Newt Discovery StationNewts return! Each year, the winter rains prompt newts to migrate to the Garden’s Japanese Pool where their mating behaviors can be easily observed. The Garden is home to two newt species, Taricha torosa (California newt) and Taricha granulosa (rough-skin newt). Docents will be on hand to provide garden visitors ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Lunch time POP UP AQUARIUM: Lake MerrittDo you walk around Lake Merritt and wonder what lurks beneath the surface? Here is your lunch hour chance to see some of the magical critters up close and personal! Lake Merritt enthusiast, Damon Tighe, will have trays displaying some of the organisms that survive in the lake during the winter ...
Steven Johnson is a writer and co-creator of the PBS series How We Got To Now. His latest project is the book and podcast Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World.
Where: San FranciscoCost: TBA, free for members
Thursday, 01/05/17
After Dark: Catch a WaveOur universe is awash with waves. From sound waves jostling air molecules to seismic waves shifting the earth beneath our feet to electromagnetic waves vibrating through the vacuum of space, we are buffeted by traveling disturbances. Come surf a groundswell of wave science and ride the face of big wave ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $10 Members
Cafe InquiryMeet up with rationalists, skeptics, and freethinkers south of San Francisco
Where: Menlo ParkCost: Free
Friday, 01/06/17
Birds & BotanyHike the forests, meadows and hills around Pine Flat and up Redhill with ACR Volunteer Patrick Woodworth & ACR Resource Ecologist Dave Self. We’ll be watching (and listening) for birds on the hike out. After lunch, we'll botanize as we consider the seasonal interplay between bird foods, habitat history and current activity ...
Where: GeyservilleCost: Free
Saturday, 01/07/17
Family Bird WalkLet family walks become a shared time of nature learning. We’ll begin by helping kids create their personal bird watching field guides, and then head out onto the trails to find those birds. A limited number of binoculars are available to borrow. Recommended for children ages 5-10. RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Register ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Sunday, 01/08/17
12th Annual Point Reyes National Seashore Fungus Fair - CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHERJoin us for the 12th annual Point Reyes National Seashore Fungus Fair! Learn about the fungi of the Point Reyes National Seashore. See remarkable colors and shapes of wild mushrooms that were collected right in the park. Attend lectures, and learn about edible and poisonous mushrooms in the Bear Valley ...
Where: Point Reyes StationCost: Free
Marine Science Sunday: Animals of the ArcticThis month we celebrate the animals that are the champions of the cold: Animals of the Arctic. We recommend teaming our free classroom program with a Docent-led tour at 11am, 1pm or 3pm for a truly immersive marine mammal experience. Program SummaryFREE Classroom Programs: Animals of the Arctic- 12 PM ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
A History of Our Milky Way Galaxy, 14 Billion BCE to the Present DayHumankind has an innate need to understand the universe and its origin. Prior to the development of science, myths were invented by all cultures to explain the universe. From the philosophers of ancient Greece and early scientists, such as Copernicus and Galileo, an understanding based on observation and the scientific ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Monday, 01/09/17
Water Birds at Lake MerrittMigrating birds are here! See which winter visitors are currently at Lake Merritt, the nation's oldest wildlife refuge.  A naturalist from the Rotary Nature Center will lead 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 ...
High-Frequency Power ConvertersThe talk will cover how increases in switching frequency enable the miniaturization of power converters and new ways to fabricate and design power converters. It will address how these design techniques can be used in applications spanning biology, healthcare, space propulsion and automotive that use Wide Bandgap Power semiconductors at MHz frequencies. ...
What are we doing here on this planet? Can a deep-time and deep-space viewpoint help us gain the perspective to create a sustainable civilization? Informed by comparative planetology and a survey of the major transitions in Earth history, David Grinspoon will describe a taxonomy of planetary catastrophes meant to illuminate ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members and Seniors
Tuesday, 01/10/17
The Late Veneer and Earth's habitabilityAsteroid impacts were a hazard to any life on the Hadean Earth. A traditional approach to geochemical models of the asteroid impactors uses the concentration of highly siderophile elements including the Pt-group in the silicate Earth. These elements occur in roughly chondritic relative ratios, but with absolute concentrations <1% chondrite. This veneer ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Weeds of Lake MerrittWhat's a "weed"? Join us for a short stroll around Lakeside Park to look at some of the often-ignored and sometimes-reviled plants that are considered weeds.
Where: OaklandCost: Free! $20 suggested donation
Wonderfest: Healthy AgingHumans are living longer but are not necessarily healthier. The latest research on human health and longevity has identified factors that control the aging process. By increasing our understanding of the biology of aging, we are beginning to identify interventions that will significantly extend the years of health, happiness, and ...
Program (the order of the speakers might change):7:00-7:25: Dave Wolber (USF/ Computer Science) on "Democratizing Computing with App Inventor"The USF Democratize Computing Lab's mission is to to break down the "programmer divide"...Read more7:25-7:50: Erling Wold(Composer) on "The Descent of Opera"Trends in modern opera...Read more7:50-8:10: BREAK. Before or ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Welcome Back ottersMegan Isadore, head of the Bay Area River Otter Ecology Project, brings new research findings, fascinating photos, and the heartening story of how these lithe, elusive carnivores have returned to the Bay Area. Co-sponsored by Bay Nature Magazine (see the article on river otters in their current issue) and California ...
