A Search for Dyson Spheres using IRASInterstellar archaeology, searching for cosmic-scale signatures of intelligence, is a different way to look for intelligence beyond our solar system. Unlike most radio SETI approaches, interstellar archaeology does not require intent to communicate on the part of the sender. Interstellar archaeology signatures include non-natural planetary atmospheric constituents, stellar doping, and ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Free Workshop: Zero Waste & Be a Sustainable CitizenThis workshop is all about taking you to the next level – beyond basic recycling – and arming you with information and simple, meaningful actions you can practice immediately so you can promote zero waste and become a "sustainable citizen."This interesting and engaging class explains how we are all part ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Beam Plus, by Suitable TechnologiesFrom robotics research to consumer product. How Suitable ended up with the latest device Beam Plus, recently revealed at CES 2014 with a retail price tag of $1995. Curt will present the concepts he used to select the components for Beam, ranging from electric motors and batteries to motherboards. How ...
Exoplanets and Life Elsewhere in the UniverseEver wonder what real scientists think about other planets and the possibility of extraterrestrial life? Come listen to Prof. Lynn Rothschild give a talk on her research in speculative astrobiology.
Where: StanfordCost: Free
National Geographic Live: Endangered Species and Landscapes: A World Worth SavingJoel Sartore is a photographer, speaker, author, teacher, and a contributor to National Geographic magazine. His hallmarks are a sense of humor and a Midwestern work ethic. Joel's assignments have taken him to every continent and to the world's most beautiful and challenging environments, from the High Arctic to the Antarctic. Simply ...
Where: Redwood CityCost: $46 - $68, series price available
The Anomalous Coastline - New Brighton Beach to the Pajaro RiverGeologic Consultant, Gerald Weber, explains the geologic events and settings that have protected the coastline from New Brighton Beach to the Pajaro River from erosion over the last 150 years. He will take us back 250-300 years when a release of extra sand near Ano Nuevo widened the beaches and ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: $5 Members $10 Public.
How to search for invisible particles: towards direct detection of dark matterThe LUX Dark Matter experiment is a 370 kg liquid xenon time-projection chamber that aims to directly detect galactic dark matter in an underground laboratory 1 mile under the earth, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA.Speaker: Dr. Peter Sorensen, Lawrence Livermore National LabsThere is no fee for visitors ...
X-rays Reveal Secret Life of BatteriesMaking the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy sources for the world's automobile fleet will require dramatic improvements in rechargeable batteries: They will need to be lighter, less expensive, run 300-plus miles on a single charge and last the lifetime of the vehicle. While lithium-ion batteries promise to ...
Where: StanfordCost: free preregistration is required
Wednesday, 05/28/14
Extinction's Greatest HitsSpecies of plants and animals are disappearing 100 times faster than they should. In a six-part series for The New York Times scheduled to run this May, the science and environment writer Mary Ellen Hannibal tracks how the science of conservation biology developed to engage the problems of extinction. Her talk on ...
Applying Mainstream Design Approaches to Spacecraft CommunicationsSpace is difficult and unusual. Many of the things we take for granted on the planet's surface don't work for engineering spacecraft. Because of this, we've built an edifice of space design techniques to mitigate the challenges with high probability. The problem is, this edifice causes spacecraft to cost hundreds ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Science and Reason with Skeptics in the Pub, West BayIf ye value critical thinking, and if ye scorn the film-flam man, and if ye drink, drink with us, your friends. If ye shun the brewer's art, at least help us lay waste to bangers & mash!Skeptics in the Pub is a monthly meeting for discussion of topics of science, ...
Where: MillbraeCost: Free
The Seventh Warren William Chupp Distinguished LectureJoin us at the Lawrence Hall of Science for a special evening as a panel of science innovators-Danielle Feinberg, Robert Full, and Ashok J. Gadgil-share their passion for innovation and take part in a conversation about the importance of encouraging young people to explore, invent, and become scientifically literate.
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Bald Eagles: Repatriation of an Iconic Bird to the Central CoastForty years ago the bald eagle was in danger of extinction. In 1973, it was placed under protection of the Endangered Species Act. Shortly thereafter, Glenn Stewart teamed up with the Ventana Wildlife Society to create a bald eagle recovery plan for central California. Stewart and a team of biologists ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Thursday, 05/29/14
Metal-poor stars in the Milky Way halo: relics from the very beginning of chemical evolutionThe chemical element abundance pattern measured in a star's atmosphere is a record of the chemical enrichment history of the environment in which it formed. This "fossil imprint" contains key information regarding star formation histories, nucleosynthesis events and galaxy formation processes. In the context of this talk, the abundance patterns ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Sound Off! An Audio ExplorationCarry the One Radio, the science podcast, is hosting a live show at UCSF. Details and tickets here: soundoff.eventbrite.comThis is a free event to the public, but space is limited. Reserve your seat above. Easily accessable by public transit (1.5 blocks from the T Muni line). Doors open at 6:30 PM ...
Recovering Cutthroat Trout in CaliforniaRiver restoration and fish repopulationEndangered suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, OregonUsing a fish virus as a model for Hepatitis E in humansFish disease in the Yukon and implications from climate changeSpeaker: Jill Rolland, Western Fisheries Research Center
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Todd Keeler-Wolf presents California: An Ecoregional TourTodd Keeler-Wolf, Senior Vegetation Ecologist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife leads us on an eco-tour around California's spectacular natural settings. We'll explore vernal pools, chaparral, redwood forests, montane conifer forests, alpine and subalpine settings, and oak woodlands. Todd will present examples of how habitats were "tweaked" and ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: $5 for members $10 for public.
Saturday, 05/31/14
Math and Science Boot CampSEM Link through its Math and Science Career Academy will host a Math and Science Boot Camp for students in grades 8-12 as well as parents and educators of students in those grades. The purpose of the boot camp is to prepare students to be college and career ready in ...
Where: OaklandCost: $15 parents/educator and students $10
Bay to Sea SymposiumPanel 1 - 10:10 - 11:25The Bay, The Ocean, and The WonderPanelists include: Dr. Steve Palumbi (Hopkins Marine Lab), Marc Holmes (Bay Institute), David Helvarg (Blue Frontier founder) and othersPanel 2 - 11:30 - 12:45Challenges to our Ocean WorldPanelists include: Dr. Jane Lubchenco (OSU Professor), Geraldine Knatz (former Port of ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
SkeptiCal 2014SkeptiCal is the Northern California conference of science and skepticism, a day-long event with speakers, panels, and discussions on a wide array of subjects.This year's speakers include:Paul Doherty, The Boundaries of ScienceDan Dugan, Thirteen Years to Failure: A Federal Lawsuit to Stop Public Funding of Cult-Like Waldorf SchoolsAndrew Fraknoi, Nancy ...
Where: OaklandCost: $50 ($40 general, $30 Student until May 1)
Techtorials: Animate Your DoodlesJoin us at the Lawrence Hall of Science for our monthly Techtorials workshops. This month, learn how to use iStopMotion, a simple frame-by-frame animation software, to animate your drawings and other media. You'll walk away with a completed piece to share with friends. No previous animation experience is required. The ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: $30
Fish Feeding FrenzyWatch Ranger Linda feed the hungry inhabitants of our fresh and salt water tanks. Get familiar with some of our Bay Area aquatic neighbors. Watch the different feeding styles of the rock cod, sea stars, and rainbow trout.
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
May 31st. Public Astronomy Program On Mt DiabloSaturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury: here's your chance to see FOUR planets and our Moon through the telescopes. You will be able to make, and take home, a Pocket Solar System and imagine what it would be like to live on other worlds.Bring kids, binoculars, warm clothes (temperature can drop), snacks, ...
Where: Walnut CreekCost: Free ($10 park entrance fee)
When Worlds CollidePlanet Earth is constantly being struck by interplanetary debris, from fine dust to rocks or boulders big enough to outshine the Sun when they die, to asteroids or comets or even small stray planetsSpeaker: Dr. Kevin Zahnle NASA-Ames Research Ctr
Where: Mill ValleyCost: Free
Sunday, 06/01/14
S^4-Super Summer Science Search ContestThe Cupertino Library Foundation (CLF) announces its third annual S^4-Super Summer Science Search Contest for Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) middle school students. Students from any of the five Cupertino middle schools who will be outgoing 6th through 8th graders in June 2014 are eligible. Registration opens June 1, 2014 on the CLF ...
Where: CupertinoCost: 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
Seafoodie SoireeWe're all connected to the sea, and our choices – like which seafood to eat – really matter. Come be a Seafoodie with us on June 1! Get updates and information about sustainable seafood throughout the SF Bay Area, while you meet your neighbors in the Bay without blood, a ...
Where: SausalitoCost: 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
Quarterly Free Sunday at Academy of SciencesThe Academy is free to everyone on selected Sundays throughout the year. Admission is on a first-come, first served basis, and early arrival is recommended due to the likelihood of high demand. Please note that final entry to the museum is one hour before closing.
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Monday, 06/02/14
Energy Seminar - The Nuclear Fuel Cycle vs. the Carbon Cycle: Pu vs. COne hundred commercial nuclear reactors in the United States generate ~ 800 billion kWh of energy each year. This accounts for 19% of the electricity generated in the U.S. The nuclear power plants (NPP) themselves produce no carbon dioxide, but the construction of the NPPs does require energy that leads ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Why and How to Tell Stories about ScienceThis event will feature presentations by Iain McCalman, author of "The Reef: A Passionate History: The Great Barrier Reef from Captain Cook to Climate Change," and authors Steven Palumbi and Anthony Palumbi, "The Extreme Life of the Sea." Additional speakers include Professor Margaret Cohen and Professor Buzz Thompson.The authors will be ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Placebo and the Illusory Nature of PerceptionThe word placebo, from Latin "I shall please," was defined in Quincy's Lexicon-Medicum (1811) as "[any medicine] adapted more to please than to benefit the patient". But as you probably know, pharmacologically inert "sugar pills" can do much more than just please - they can bring about very real physical benefits for ...
Amazing nerdy goodness. (OK, so you want specifics? We'll host 3 awesome 20 minute presentations with breaks in between to drink). All done by 10pm as usual.Who's on Deck?"EVERYONE POOPS SLEEPS" by Mariko Bennett"JELLIES, VIRUSES, MACHINE LEARNING, THE PATH TO READ THE BRAIN" by Pablo Jercog"KILLER NEURONS (OR EXTRA SPECIAL ...
