NatureBridge's Preschool Playdates SeriesJoin us for a 2-hour hands-on program featuring techniques to help engage your children's sense of wonder and guide their natural curiosity during outdoor adventures. Gain a deeper understanding of inquiry based experiential learning while participating in field activities designed to develop your preschooler's observation skills. New themes each week.*Ages ...
Where: SausalitoCost: $75 per child (one adult admission included)
Datacenter Computers: Modern Challenges in CPU DesignComputers used as datacenter servers have usage patterns that differ substantially from those of desktop or laptop computers. We discuss four key differences in usage and their first-order implications for designing computers that are particularly well-suited as servers: data movement, thousands of transactions per second, program isolation, and measurement underpinnings. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Symphony of the Soil; Green FridayAt the March 10th Green Friday the documentary Symphony of the Soil will be shown. Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance soil.  By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, ...
Lichen: A Closer LookThis easy 1.5-mile out-and-back nature walk will explore habitats where lichen communities thrive. Learn to identify some of the most common forest lichen and discover ways these fascinating organisms benefit both wildlife and the environment. Meet at the Wood Road parking lot. Severe rain cancels. Questions? (408) 918-7770
Federally Listed as Endangered in 1976, the San Bruno Elfin (Callophrys mossii bayensis) is a nickel-sized, Burmese brown denizen of the top-most, rock outcrops of SanBruno Mountain.The butterfly is an exquisite study in browns: burnt sienna, mocha and russet, with grey thrown in. Â It's host is Stonecrop (Sedum spathifolium), the ...
Where: BrisbaneCost: Free ($6 - $8 park fee)
Exploring Nature: Family Learning WorkshopBring your family to explore nature and the environment at the Hall! In this Family Learning Workshop, you and your child will learn a "curiosity routine" and discover how to use it to make any outing a meaningful, enriching experience. We will also spend time in the Hall's outdoor spaces, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free with admission
Twilight Marsh WalkExperience the salt marsh at twilight on an easy stroll along Tidelands (1 1/3 mile) Trail. At the setting of the sun we will observe the beginning of nature’s night shift. Come discover the sights, sounds, and smells of the refuge as night descends. Not suitable for young children. RESERVATIONS ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
San Francisco City Star PartyCome join us for our monthly San Francisco City Star Party. SFAA members provide telescopes for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to check the SFAA website for the latest updates…bad weather or overcast skies will cancel!
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Dance of StreamsAstronomers are engaged in far reaching surveys of stars and galaxies, mapping ever larger objects in the universe. Closer to home, the Bay Area is part of a very different type of survey: a night-time surveillance of the night sky to map out our meteor showers throughout the year. Meteor ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Sunday, 03/12/17
Sensory Friendly Hours @ The TechSensory Friendly Hours are a time for families to enjoy a quieter, less-crowded visit to The Tech at a discounted rate. This opportunity may be appealing to parents of children who have mobility challenges, struggle to communicate or become easily overwhelmed by stimuli. During these hours, The Tech will offer:A ...
Where: San JoseCost:
Marine Science Sunday: The Big, The Small, and The WeirdThe theme this month is Celebrating Our Oceans: The Big, The Small, and The Weird. Come learn about the amazing diversity of life that lives out in the Ocean, from the big to the small and everything in between.  Docent-led tours will take you around the hospital showcasing some of the patients we ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free with admission
Global Warming and the Rise of Mosquito-borne DiseasesHuman-induced global warming is causing numerous problems such as coastal flooding and extreme weather. Lori Lai will discuss how these climate changes are likely to increase infection rates of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus and Dengue fever by creating more mosquito-friendly habitats.  The spread of West Nile virus ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: free
Monday, 03/13/17
Waterbirds at Lake MerrittMigrating birds are here! See which winter visitors are currently at Lake Merritt, the nation's oldest wildlife refuge.  Join us for 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 the walk in front of the ...
A transition to a sustainable energy system that addresses climate change, reduces pollution, and provides energy services in an affordable and socially just way requires a portfolio of energy technologies and strategies. To evaluate the health, environmental, and climate change benefits of wind, solar, energy efficiency, vehicle electrification, and storage, ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Deep Robotic LearningQuick error detection (QED) is an existing technique that transforms existing SoC test suites to improve coverage and reduce error detection latency. I will discuss two recent results which use formal methods to greatly enhance the power of QED. First, Symbolic QED is a method which uses bounded model checking ...
Samer AlAshgar is the President of King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), a global Energy Economics research center based in Riyadh.Prior to joining the Center he was head of Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC), where since 2009 he led Saudi Aramco’s upstream research and development ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
An Astronaut's Journey - A Perspective on Human SpaceflightAstronaut Steve Smith, a 4 space flight veteran with 7 space walks, will show never-seen-before space videos, discuss his experiences, and share the wonder of what Earth looks like from space.Speaker: Steven L. Smith, AstronautBuilding 152
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Tuesday, 03/14/17
Free Pi Day at the ExplOratoriumWelcome to the 30th annual Pi Day, the mathematical holiday founded at the Exploratorium and celebrated by number lovers around the world. To honor the never-ending number 3.14159... (and Einstein’s birthday), we’ll serve up π-themed activities, rituals, antics, and plenty of pie. Find out what's so special about this famous ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
A Journey to Alpha CentauriThe Alpha Centauri star system is ideal to search for habitable planets by various observing techniques due to its proximity and wide range of stellar masses. Following the recent discovery of an Earth-size planet candidate located inside the Proxima Centauri habitable zone, Dr. Marois will discuss this remarkable discovery and the planet’s ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
A New Plan to Spare the AirThe Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) offers a call to action and spare the air and cool the climate in its new report. The ambitious plan looks at the expected effects of climate change on the Bay Area and lays the groundwork for building a post-carbon economy. It also ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $10 General, Free for Members
Invisible Plants: Weeds at Lake MerrittWe see them everywhere, but what do we really know about them? Join us for a short stroll around Lakeside Park to identify and learn about some of the often-ignored and sometimes-reviled plants that we call "weeds".
Ask a Scientist's PI DAY Puzzle PartyTrying to decide how you're going to celebrate Pi Day (3.14) this year? Avoid the congested airports and typical math holiday madness, and join us instead for Ask a Scientist's Pi Day Puzzle Party �" a boisterous math and logic puzzle competition, hosted by Juliana Gallin and Wes Carroll. You can ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Is it a Smart Product, a Connected Product or an IoT Product?We hear the terms smart product, connected product and IoT product used interchangeably all the time, but do these terms all mean the same thing? The answer is a resounding NO!Understanding the differences is key to understanding the Internet of Things, and to explaining why some IoT products fail, why ...
Where: Santa ClaraCost: Free (advance registration required)
7:00-7:25: Theresa Wong(Composer and Performer) on "Multiplicity of Roots - Expanded Techniques and Harmonies of the Cello and Voice"How to free the cello from the cultural and historical connotations connected to it...Read more7:25-7:50: Piero Scaruffi(Author) on "Artificial Intelligence in the age of Deep Learning and Machine Art"Are machines ...
Tides combines lyrical prose, colorful adventure travel, and provocative scientific inquiry into the elemental, mysterious paradox that keeps our planet’s waters in constant motion.After nearly losing his 65-foot wooden schooner in a large Alaskan tide, writer, sailor, and surfer Jonathan White vowed to understand the tide. He knew the moon ...
Pass-Through of Solar PV Incentives to Consumers: The Early Years of California’s Solar PV IncentivesThis study examines the early years of California’s most recent wave of distributed solar PV incentives (2000-2008) to determine the pass-through of incentives to consumers. Examination of this period is important due to the high level of incentives provided and subsequent high cost to ratepayers; policymakers’ expectations that price declines ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Creating World-Class Computer Science at Stanford: 60 Years of InnovationThe seeds of Stanford’s currently most popular undergraduate major, computer science, grew from the university’s administrative needs, and those of science and engineering research. Provost Fred Terman’s prescient vision of an emerging disciplineâ€"the science and engineering of computationâ€"led to the 1957 hiring of George Forsythe to fill a Math Department ...
Where: StanfordCost:
Ars Technica Live: 15,000 years of evidence for climate change (location has been changed)In case you hadn't heard, weird weather is here to stay. California, after years of drought, is now lighting up with flash flood warnings. This is just one aspect of climate change that's been spurred on by human activity.How do we know that the climate is changing dramatically, and that ...
Where: OaklandCost: free
Is Anyone Out There Among the Stars: The Hundred-Million Dollar Breakthrough Listen ProjectWhat is the possibility of other intelligent life in the universe? Can we detect radio, infrared, or light signals from alien civilizations? Current and future projects searching for such signals, including the new $100-million Breakthrough Prize Foundation Listen project, may provide an answer. Dan Werthimer will describe the plans for future searches and ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost: Free ($3 parking)
Nerd Nite SF #82: ET Eavesdropping, Cyborg Senses, and Aging!This month we have a feast for your super-senses! First, we’ll turn our mightiest eyes and ears skyward in search of alien communications. Then we’ll learn how close we all are to becoming cyborgs, although it’s taken a lot more than six million dollars to get there. And we have ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $8
Thursday, 03/16/17
Scientists at Work: Identifying Invertebrates in Ocean SedimentJoin biologistsâ€"marine benthic invertebrate taxonomistsâ€"from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s (SFPUC) Oceanside Biology Lab as they conduct their taxonomy work in the East Gallery’s Living Systems Lab. The taxonomists will be identifying animals found in marine sediment specimens from their Southwest Ocean Outfall sampling area, where the Oceanside Water Treatment ...
Tour: Fiber & Dye Plants from Around the WorldJoin Garden Program Coordinator Deepa Natarajan for a walk through the Garden's collection looking at and learning about plants that can be used for natural dyes and fibers.
Where: BerkeleyCost: $20 General, $15 Members, incl. Garden Admission
Making the Most of Disaster: From Forensic Investigations and Research to Changes in Policy and PracticeThe disastrous flooding of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 laid bare the effects of more than five decades of neglect with regard both policy and funding for U.S. levees and flood protection systems. In the immediate aftermath of Katrina’s arrival, the American Society of Civil Engineers “Report Card ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
It’s Ptough to Be a Pteropod!Children's Museum of Sonoma County at the Aquarium of the BayStudents will measure and observe changing chemistry in an ocean-like environment, explore the complex food web, and discuss potential solutions to slow that change.Animal Ambassador: Tidepool Invertebrates (with touch tank)
Celebrate the creatures who do NightLife rightâ€"this week, it’s all about nocturnal animals.Visit the West Garden to learn about their moonlit lifestyles and meet a couple VIP guests from Classroom Safariâ€"a two-toed sloth and a porcupine.For those of you that don’t have eyes specially adapted to the dark, you can ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members
Conservation VictoriesIt’s a long and proud list: California least tern, California Brown Pelican, California clapper rail (oops!! Ridgway’s rail), Alameda whipsnake, Suaeda californica (known as “California sea-blite†and yes - it’s a plant - but at GGAS we’re broadminded). What do they have in common? They all are endangered species who ...
President Trump’s bold dismissal of climate change as a legitimate concern is energizing a new generation of teenage activists. Some are marching in the streets. Others are taking the federal and state governments to court, attempting to apply an ancient legal doctrine to the climate fight. It’s a longshot move ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $12 Members, $7 Students
Psilocybin Mushrooms in Mazatec Mexico: Glimpse an Indigenous WorldviewIn the mountains of southern Mexico, ancient cultures are changing. Until recently, certain Mazatec 'people of knowledge' were trained to quietly cure, pray, and influence the invisible world, often using one of the region's species of psilocybin mushrooms. The speaker will share what she has glimpsed of their techniques and ...
Where: Santa RosaCost: Free
In the Balance: Bringing Science to Justice with David FaigmanOn International Youth Day, August 12, 2015, 21 young people from across the United States filed a constitutional climate change lawsuit against the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Together with climate scientist Dr. James Hansen and the youth organization Earth Guardians, these plaintiffs ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with After Dark Admission
The world needs to slash greenhouse-gas emissions by 80% or more by mid-century to avoid the most dramatic impact of climate change. That’ll be hard. It will require massive deployment of technologies that exist today â€" and the invention, development, and widespread deployment of transformational new technologies that have yet ...
Where: StanfordCost:
Sympathy for the little guys - RESCHEDULEDDouglas Smith has long concentrated on some of the smaller fungi, so his talk will address mushrooms that are mostly 1-2cm or less in size. Since most people don't look for these, or you don't see them at fairs, Douglas thought it would be good to show their diversity.Editor's Note: ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Everything Matters: CalciumCome be in your elements with Exploratorium host and scientific raconteur Ron Hipschman. Follow tales of intrigue and invention, join in dynamic demonstrations, and uncover fascinating connections between individual elements and our collective human experience.
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free with admission to After Dark
