The detection of over 3000 new exoplanets by the NASA Kepler mission has opened up the possibility to infer the occurrence rate of planets in the habitable zones of stars in our galaxy. However, both the characteristics of the detected planets and their occurrence rates crucially depend on our understanding ...
California is currently experiencing the deepest drought in 500 years, yet its effects are more severe in some parts of the state than others. Learn how bad it is for the Bay Area and what's being done to stretch water supplies until the next wet year.
Where: San JoseCost: $10 General, Free for members
Night Sky Series, Class #5ROBERT FERGUSON OBSERVATORY - NIGHT SKY SERIESThe Seasonal Skies: Arcturus and Spica, Leo, Boötes, Canes Venatici, The planet MarsPlease join us and instructor Jack Welch as we learn about our seasonal night skys through a very informative lecture, and then hands on stargazing with the Observatory's telescopes. You will be able ...
Where: KenwoodCost: $23.00
Wednesday, 04/02/14
Free Days at Bay Area Discovery MuseumPlease join us for free on the first Wednesday of each month for a full day of creative and fun experiences for all.F
7:00-7:25: Jim Crutchfield(UC Davis/ Chaos Scientist) on "Hidden Fragility"Abstract...Read more7:25-7:50: Johanna Drucker(UCLA/ Digital Humanities) on ""Abstract...Read more7:50-8:10: BREAK. Before or after the break, anyone in the audience currently working within the intersections of art and science will have 30 seconds to share their work. Please present your work ...
As part of its 20th anniversary celebration, the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management presents journalist Chris Mooney as the 2014 Hans Jenny Memorial Lecturer. Mooney is author of Unscientific America and The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science and Reality (among others), and has contributed ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
'Mad Cows, Cannibals, Neurodegeneration and Why It's So Damn Difficult to Cure Alzheimer's Disease'Proteins - little machines in our bodies - are essential for life. However, at times, proteins can change shape, with disastrous consequences. I will give a brief history of prion diseases, such as mad cow disease, and the links to more general neurodegenerative syndromes. I will then discuss new findings ...
For Goodness SnakesThis one-of-a-kind educational experience will introduce children to the fascinating world of snakes and other reptiles. Come enjoy the opportunity to hold and interact with the docile animals of For Goodness Snakes.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Get Your Goose On! Nature Program for KidsEver wonder about the San Francisco Bay wetlands and the wildlife in your very own backyard? Join us for an adventure here at your local library. You'll get up close and personal with real feet and beaks of birds while you play bird games and create your own wild craft. ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
UNIQUE COMPUTER-CONTROLLED MICROGRAVITY EXPERIMENTS ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)As part of the Valley Christian High School of San Jose AMSE (STEM) Program, the ISS Student Science Experiment Project will be launching 18 student science experiments from 12 schools from Hawaii to Finland to the ISS on May 1, 2014. This presentation will provide an overview of the AMSE ...
After Dark: Wearable TechnologiesExperience life After Dark, an evening series exclusively for adults that mixes cocktails, conversation, and playful, innovative science and art events.Not a theater, cabaret, or gallery, After Dark contains aspects of all three. Each evening showcases a different topic-from music to sex to electricity- but all include a cash bar ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General; $10 Members; Free for Lab Members
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San FranciscoCafe Inquiry is a social event hosted by the Center for Inquiry|San Francisco. We'll meet in Menlo Park at Café Borrone http://www.cafeborrone.com/ between Kepler's Books and the British Banker's Club! Look for someone wearing a CFI (Center for Inquiry) T-Shirt. Café Borrone
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Energy from Waste Water - Silicon Valley Clean Tech Speaker SeriesNitrogen pollution is a major environmental threat that depletes oxygen in aquatic ecosystems that leads to "dead zones". The number of "dead zones" worldwide has nearly doubled every decade since 1960, many are so big they can be seen from space. Wastewater treatment facilities are facing increasing pressure to reduce ...
7:00-7:25: Robert Rich(Composer) on "Slow Music in a Manic World"Sound focused on a listener's state of mind rather than the composer's ego... Read more7:25-7:50: Patricia Burchat(Stanford/ Physics) on ""Abstract...Read more7:50-8:10: BREAK. Before or after the break, anyone in the audience currently working within the intersections of art and science ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Friday, 04/04/14
Robots and New MediaFor decades robots have diligently been tasked to perform a range of roles and duties largely scoped within industrial manufacturing. However, recent trends, motivated in part by high-performance, low-cost hardware, software, and networks have given rise to a new range of more social, personal, expressive, nurturing, and emotional robotic platforms ...
Personalizing Cancer Diagnostics Using Microfluidics: Nano Seminar SeriesCancer therapy has a critical unmet need, which is to identify the best therapy for individual cancer patients. There are currently over 250 FDA-approved drugs for cancer chemotherapy. Most of these were identified and are applied empirically, either alone or in combination, to treat cancer. Drug choice is guided ...
Renowned naturalist and bestselling author Jane Goodall examines the critical role that trees and plants play in our world. In her new book, Goodall blends her experience in nature with her enthusiasm for botany to give readers a deeper understanding of the world around us. Long before her work with ...
Where: San RafaelCost: $35 (includes signed book)
Get Your Goose On! Nature Program for KidsEver wonder about the San Francisco Bay wetlands and the wildlife in your very own backyard? Join us for an adventure here at your local library. You'll get up close and personal with real feet and beaks of birds while you play bird games and create your own wild craft. ...
Guided Hike: Mount Diablo State ParkLet The Greenbelt Alliance take you on a journey through 200 million years of Bay Area geologic history, from the age of the dinosaurs to present day. Karen Synowiec, a professional geologist at Chevron Energy Technology, will be leading the hike as you caravan through Mount Diablo State Park for ...
Where: Cost: $10 park entrance fee
NanoDaysNanoDays! Passport 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. This year's new activities include electroplating, capillary action, ferrofluid, stain resistant ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free with admission
For Goodness SnakesThis one-of-a-kind educational experience will introduce children to the fascinating world of snakes and other reptiles. Come enjoy the opportunity to hold and interact with the docile animals of For Goodness Snakes.
Where: San JoseCost: Free
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
From Kitty Hawk to the Sea of Tranquility - CANCELEDA giant leap for mankind taken by Neil Armstrong began as a small step taken by Orville Wright from the dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. On December 17, 1903 the Wright Brothers made history with the first powered flight to carry a human pilot. This great feat lasted only twelve ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free with admission
Star Formation Through Radio EyesCARMA, a millimeter-wave radio telescope, is being used to probe the origins of stars within their cold, dusty natal clouds revealing how magnetic fields affect the star-formation process. Speaker: Dr. Chat Hull, UC Berkeley
Where: Mill ValleyCost: Free
Sunday, 04/06/14
Earth Day MarinThe Earth Day Marin 2014 Festival and Day of Action on Sustainability Solutions will be a fun, free, family-friendly event and a day of action on sustainability solutions addressing drought, climate change and other environmental concerns. The entertainment packed day includes award-winning storytellers, puppet shows, and high quality music – Tim ...
Where: LarkspurCost: Free
Free First SundayFirst Sundays of the month are free at the Oakland Museum of California. Pick up a treat for yourself or a loved one in the OMCA Store, or enjoy a lunch or snack in Blue Oak café. Take your pick and join an OMCA Docent for the Architecture Tour at ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Junior Academy: Naturalist Know-howCalifornia Academy of SciencesSundays at 2pm – 2:45pm (sign-up at 1:30pm) Naturalist Center / Lab (Level 3 across from the Planetarium exit)This program is designed for youth ages 8 to 11. Youth must be accompanied by an adult. Space is limited to 20 youth with attending adults. Onsite registration is ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with Academy admission
Monday, 04/07/14
Exploring the Intersection of Community Development and Healthy (Child) DevelopmentThere is growing interest in the social determinants of healthy child development, and more specifically, in understanding the ways that low-income social environments can have a negative impact on child development. This presentation by Douglas Jutte will describe an exciting research initiative to examine efforts to improve low-income neighborhoods and ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Evolutionary Genetics in the Crush of GenomicsThe melding of Darwin's fundamental theory, descent with modification via natural selection with Mendel's particulate theory of inheritance, provided a simple and fertile foundation for the elaboration of population genetics theory in the last century. The lack of direct observations of genetic variation in natural populations fostered creative investigations of ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
THE SIDE EFFECTS OF RESEARCH: MAKING ROOM FOR THE UNEXPECTEDDr. Derek Padilla from Santa Rosa Junior College will discuss some of the unintended consequences that research has on the student researcher. From developing fundamental math skills to analyzing bell hooks with a tomato farmer, this talk will focus on what you don't realize you learned until long after you ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Saving Time and Energy through Bus-Rapid-Transit Project Around the WorldAs the cost of providing space and energy for personal transportation options have increased both on the capital side as well as its energy footprint and consequences, mass transportation is gaining priority for developing and developed countries. In this presentation, we will provide a few examples of the successful and ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Seeing Through the Big Bang into Another World? USF Welcomes Sir Roger Penrose Universally recognized mathematician, cosmologist, and physicist to give public lecture at the University of San Francisco (USF). Recent Results from WMAP Satellite and Planck Space Platform. Is our world just one of an infinite succession of universes? How can we tell?A new theory proposes that what we presently regard as the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Our East Bay GeoheritageOur East Bay rocks and landforms are libraries of "deep time," bearing stories of the fascinating structure and surprisingly active geologic history of our remarkable region. With examples of rock exposures, fossils, and landforms in our neighborhoods, this talk will explore how we can better recognize and celebrate our geoheritage ...
Amy Stewart is an award-winning author of six books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world. In her New York Times bestseller The Drunken Botanist, she explores the dizzying array of herbs, flowers, trees, fruits and fungi that humans have contrived to transform into alcohol. Learn more about ...
