem thrive. Tour includes a short hike and is best suited for ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
Ecology and Life Cycles of MushroomsJ.R. Blair will give an overview on the role of fungi in the environment. The talk is in association with Secrets of the Forest: Portraits of Wild Mushrooms, an exhibition by Lucy Martin.
Integrated Energy and Resource Recovery from Waste and WastewaterBy the end of the 20th century, the United States had about 15,000 wastewater treatment plants and 13,000 landfills. These systems were designed to prevent environmental harm and to protect public health. Other factors, such as energy costs and climate change, were not a consideration. Waste and wastewater were collected, ...
Ultra-sensitive Searches for Dark-Matter AxionsThe axion is an interesting hypothetical particle. It arose from a solution to the "Strong CP Problem" in the Standard Model of particle physics, and it happens to be an ideal dark matter candidate. Hence, axions would be a very compelling addition to the particle zoo. However, The axion is ...
A study conducted by Forrester Research on behalf of Symantec titled "Enhancing Authentication to Secure The Open Enterprise" found that organizations today are rapidly opening their networks to make information more available to address the need for greater business agility. However, opening windows into the enterprise can bring unwanted and ...
Cloud is certainly one of the most impactful trends of modern IT but from a security standpoint, it poses significant challenges. A new approach to cloud security is required to give businesses the confidence to rapidly shift enterprise resources to public and private clouds. Cloud security requires the creation of ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Conversations at the Herbst: Unlocking the Mysteries of GeneticsHe was one of the pioneering researchers who sequenced the human genome. Next, his team built the genome of a bacterium from scratch and incorporated it into a cell to make what they call the world's first synthetic life form. This achievement heralds the dawn of a new era in ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22-$26 General, $20-24 Members
Tuesday, 02/14/12
Science for Preschooers- Tyke Explorers For Ages 2½ - 5 yearsExpand your preschooler's universe by enrolling in our Tyke Explorers Program. Kids get to bring a special grown-up to share in the excitement of science and space. Classes are a combination of instructor-led lessons and self-guided, hands-on experimentation and exploration.With Chabot's park-like setting, hands-on exhibits, ...
Bits and Bytes - The Legacy of Hazardous Waste Management in Silicon ValleySuperfund is EPA's program to identify, investigate and clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the United States. In the Silicon Valley alone there are 25 Superfund sites (www.epa.gov/region9/superfund), each with a long history of soil and groundwater contamination and ongoing remedial activity.At our February café, Alana Lee ...
Archival institutions, like The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, play a vital role in the well-being of a democratic society. Their primary duties have been to preserve the history of human-kind and provide evidence of the past. The means of communication over several thousand years have varied in format and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Mysteries of the oscillations of gas accreting onto black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfsDr. Wagoner will survey the QPOs (quasi-periodic oscillations) seen in the luminosity fluctuation power spectra of compact objects accreting from a binary companion star. There is little understanding of the different frequency relationships in these systems. Dr. Wagoner will focus on the theory and observations of black holes, and compare ...
Greywater Reuse, Rainwater Harvesting, and a New Culture of Water: Low-Tech Collaborations Among Common WatersThis talk charts two streams in urban water policy: a practical consideration of how to design, disseminate, and regulate decentralized greywater and rainwater harvesting systems, and a social-political consideration of what kinds of water infrastructures and social relationships to water promote equitable and environmentally sustainable societies. Through an exploration of the ...
Imperfect Competition, Consumer Behavior, and the Provision of Fuel Efficiency in Light-Duty VehiclesThis study explores the role of market power on the cost-effectiveness of policies to address fuel consumption. Market power gives manufacturers an incentive to under- (over-) provide fuel economy in classes whose consumers, on average, value it less (more) than in others. Adding a second market failure in consumer valuation ...
Recent years have witnessed an explosion of interest in animal social learning, the process whereby animals acquire skills and knowledge by observing or interacting with other animals. Scientific interest in the topic stems from a number of sources:(1) Neuroscientists, psychologists and animal behaviourists seek to understand the biological and psychological ...
This talk will review the Open Compute Project, an initiative to share the custom-engineered technology in Facebook's first dedicated data center in Prineville, Oregon.This technology delivered a 38 percent increase in energy efficiency at 24 percent lower cost for Facebook. Inspired by the success of open source software, and aiming ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
How does social behavior change the brain?Inequality in social status can have profound effects on the physical and mental health of individuals. For example, children from low socioeconomic status backgrounds have higher rates of mortality and are at greater risk for injuries, chronic medical conditions, and behavioral disorders compared with those from high socioeconomic status. Similarly, ...
Where: BelmontCost: Free
Pritzker Lecture: Stem Cells: Not What They Used to Be - SOLD OUTStem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In many tissues, they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, Free Members
Nerd Nite SF #21: King Tides, Legos, and More!King tides foretelling global warming's global flooding! Grown-up Lego enthusiasts and the bricks they love! One other presentation to be announced! All these lectures and the pleasures of drink, music, and nerd fellowship await you at this month's Nerd Nite SF. Be there and be square!--------------"Strange Waters: King Tides + ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $8
Saturn V – The first 700 SecondsJoin Faride Khalaf for a presentation on Saturn V – The First 700 Seconds. NASA launched thirteen Saturn Vs from the Kennedy Space Center between 1967 and 1973. It remains the tallest, heaviest and most powerful rocket ever brought to operational status. This presentation will highlight some of the interesting ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Thursday, 02/16/12
Imperfect Competition, Consumer Behavior, and the Provision of Fuel Efficiency in Light-Duty VehiclesThis study explores the role of market power on the cost-effectiveness of policies to address fuel consumption. Market power gives manufacturers an incentive to under- (over-) provide fuel economy in classes whose consumers, on average, value it less (more) than in others. Adding a second market failure in consumer valuation ...
In our rush to embrace biofuels as a sustainable energy solution, are we fully aware of the challenges as well as the opportunities? Dr. Banholzer, leader of Dow's global research and development, discusses the limitations facing biofuels engineering while focusing on those technologies that offer the most hope for practical ...
Rapid income growth in developing economies typically results in an increase in energy consumption by the economy as a whole. Rapidly expanding energy needs throughout much of the world have precipitated a global search for alternative fuels, a search which is profoundly affecting food markets in often under-appreciated ways, and ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
History of Science and Technology: Fog of FreedomWhy are new information technologies so frequently associated with freedom? Which cultural and philosophical concepts of freedom are central to technology design, use and critique? Why freedom instead of justice, equality or well-being? How was the link forged and why? This presentation will explore the fog of freedom in episodes ...
Transforming Energy in the Twenty-First Century Energy use is fundamental to modern societies and a primary way we humans interact with climate, ocean pH, and many other natural systems that provide essential services. It is time to change the energy mix to reduce those impacts. Estimates of available resources indicate that there is no shortage of ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
BERC Climate Talk with Dan MillerBERC is excited to host Dan Miller as he discusses the urgent need for dramatic action on climate change and the future of clean energy investments and technologies that can address the challenge.Mr. Miller is Managing Director of The Roda Group, a venture capital group focused on clean technology. He ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
'One Beach' and 'Thirty Thousand': Special ScreeningThe 9th Annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival is almost here! Join us for a special screening of two unique films, "One Beach" and "Thirty Thousand" and learn more about the upcoming films and events for the festival on March 8 - 11, 2012. We've teamed up with our friends ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $15 Students/Seniors, $10 Children
Breaking Trail: An Inspirational Evening with Arlene BlumBest known as the leader of the first American team to summit Annapurna I in Nepal and author of "Annapurna: A Woman's Place", Arlene Blum played a leading role in more than 20 successful mountaineering expeditions, including climbs of Denali and Everest. She is also the founder of Green Science ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Hooved Mammals of Modern CaliforniaElk, deer, bighorn sheep, and even pronghorn antelope: these hooved mammals still roam parts of California. Our evening will briefly review the biology of the individual species, and discuss the varied strategies employed to maintain and manage the species in the face of challenges confronting wildlife biologists. Current efforts to ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: $5 General, Free Members
In the wake of the world's population reaching seven billion, John Seager will share his insights on the causes of rapid population growth, its impacts on wildlife, and our options to deal with this challenge. Population Connection (www.popconnect.org) is the national grassroots organization that educates young people and advocates progressive ...
