Annual Salt Pond Mud Stomp: One small step for plover lovers, one giant leap for ploverkindJoin PRBO plover biologists and our partners from the Department of Fish and Wildlife at the Moss Landing Wildlife Area salt ponds to view and help Federally Threatened Snowy Plovers and other shorebirds as they begin nesting. Put on rubber boots and walk along the margins of the drying ponds ...
Where: Moss LandingCost: Free for members
Golden Gate Playdate: Super Seas"S" is for sea. Join us as we celebrate seals, sea stars, and whales as our Sea-lebrities in the spotlight. We will guide you through hands-on activities designed to engage your preschooler's sense of wonder and imagination through story, song, movement, and inquiry. Together, we will take a walk inside ...
Where: SausalitoCost: $15/per child per session, 1 adult admission free
The San Mateo County Eco-Friendly Fair is a gathering of environmentally-conscious and friendly individuals, companies, and organizations, sponsored by the San Mateo County Youth Commission. Come for a day filled with vendors from all over the Bay Area featuring unique green products, food, and special finds. Engaging free DIY workshops ...
Where: Redwood CityCost: Free
Nano DaysPassport to the world of tiny things. This year NanoDays is filled with a dozen new activities. At a billionth of a meter find out how the physics of every day materials dramatically change allowing incredible new applications. Explore gold, butterflies, sun block, electricity and so much more. Complete the ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free with admission
Spring Celebration: Coastal Camp Open HouseJoin us for an opportunity to learn more about our fabulous upcoming 2013 Coastal Camp season. Meet our staff, participate in a family hike, and touch the tidepool creatures in our marine lab.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free, drop-in event
Trekking the ModelJoin a ranger guided tour of the Bay Model, a 1.5 acre hydraulic model of San Francisco Bay and Delta. Discover the stories of the two major operations that took place at this location between 1942 – 2000.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Fish Feeding FrenzyHelp Ranger Bill feed the hungry inhabitants of our fresh and saltwater tanks. Watch the different feeding styles of rock cod, sea stars, and steelhead trout.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
San Mateo County Astronomical Society Star PartyThe City of San Carlos Department of Parks and Recreation and the San Mateo County Astronomical Society have open Star Parties. These events are held in Crestview Park, San Carlos California. Dates and Sunset times are below. Note that inclement weather (clouds, excessive wind and showers) will cause the event ...
Where: San CarlosCost: Free
Sunday, 04/07/13
Wildflower RamblesTake a Moderate 5-mile loop hike with a park docent from valley floor to ridge top to enjoy spring wildflowers in a variety of habitats. Meet at the Calero Reservoir boat launch on McKean Rd. $6 parking fee. Dress in layers, bring a camera, carry water, wear a hat and ...
Where: San JoseCost: $6 Parking
Free Day of ScienceFirst Sundays are FREE! OMCA is free all day the first Sunday of every month. Tour the building with members of the Museum's Council on Architecture at 1 pm and enjoy a Docent-led tour of the Gallery of California Art at 2 pm. Grab lunch or a snack at Blue ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Big Data for Big Decision MakersThe 30-year old spreadsheet is no match for the tsunami of information available today; yet it remains the primary tool for decision-makers. By discussing real customer use cases, CEO Harry Blount will demonstrate how The Personal Analytics Cloud (PAC) is able to leverage the aggregation capabilities and the processing power ...
Editor's Note: This event has been postponed until this fall.
Where: BerkeleyCost: $12 advance, $15 at door
Monday, 04/08/13
Summit to SeeA monthly cross-country hike to a high point or other highlight of the sanctuary with natural history, photography, birding, etcPlease dress for the weather and bring at least one quart of drinking water. You may also wish to bring a hat, an extra layer, and a snack. There are no ...
Miniature microscopes are being developed to examine tissue in situ for early anatomic and molecular indicators of disease, in real time, and at cellular resolution. These new devices will lead to a shift from the current diagnostic paradigm of biopsy followed by histopathology and recommended therapy, to one of non-invasive point-of-care diagnosis with the possibility of treatment in ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Coping with climate change: 6 myths and 1 factChris Field is the founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University, and Faculty Director of Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. Field's research emphasizes impacts of climate change, from the molecular to the global scale. He ...
The threat of climate change has profound implications for the evolution of the world's energy system over the coming decades. More than many environmental problems, uncertainty is a central characteristic of the problem – uncertainty regarding the physical science of climate but also uncertainty regarding the impacts, technologies (for mitigation, ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Illuminating The Atomic World: The X-ray Free Electron Laser At SLACThe Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is the world's brightest source of hard X-ray laser light. Not only is this light a billion times brighter than any previous hard X-ray source, it also comes in strobe-like pulses just a few tens of femptoseconds long. This ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Warning California: Science and Technology to Reduce the Growing Earthquake ThreatSince 2003, the Berkeley Seismological Laboratory has been hosting a free public lecture series in honor of Professor Andrew Lawson on earthquakes and earthquake science. Held every year in April, the lecture series highlights a broad range of earthquake issues of interest to the Berkeley community.Speaker: Dr. Richard Allen, Berkeley Seismological ...
On April 22, 2012, a small asteroid impacted close to home in California-at Sutter's Mill, the site where gold was first discovered in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. Meteor astronomer Dr. Peter Jenniskens kept a tally of finds and mobilized NASA Ames Research Center into leading the recovery ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $8 Members, $10 Seniors
Jeff Goodell is a best-selling author, journalist and contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. The New York Times called his book Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America's Energy Future "a compelling indictment of one of the country's biggest, most powerful and most antiquated industries." Goodell is the author of ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: $22
The Higgs Boson and Our LifeOn 4 July 2012, the ATLAS and CMS experiments operating at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) announced the discovery of a new particle compatible with the Higgs boson (hunted for almost 50 years), which is a crucial piece for our understanding of fundamental physics and thus the structure and ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Tuesday, 04/09/13
Engineering the emergence of life through convection, serpentinization and the first metabolic pathwayThe alkaline hydrothermal theory for the emergence of life holds that the endergonic (thermodynamically uphill) reactions vital for life's origin and continued existence require free energy converters (nano-engines) fuelled by various disequilibria. The first two primary engines were i) a carbon fixation engine to generate the organic building blocks of ...
The Higgs Boson and Other Recent Results from ATLASRecent results from the ATLAS experimenta at the CERN Lrge Hadron Collider (LHC) will be presented, with an emphasis on Higgs physics. Measurement of the Higgs boson properties and the present understanding of this recently discovered, very special particle, will be discussed.Speaker: Dr. Fabiola Gianotti, CERN
It's all about "prediction" at the next Café Sci.Greg Laughlin and a collaborator captured the world's attention in 1999 when they announced they had identified the five ages of the universe. Is it possible to know the universe's life story from beginning to end? More generally, which kinds of events can be predicted ...
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Sugar -- The Bitter TruthDr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at University of California, will speak on "Sugar: the Bitter Truth." His new book, Fat chance: beating the odds against sugar, processed food, obesity, and disease, addresses how sugar is toxic to our health. A book sale and signing ...
A major shift has occurred in the types of workloads run in large cloud data centers driven by the "mega-trend" of the growth in data-intensive mobile devices. The rise of cloud companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon is bringing about a change in attitudes to processors -the emphasis is now ...
EXPLOSIVES: WHY THINGS GO BOOM! By Zach DemkoExplosives are the most powerful chemical reactions possible. They are used for destruction and creation, propulsion, intimidation, and art. But what makes a good explosive? In this talk you will learn how terrorists blow up hummers, NASA gets astronauts into space, and the ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: $8
Wednesday, 04/10/13
Using Online Dating to Study Contemporary Patterns of CourtshipOnline dating has become a widespread and well-accepted method of making contact with potential romantic partners; it is now an integral part of the social environment. This presentation will not be concerned with online dating as such, but rather with what data obtained from a major online dating site can ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $10 General, Free for UC Berkeley community
For most of history, health care was centered around the doctor's office or hospital. It was the era of the lone practitioner, the omniscient physician to whom patients turned to treat their ailments. That was the industrial age of medicine. Today, health care is much more complex. The proliferation of ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Microsoft Research and the Evolution of ComputingLimits in computing power and our ability to interact with computers have also imposed limits on our understanding of the world around us. Increasingly, those limits are being removed, clearing the way for new advances in almost every kind of human endeavor. Rick Rashid, Microsoft chief research officer and head ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Understanding High Cholesterol -- Familial HypercholesterolemiaFamilial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) affects one in every 500 people worldwide and causes a huge increase in the risk of heart disease especially at an early age. FH is passed in families so that if one parent has the disease, each child has a 50% chance of FH. FH is very ...
The First Amendment bars the U.S. Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion. But what about the States? What about local municipalities? How wide and how deep is the definition of "establishment"? How stable are the foundations of the famous "wall" that separates church and state?Bring your history ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: FREE
Unlocking the Mysteries of NeuroscienceDavid Eagleman is a neuroscientist and a New York Times bestselling author. He directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action at the Baylor College of Medicine, where he also directs the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. He is best known for his work on time perception, synesthesia, and neurolaw. His ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22/27 General, $20/25 Members
The sciences have long been one arena where, in a "man's world", women have generally been a bit more respected and welcomed into the community for their contributions to science. Or have they? One aspect Laura will bring up will be the "Harvard Computers", a group of women who scanned ...
Where: Santa RosaCost: Free
Thursday, 04/11/13
Making Old Bones New! Where Do We Stand?The word "osteoporosis" comes from Greek – porous bones. More than 40 million Americans either already have osteoporosis or are at high risk for this "silent disease" due to low bone mass. Complications are frightening: About one in two women and up to one in four men over the age ...
Many personal choices (how we travel, what type of housing we live in, where we live) and built environment choices (energy efficiency policy, zoning, and city planning trends) are important drivers of carbon emissions-and they influence health outcomes as well.Speaker: Alistair Woodward, Univ. of AucklandRoom 155
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
The Biochemistry of DroughtSpeaker: Josh Schimel, Professor, UC Santa BarbaraEnvoronmental Science, Policy and Mgmt. ColloquiumRoom 132
Go behind the scenes at Long Marine Lab. Learn about the work of scientists and their studies of dolphins, seals, sea lions, and whales. Tour is best suited for adults and children over 10 years of age. Space limited. Reservations required: (831) 459-3800.
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
For Goodness SnakesThis one-of-a-kind educational experience will introduce you to the fascinating world of reptiles. Come enjoy the opportunity to hold and interact with their docile animals.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
A BLAST FROM THE…FUTURE?For more than 10 years, Dr. Trabia and his colleagues at UNLV's Center for Materials and Structures (CMS) have been creating systems that can mitigate blasts and also contain shocks due to impact and blasts. This research, supported by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory as well as private industry, focuses ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Can the U.S. satisfy the renewable fuels standard?BERC is hosting three bioenergy experts to discuss the United States' Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2), advanced biofuels conversion pathways, and the future of bioenergy production. In 2007, the U.S. set bold mandates for production of conventional and advanced biofuels for transportation, but there have been several setbacks: the lack of ...
In honor of the 52nd anniversary of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin, explore the dark and mysterious abyss of space with a cocktail in your hand. Meet researchers from Berkeley Space Science Labs, SETI Berkeley, Berkeley Astronomy Department, and NASA's Kepler mission. In the planetarium, Ed Lu, former ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $12 General, $10 Members
The Future of Fresh Water in the Bay AreaThe San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment (COTE) is happy to present a dynamic conversation on the future of potable and nonpotable water in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have asked four forward thinkers to share their vision of water reuse and ...
San Francisco's Natural AreasMargo Bors, Ruth Gravanis, and Damien Raffa, members of the newly formed Friends of Natural Areas, will explore the value, beauty and diversity of San Francisco's remaining indigenous habitats. They'll talk about how these biotic communities are threatened and what is being done to protect and restore them.
Field Biologists as the First and Ultimate (Eco) Tourists: Selva Lacandona and BeyondBiologists constantly attempt to distance themselves from tourists. Some biologists may accept to support an eco-tourist project as a component of a conservation program, but the majority complain about the negative effect of tourists, and all of them are loudly reluctant to share places with tourists. The fact that they ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Over Troubled Waters: The Fate of California is in Your HandsA video showing followed by discussion. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the largest estuary on the west coast of the Americas, is a national treasure being squandered by greed. In this visually rich documentary, Ed Begley, Jr. narrates the story of the battle being fought by the people of the Delta ...
Elinor Gates is a staff astronomer at Lick Observatory specializing in laser guide star adaptive optics and near infrared camera instrumentation and observations. Her current research interests are studying quasars and their host galaxies. She received her Ph.D. in Physics/Astronomy from the University of New Mexico in 1998. Prior to ...
