Coyote Valley Earth Day Celebration!This Earth Day, celebrate with us at Spreckels Hill for this free special event for the whole community.During this celebration you can enjoy family-friendly crafts, games, and an opportunity to share why you love Coyote Valley. Spreckels Hill was permanently protected as open space in 2019 and is not yet ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Earth Day at the RefugeThis year, the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and partners are celebrating Earth Day and 50 years of Endangered Species Act in a big way - and it will be fun for the whole family! The event will be an open house, with time to explore, learn ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Earth Day Seabird Science Family Workshop - First SessionJoin us at our Pier Classroom over the water near Crissy Field for a feather-filled seabird experience in celebration of Earth Day. Activities include identifying seabirds from the pier using binoculars and learning about seabird life cycles and adaptations. We will have seabird artifacts and a giant chutes and ladders ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15
Earth Day: Seeing Earth from SpaceFor Earth Day we invite you to a showcase of science, both on Earth and from space.  The first Earth Day in 1970 successfully channeled the spirit of activism into a global movement towards environmental action and awareness of what we now call climate change. The issue of climate change persists ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free with admission
Landscape Is Homeland FestivalThis Earth Day weekend, come together for a day of celebration and programming presented in partnership with the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone and the American Indian Cultural District. Join Indigenous artisans and community members as they share practices, stories, and food that are deeply rooted in the California landscape. Enjoy ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Morning Hike at La Honda Open Space PreserveJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful hike at Lower La Honda Creek Open Space Preserve where you’ll experience the area’s sweeping views and gorgeous rolling grasslands! The preserve is over 6,100 acres, of which POST has contributed 5,200 acres. You will be guided by a POST Ambassador on ...
Where: La HondaCost: Free
Berkeley Bay FestivalConnect with the Bay and our local community through live music, performers, food, hands-on educational activities and free boat rides.This free family-focused event celebrates the Bay, its local wildlife, and the people and agencies dedicated to its protection. Over 30 environmental and wildlife conservation organizations from around the Bay will share ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Earth Day Seabird Science Family Workshop - Second SessionJoin us at our Pier Classroom over the water near Crissy Field for a feather-filled seabird experience in celebration of Earth Day. Activities include identifying seabirds from the pier using binoculars and learning about seabird life cycles and adaptations. We will have seabird artifacts and a giant chutes and ladders ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15
Home Electrification FairThere are plenty of good reasons to switch from gas to electric: Health. Safety. Longterm savings. And of course, climate. And there are a lot of good questions:Where do I start? Oven? EV charger? Heat pump?Do I need to upgrade my electrical panel?How do I find contractors I can trust?What ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Free National Parks DayAdmission to most US National Parks is free today, the first day of National Park Week
Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Santa Clara Open Space Authority, and Santa Clara County Parks as we co-host the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. The film program will also be available virtually to all who register for the event, available to watch from the ...
Using Research for Regulatory Development: Direct Potable Reuse in CaliforniaIn several places throughout the world, water scarcity is driving communities to pursue new water resources such as the potable reuse of wastewater. The State of California has long been a leader in the field of indirect potable reuse, where purified effluents are routed through environmental buffers (e.g., aquifers or ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
A brain-inspired electronic learning machineContrastive learning algorithms have recently been proposed for training physical networks such as mechanical, flow and electrical networks to perform arbitrarily complex machine learning tasks not by minimizing a global cost function as in artificial neural networks, but in a manner more similar to the brain, using only local information. ...
Molly Schumer is an Assistant Professor in Biology. She is interested in genetics and evolutionary biology. After receiving her PhD at Princeton, she did her postdoctoral work at Columbia and was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows and Hanna H. Gray Fellow at Harvard Medical School. Current ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
What Physicists DoSpeaker: Tomi Akindele, Lawrence Livermore National Lab
Nuclear fusion powers the stars, and the goal of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is to bring this game-changing energy source to Earth in a controlled laboratory setting. After many decades of research by a cast of thousands, for the first time ever, a laser-driven ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Tuesday, 04/25/23
Shaded Fuel Break: Lessons Learned Post Wildfire in the San Vicente Redwoods - LivestreamWhat to learn more about how four land trusts implement land conservation and fire resiliency? Join a variety of practitioners who come together to manage fuels on private conservation land critically located adjacent to high-fire risk communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Susie Petrie, Senior Stewardship Project Manager at Peninsula Open ...
Amy Westervelt has made a career out of exploring the underbelly of the oil industry through complex and compelling storytelling. From her investigative series Drilled to her latest project Light Sweet Crude, focused on the new wave of "oil colonialism," Westervelt dives deep into the true crimes of the fossil ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 General, $10 Members in person
Groundwater Rise Adaptation: Insights from Miami and San Rafael - LivestreamSea level rise has increased the urgency of adapting to groundwater rise. As the Bay Area experiences higher and higher water tables, it must contend with a greater frequency of flooding, potentially compromised underground infrastructure and structural foundations, increasing liquefaction risk during earthquakes, and movement of soil contaminants. Join us ...
Anomalous hydrodynamics of low dimensional quantum systemsThe field of hydrodynamics of quantum systems has experienced a revival in the past decade, as an effective theory describing how many-body quantum systems evolve from local to global equilibrium. This has been largely driven by the advent of new experimental platforms, from strongly interacting ultracold gases to pristine solid-state ...
Our human lives involve remarkable forms of practical organization: diachronic organization of individual activity; small-scale organization of shared action; and the organization of institutions. A theory of human action should help us understand these multiple forms of human practical organization and their inter-relations. I argue that a key is our ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Swiss Cyber Night at RSA2023 is set to be pivotal for digital technologies, presenting significant opportunities as well as potential risks. On one hand, we are seeing tremendous advances reaching the masses, like ChatGPT and generative AI.On the other hand, the global discussions around the regulations of technology and the volatile global geopolitical environments ...
Katia and Maurice Krafft loved two things â€" each other and volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple roamed the planet, chasing eruptions and documenting their discoveries. Ultimately, they lost their lives in a 1991 volcanic explosion, leaving a legacy that forever enriched our knowledge of the natural ...
Where: Cost: Free
What Feces Can Tell Us About the Health of the Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales - LivestreamThe Southern Resident killer whales are one of the most studied and well-known endangered species on the planet, yet efforts to save them have been largely unsuccessful. How can research be translated into meaningful policy or action to guide their recovery to reverse the declining trend in the population? In ...
 The geometry of the ancient Greeks took place on an ideal, infinite, flat plane. In the millenia since then, mathematicians have opened our minds to the more general and flexible geometries of curved spaces - from the fabric that makes up our clothing, to the spacetime around a black hole. ...
Where: NovatoCost: Free
Wednesday, 04/26/23
Coastal Walk at Cowell-Purisima TrailJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful walk along the Cowell-Purisima trail that POST helped create by protecting adjacent farmland. While it may be foggy, we hope to catch gorgeous views of the ocean, nearby farmland, and glimpses of harbor seals, pelicans, hawks, rabbits, and whales during the winter ...
Killer whales are not universally loved. Through history and in many different places of the world their story is one of fear and persecution. Marine mammal biologist and cofounder of The Whale Center in Andenes, Norway Hanne Strager talks about her research in Norway and her book The Killer Whale ...
The question that has intrigued copyright professionals since the mid-1960s is whether computer-generated texts and images would be eligible for this law’s protection. Early on, the consensus was that artificial intelligence (AI) is just a tool, like a camera, so humans could claim copyright in machine-generated outputs to which they ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Revealing connections in the sea: insights into the processes shaping the spatial distribution of marine fishesUnderstanding the spatial distribution of species, as well as identifying the underlying mechanisms influencing these patterns, are essential to properly understand how biodiversity is generated and maintained in the sea. The scale at which these patterns occur can illuminate evolutionary and ecological processes influencing these patterns, which in turn are ...
'Social Forestry' by Tomi Hazel VaardeThe Ecology Center and book publisher, Synergetic Press, presents the official release of Tomi Hazel Vaarde’s book, Social Forestry: Tending the Land as People of Place with an intimate book signing with renowned author, Tomi Hazel Vaarde. This book is a must for anyone who wants a reciprocating relationship with their communities, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Lessons from the Covid WarAs the formal COVID-19 emergency comes to an end nationally and locally, a growing number of reports and investigative bodies are beginning to explore what went wrong and right with the country’s response to the COVID crisis. One of the most important is the COVID Crisis Group (CCG), a team ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 General, $15 Members in person, $5/Free web
Peninsula Gem & Geology SocietyNeil Delfino will be giving us a presentation on field trips that are near to the Bay Area. These are locations where agates, jaspers, magnesite, agatized magnesite, and possibly a few other useful rocks are found. None of the sites involve 4X4 travel. Examples of the rocks to be found ...
Where: Los AltosCost: Free
The Legendary Alto and Research at the EdgeWhat if we had a time machine that could help us invent the future? In 1973, the innovators at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) had exactly that. The Alto computer transported computing 15 years into the future with its groundbreaking features and functions. A half century later, how we live ...
The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on Dec. 25, 2021, and commissioning was completed in early July 2022. With its 6.5 m golden eye, and cameras and spectrometers covering 0.6 to 28 μm, Webb is already producing magnificent images of galaxies, active galactic nuclei, star-forming regions, and planets. Scientists ...
Nature makes a variety of small molecules with unique chemical structures and sometimes useful biological activities to enhance and improve human health. However, naturally-occurring small molecules can also have detrimental effects on human health and the environment as a whole. One major example of this are harmful algal blooms that ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Thursday, 04/27/23
Educator Workshop: Unstable Table (K-5) - LivestreamBuild your own Unstable Table! Experience a classic Exploratorium tinkering project, then bring it back to your classroom. In this activity, tinker with objects on a platform to figure out how to balance them in ways that don’t always look like they should be possible. Arrange and rearrange objects on ...
Henry Gonzalez, Deputy Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), will discuss the GCF's climate projects, specifically focusing on climate mitigation and adaptation perspectives.See weblink for stream information
Where: Cost: Free
Videogame Science and UFOs - LivestreamWhat’s a videogame programmer doing analyzing UFO videos? And why should people trust what a programmer has to say when people with PhDs in physics disagree with him? In many ways, videogame programmers make ideal UFO investigators: the simple math used to make 3D objects move in a virtual setting ...
Where: Cost: Free
After Dark: Genetic GhostsParents share more than just DNA with their children; they pass down biological information from past lives: genetic ghosts. These ghosts come in many forms, from cells to antibodies to bits of ancient DNA. Children inherit cells from their mothers - actual cells that persist through their lives. Offspring can ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
Gravity Never Sleeps - Landslide Science and Risk Reduction - LivestreamLandslides contribute to the cascading hazards from wildfire, flooding, earthquakes, and climate change.Learn about the latest science and technologies for detecting, survelling and forecasting landslides.Learn about the new National =Strategy for Landslide Loss Reduction.Speaker: Jonathan Godt, USGS Landslide Hazards Program CoordinatorSee website for link to Microsoft Teams to attend.Â
Throughout the millennia, total solar eclipses have instilled fear in some people while inspiring others, as the Sun’s wispy corona reveals itself in fleeting moments lasting anywhere from seconds to under 7 minutes. The recognition that the Sun’s corona is the extension of the solar atmosphere into space, together with ...
Silicon Valley's 'Possible Self' STEAM experiential/Expo “Possible Selfâ€Â is a STEM experiential family event unlike any other. The mission of the "Possible Self" experiential is to stimulate and increase the interest of our youth in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) by presenting and producing exciting demonstrations, hands-on, engaging experientials, geeky games, historical exhibits, stage performances and more ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost: Free to the Public and Vendors
This Science Saturday it's the Fossil Festival at the PG Museum! Come to the museum to see some of the coolest fossils in our collection, as well as fossils from some of our special guest community partners! Visit the Nature Exchange and get 100 extra credits if you bring in ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
EV Ride and Drive: Electrify your Ride Test drive electric vehicles (EVs) at the Sunnyvale Community Center. You can ask owners and experts questions about EVs. Attendees can ride along as passengers or take the driver seat in various EV models. Take a test drive to get a ticket for the on-site complimentary food truck. Take e-bikes ...
Where: SunnyvaleCost: Free
Stewardship Saturday: Exploring Land and Sea (for High-Schoolers) we are excited to invite you to learn more about the terrestrial and aquatic animals The Marine Mammal Center and Lindsay Wildlife Experience care for! Through this event you will discover more about wildlife conservation careers, practice climate change communication, analyze the similarities and differences between various marine mammals and terrestrial ...
Where: LafayetteCost: Free
DART: The Double Asteroid Redirection Test - LivestreamNASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, is the world’s first full-scale planetary defense test, demonstrating one method of asteroid deflection technology. As part of NASA’s larger planetary defense strategy, the DART mission proved that a spacecraft can autonomously navigate to a target asteroid and intentionally collide with it, a ...
Josephine Hubbard and Lisa Walker are researchers in the SETI-Templeton Humpback Whale Research team within the McCowan-Vandeleest Laboratory of Biobehavioral Complexity, co-directed by Brenda McCowan, which seeks to understand how spatial and mathematical relations of networks relate to the content and quality of relationships and how such variation influences a diversity of ...
Where: Cost: Free
City Star Party - PresidioCome join the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers for free public stargazing of the Moon, planets, globular clusters and more!SFAA members with telescopes are encouraged to attend and share their views of the stars with the general public.Dress warmly. Due to the pandemic, social-distancing and masks are encouraged, but not required.Rain, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Jazz Under the StarsJazz Under the Stars is a FREE monthly public stargazing event! Occurring on the Saturday nearest the 1st quarter moon (check our Events Page), join us on the 4th floor observatory for a night of smooth jazz, bright stars, and a lot of fun! We play our jazz from CSM's own ...
Where: San MateoCost: Free
Sunday, 04/30/23
Community discussion: Bolinas Lagoon, Duxbury Reef, and the Bolinas Field StationPlease join Audubon Canyon Ranch and College of Marin (COM) for a presentation and discussion of the current and future science and state of Bolinas Lagoon, Duxbury Reef, and COM’s Bolinas Field Station. Post-presentation field trip led by Gwen Heistand and Joe Mueller.Please bring your binoculars for the field trip.SPEAKERSGwen ...
Where: Stinson BeachCost: Free
Easy Morning Walk at WavecrestEnjoy a refreshing morning hike along the bluffs of the Wavecrest Trail! This family-friendly hike is an easy 2-mile walk and great for all ages and levels of hikers.This serene space is surrounded by POST-protected agricultural land and open space. Many people enjoy this scenic hike because of the great ...
Where: Half Moon BayCost: Free
Urban Natives in the Bernal CutCome explore the hidden treasure trove of urban open spaces filled with natives and a potential super bloom this Spring. We will travel along the Glen Park Greenway and tour the native grass meadow. Skirting along Arlington Street to San Jose Ave we will see both the impact of transportation on ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
Monday, 05/01/23
Climate and Energy in Africa: What We're Getting WrongVia the SDGs and COP, the world is committed to tackling the big global crises of poverty and climate change. But the policies for fostering net zero emissions, universal access to energy, and full employment are confused when it comes to Africa, a region that will soon be home to ...
Using proxies to assess anthropogenic effects on under-monitored equatorial Pacific reefsCoral reefs are struggling as anthropogenic warming fuels an increase in the frequency and intensity of Marine Heat Waves, causing widespread bleaching and coral death. Yet some reefs, including those in the bullseye of El Niño’s impact, endure. Uncovering their secret could shed critical new light on the mechanisms by ...
Dr. Kristy Red Horse is an Associate Professor at Stanford University’s Department of Biology and Institute for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine. She is interested in cardiovascular development and regeneration. Current research in the Kristy Red-Horse Lab, centers on how coronary vessels of the heart develop duing embryogenesis and ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Getting information from quantum black holesBlack holes are the most extreme objects in the universe, which makes them interesting for theorists trying to understand how the foundational theories of physics - quantum mechanics and general relativity - work together. I’ll describe recent progress on this problem, driven by looking at black holes through the lens ...
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with anthropogenic emissions serving as a key contributor to climate change. In the oil and gas sector, “super-emitters†are a relatively small number of methane sources that are disproportionately responsible for a large fraction of total methane emissions. However, advances in remote sensing technologies ...
Using new and published marine fossil radiocarbon (14C) measurements, a tracer uniquely sensitive to circulation and air-sea gas exchange, we establish several benchmarks for Atlantic, Southern, and Pacific deep-sea circula- tion and ventilation since the last ice age. We find the most 14C-depleted water in glacial Pacific bottom depths, rather ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Symmetry, topology, and the many faces of condensed matterSymmetry is powerful principle in physics, allowing us to make exact statements even in regimes where controlled calculations are challenging or impossible. Thus, understanding the ways in which different types of symmetries can constrain phases of matter is an important component of understanding what nature is capable of. Â In this ...
Increasingly severe and frequent floods and droughts inevitably spur calls for higher levees, bigger drains, and longer aqueducts. But as we grapple with extreme weather, a hard truth is emerging: our development, including concrete infrastructure designed to control water, is actually exacerbating our problems. Because sooner or later, water always ...
With hundreds of bird species found throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, we are fortunate to have several birding organizations dedicated to appreciating and conserving the birds here. In the third part of SFBBO's Birding the Bay Area series, Madrone Audubon and Napa-Solano Audubon will share a few of their ...
The nature of dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries of the modern era. All the matter that we see makes up just one sixth of the total mass of the Universe - there’s five times as much again in this mysterious stuff we call ‘dark matter’. We know ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Wednesday, 05/03/23
Polycentric governance in the Sacramento-San Joaquin DeltaDr. Rittelmeyer is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior at UC Davis where she researches science integration into policy in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Her dissertation examined perceptions of flood risk through interviews, media coverage of past flood events, and the timing of floods during ...
Where: TiburonCost: Free
Thursday, 05/04/23
Climate Displacement in the Shadow of War: Feminist Refugee Perspectives on Hydro-disaster“Climate-related migration,†“disaster mobility,†and “climate refugees†have become salient topics in the last decade in both the political and scholarly realms. Most of the discourse looks to the future, with mass migrations expected in the wake of ever more severe climate change. These climate mobilities tend to be regarded ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Drop. Cover. Hold On.Amy Williamson from UC Berkeley Seismology Lab presents a talk on earthquakes in California.
Where: AlbanyCost: Free
NightLife: Feel the ForceThe force is strong with this NightLife.You have been invited on a mission to party like a rebel in a galaxy not-so far, far away. Gather the droids, alert the Jedis, load up your X-wing, and get ready for an epic galactic adventure featuring a live lightsaber duel, cosmic marketplace, ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Varies
After Dark: RootsUncover the underground life of plants! Find out how plant roots serve up necessary carbon, water, and more for healthy life - then hear from researchers about how roots adapt to climate change. Get an up-close look at root systems, and learn about the vast underground networks that connect plants ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
The Insect Crisis is a Human CrisisInsects can seem to be everywhere, all at once, sometimes to an annoying extent. Three out of four every four known animal species on Earth are insects, after all. But these dazzlingly adept creatures, which pre-date the dinosaurs, are suffering a silent yet hugely consequential crisis, with their numbers plummeting ...
The incomparably dynamic theoretical physicist and futurist Michio Kaku is a correspondent for CBS: This Morning, host of two weekly science radio programs, and the author of many books including The Future of the Mind, Physics of the Impossible, and The God Equation: The Quest for a Theory of Everything. ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $49
Friday, 05/05/23
Bair Island Walking TourJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for a walking tour at Bair Island! You’ll be guided by POST ambassadors who will share the history of this beautiful protected space, information about the species that live there, and what you can do to contribute.This easy 1.5 mile walk with little to no ...
First Friday Climate Series: What is Weather?Ever wonder what happens in our atmosphere that can make it cold and rainy one day and hot and dry the next? Weather is a series of events that result in some amazing and downright fascinating effects. But how does this all work? Come learn from meteorologists and scientists how ...
Where: OaklandCost: $15 General, $10 Kids/Seniors, $5 Members
Cutting-edge technology is revolutionizing human origins research and changing the way we understand our uniquely human traits. In this lecture, Gordon P. Getty Award laureate Dr. Carol Ward will guide us through the process of finding fossils and using modern approaches to unlock their secrets.Attend in person or online
Where: San FranciscoCost: $25 General, Students and Leaky members Free
Drop-in anytime between 9 am and 11 am to bird with us! SCVAS volunteers will be stationed at Palo Alto Baylands on the north side of the duck pond with binoculars to help you identify the huge variety of shorebirds and ducks that call the Bay Area home. No RSVP ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
One Tam Forest Health TourWalk and talk with One Tam partner staff through a Forest Health project area. Learn more about the why's and how's of One Tam's work to help improve the health and resilience of Mt. Tamalpais'Â forests. Led by Danny Franco, Project Manager at the Parks Conservancy, and Suzanne Whelan, Volunteer Coordinator ...
'All the Little Things' - EcoCenter Family EventIn this special public program, join the Environmental Volunteers to learn about the importance of the "little things" in our ecosystem - insects, decomposers, etc. Discover how these organisms that we don't always see help the environment in big ways. This event will feature 3 separate activity stations, each with a ...
 Every human's previous encounters with reality are the source of internal mental predictions that help to shape future experiences. So, seeing the "real world" (or hearing sounds, or feeling pain, or ...) involves a personal, ideosyncratic filter/kaleidoscope. This prediction-based theory of mind is quite hopeful. More than a facile version ...
Where: Cost: Free
WHISPERS FROM THE COSMOS: The Dawn of Gravitational Wave AstronomyVirtually everything we know about the Universe has been discovered from the study of photons --- light in all its myriad forms from radio waves, to visible light, to x-rays and beyond. At the dawn of the 21st century, advanced technology is providing access to the Cosmos through detection of ...
Observations of turbulent dissipation in the coastal ocean from an autonomous underwater vehicleThe location and intensity of mixing in the world’s oceans is a fundamental topic of modern oceanography, yet the range of dynamical scales in oceanic flows has challenged efforts to quantify when and where dissipation of mechanical energy occurs. Such knowledge is essential to global climate science and prediction. Although global ocean models can resolve ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Landscape of Particle Accelerators, Snowmass Planning for Future, and Ultimate CollidersFor over half a century, high-energy particle accelerators have been a major enabling technology for particle and nuclear physics research as well as sources of X-rays for photon science research in material science, chemistry and biology. We will briefly review recent advances worldwide to increase the energy and improve the ...
Mike Morgan will share his reflections and lessons learned from 30 years as a leader and venture investor in a range of energy businesses that have seen significant transitions, including: natural gas infrastructure, residential solar, batteries + AI, and energy-optimizing software.Michael Morgan is Founder, Chairman and CEO of Triangle Peak PartnersAttend ...
Ravi Majeti(Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine) on "Stem Cells and Reprogramming in Human Acute Leukemia"TBA ... Thomas Haakenson(California College of the Arts) on "Kurt Schwitters and the Space, Sound, Sexuality of Dada Resistance"The year 2023 marks roughly the centennial of some of the ...
The nature of dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries of the modern era. All the matter that we see makes up just one sixth of the total mass of the Universe - there’s five times as much again in this mysterious stuff we call ‘dark matter’. We know ...
The birth of stars is one of the most complex problems challenging modern astrophysics. Understanding their origins is of fundamental importance to many areas of astronomy, from exoplanet studies to cosmology. While the study of the initial conditions of star formation in molecular clouds has accelerated during the past couple ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $15 General, $12 Members & Seniors
Colonial and imperial histories and contemporary realities often lead to the framing of marginalized populations’ linguistic practices as learning impediments, thereby scapegoating them as primary causes of educational and broader societal problems. This presentation draws on critical decolonial perspectives to understand the historical and contemporary consolidation of borders delimiting languages, ...
Women in AstrophysicsThere are proportionally more women in astrophysics than in many other branches of physics, but they are still in a minority. For many years the IAU (International Astrophysical Union)  has recorded separately its male and female membership. Using this data base I will review how the fraction of astrophysicists that ...
Two eclipses of the Sun are coming to North America during the 2023-24 school year - an annular (“ring of fireâ€) eclipse Oct. 14, 2023 and a total eclipse Apr. 8, 2024. People in two narrow paths will have the full eclipse experience each time. Everyone else (an estimated 500 ...
Where: Los Altos HillsCost: Free
Thursday, 05/11/23
Submarine Volcanic EruptionsMost submarine volcanic eruptions occur without being detected. When do record them,we find that submarine volcanoes erupt quite differently from volcanoes on land. I will summarize some of what we have learned over the last few years and hope to learn in the next few years from some new expeditions.Speaker: ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
InVADER Mission Conducts Deep-Sea Test - LivestreamA team of scientists and engineers from the SETI Institute, Impossible Sensing, NASA JPL, and other institutions will test their innovative robotic laser system on a deep-sea expedition aboard the E/V Nautilus. The mission, called InVADER (In-situ Vent Analysis Divebot for Exobiology Research), aims to advance technologies to explore, characterize ...
Where: Cost: Free
Investigating Pop Psychology: Pseudoscience, Fringe Science, and Controversies - LivestreamScience-based advances in the field of psychology continue to grow at an impressive rate; however, even more claims in psychology have little-to-no research support. What does it mean for a mental health treatment to be considered “evidence-based†and “science-based†- and how can you tell the difference?Psychologist Stephen Hupp will ...
Where: Cost: Free
After Dark: Thought and ActionHow can art help us understand the world around us? How can it help us adapt to change? Tonight, use art as a lens to explore how we understand ourselves and our connected futures on this planet. Discover the experimental documentary Stitching the Future with Clues, which centers neurodivergence as ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
NightlifeCalling all creatures of the night: explore the nocturnal side of the Academy at NightLife and see what's revealed. With live DJs, outdoor bars, ambiance lighting, and nearly 40,000 live animals (including familiar faces like Claude, our alligator with albinism), the night is sure to be wild.Step inside the iconic ...
This talk will include a discussion of UFOs/UAPs and associated conspiracy theories, the strange object ‘Oumuamua, and more realistic ways of searching for extraterrestrial life. I’ll also share some of my thoughts on the likelihood of there being any other intelligent beings in our Milky Way Galaxy.Speaker: Dr. Alex Filippenko, ...
Abraham Verghese is Professor and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the School of Medicine at Stanford University. He is also a best-selling author and a physician whose focus on healing and empathy stands out in an era when technology often overwhelms the human side of ...
In this talk I will describe how pulsars (pulsating radio sources) were accidentally discovered during a research project to find quasars.Prof. Bell Burnell was responsible for the discovery of pulsars while a radio astronomy graduate student in Cambridge and has subsequently worked in gamma ray, X-ray, infrared and millimeter wavelength ...
Stanford biologist Billie Goolsby on Family Feud: Familial Decision-Making in Poison Frogs - Cooperation between parents tends to ensure family success, especially among poison frogs. Through direct observation, sound recordings, and hormone analysis, researchers test how coordination of parenting happens in nature - and how it predicts offspring survival.UC Berkeley physicist Ashwin Singh on Exploring ...
Where: Cost: Free
Friday, 05/12/23
Coastal Walk at Pillar Point BluffJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for an afternoon walk at Pillar Point Bluff just north of Half Moon Bay! You will be guided by a POST representative who will share details about the area’s interesting natural history, from the coastal scrub habitat to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve that hosts tide ...
Planning of marine areas is being developed worldwide to support ocean sustainability. However, a number of conceptual and practical challenges limit the effectiveness of developing and implementing MSP. On top of these challengesâ€"and with a high potential to significantly exacerbate themâ€"there is global climate change. Climate-induced changes in ocean conditions ...
Geophysical characterization of calderas is fundamental in assessing their potential for future catastrophic volcanic eruptions. The mechanism behind the unrest of Long Valley Caldera in California remains highly debated, with recent periods of uplift and seismicity driven either by the release of aqueous fluids above the magma chamber or by ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Nocturnal: Climate Conversations - CANCELEDWhen we think about nature in the San Francisco Bay Area, we tend to think its most iconic features like the redwoods, beaches, wildlife and especially the fog. As climate change continues to alter Northern California, we examine how this impacts some of our favorite natural treasures and what scientists ...
Where: OaklandCost: $20
Climate Fiction Storytellers The Climate Parables: Reporting from the FutureThe series starts with the idea that survival in the Anthropocene depends on upgrading not just our technology, but also our collective imagination. From there, acclaimed storytellers will perform work from some of the most creative science fiction writers such as Kim Stanley Robinson and Eliot Peper, speculating on what ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $35
Saturday, 05/13/23
Family Nature Walks - Foothills Nature PreserveEnvironmental Volunteers’ Family Nature Walks program is designed to help students and their families get to know our local open space areas. Small family groups will be guided by a knowledgeable environmental educator during an exploration of a local open space. These small groups will be introduced to fun nature-based ...
Where: Los AltosCost: Free
Climate Fiction Storytellers The Climate Parables: Reporting from the FutureThe series starts with the idea that survival in the Anthropocene depends on upgrading not just our technology, but also our collective imagination. From there, acclaimed storytellers will perform work from some of the most creative science fiction writers such as Kim Stanley Robinson and Eliot Peper, speculating on what ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $35
Monday, 05/15/23
Large eddy simulations of wind turbine and wind farm wakesWith the continuing growth in wind energy, the ability to accurately predict wind turbine and farm wakes, including their interactions with the surrounding atmosphere and neighboring sites, is one of the current grand challenges in wind energy science. Wind farm wakes can significantly degrade the power performance of downstream wind ...
Sarah integrates methods from many different areas of biology to study social behavior and its evolution. She was one of the first graduates of the Integrative Biology program at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign where discovered her love of behavior, genetics, and neurobiology. She went on to study the genetic ...
Dynamic operating schema for unit processes, treatment trains, and water systems are critical for accommodating non-steady-state system inputs and water resource demands. This applies equally to small-scale treatment units with fluctuating water production volumes and quality, large desalination plants encountering energy costs that vary as much as 10X over hourly ...
A hallmark of many natural hazards (i.e., avalanches, landslides, and earthquakes) is the phase transition that frictional granular assemblages undergo, from being structurally arrested to creeping to flowing. Shear jamming, in conjunction with several other granular physics theories, predicts that the phase transitions are governed by the assemblage's temperature, disorder, ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Quantum computing in the presence of errorsQuantum computers promise to solve problems that the most advanced supercomputers will never be able to tackle. They range from simple mathematical operations to the simulation of quantum materials or chemical compounds. Spectacular advances in recent years have led to the first prototypes of quantum computers, which can already perform ...
Harnessing Nature's Machinery: Taming retroelements for use as a promising gene therapy toolSpeaker: Briana Van Treeck (Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley)Unlocking Movement After Paralysis: Enhancing Motor Function Through Brain Computer Interfaces:Speaker: Yasmin Graham (Bioengineering, UC Berkeley)Come check out Popping the Science Bubble, a series of short lectures on cutting-edge ...
Do you love learning about mushrooms but think 'Cortinarius' is too hard?It doesn't have to be that way! Shannon will help you recognize distinctive features of Cortinarius and how to differentiate them from common 'lookalikes'. She will take you on a rich visual tour to appreciate species diversity.During the talk you will ...
Highly mobile predatory fish move between coral reefs and the open ocean and may play a crucial role in linking these near and offshore habitats. In this study, we are using a chemical tracing technique in Palau to estimate how much predatory fishes rely on food from coral reef versus ...
Where: Cost: Free
Astronomy on Tap Tucson: Telescope Love letters + Satellite SwarmsOn tap this month, we have optical sciences graduate student Eden McEwen telling us all about the life of an observational astronomer, and Steward Observatory’s Harry Krantz talking about satellites in the night sky! We’ll also be hearing all about the latest Astronomy in the News from Drs. Jackie Champagne ...
Smart replies, writing enhancements, and virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence language technologies have been increasingly integrated into consumer products and everyday experiences. This research explores the potential and risks of AI-mediated communication (AI-MC) technologies such as GPT-4 in the political space through a series of experiments that explore both ...
Where: StanfordCost: Free
Coastal Walk at Cowell-Purisima TrailJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful walk along the Cowell-Purisima trail that POST helped create by protecting adjacent farmland. While it may be foggy, we hope to catch gorgeous views of the ocean, nearby farmland, and glimpses of harbor seals, pelicans, hawks, rabbits, and whales during the winter ...
Monterey Bay Aquarium’s newest exhibit, Into the Deep, showcases amazing animals from the deep sea, many of which have never been observable by the public before. Much of the challenge in designing a successful deep sea exhibit stems from two hurdles that must be overcome: the difficulty of finding and ...
"Healthspan" is the period of life in which an individual is healthy and free from chronic disease. Interventions that promote healthy aging, such as diet and exercise, can help increase healthspan and reduce the burden of age-related diseases. Dr. Eric Verdin will discuss his efforts and those of his colleagues ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $20 in person, $10 Online General
Human-Centered Design for VR Training - LivestreamDesign for impactful VR training is an incredibly complex challenge. When done well, VR training can result in more efficient workers, decreased injuries, and cost savings. However, if done badly, VR training can result in confused workers, wasted funds, and negative training effects causing more harm than benefit. Whereas limitations ...
We’ll explore the role of renewable energy in decarbonizing industrial heat with Steve Anglin, CEO of WeSolar CSP, Inc. Concentrating solar power (CSP) to thermal energy - paired with long-duration energy storage - has the potential to reduce climate pollution in hard-to-decarbonize areas of industry, including green hydrogen production, water ...
Where: Cost: Free
Ethics and Politics of the Energy Transition in MexicoThe energy transition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to scale renewable energy equitably and inclusively. If not done correctly, it will exacerbate the complex societal and environmental justice issues created by fossil fuels. Join us in this conversation to discuss the ethics and politics behind the energy transition in Mexico.Speakers: Congressman ...
Nature has always been a source of inspiration and fascination for humans, but mainstream Western dialogue surrounding our connection with the natural world often overlooks the experiences of people of color. To shift this narrative and uplift these previously overshadowed voices, the first volume of our NightLife: Says Who? series delves ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Varies
After Dark: Plants and PlaceAll kinds of plants populate our local landscape - but which ones originated here? Tonight, explore the importance of growing and maintaining native plants. Hear from members of Indigenous communities in Mexico who care for native maize and who advocate for community farming practices that protect biodiversity. Learn about the ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $19.95 General, Free for members
Achlorophyllous plants, Fungal Molds, and other Fun Gis that just can't seem to live without each other.Mikhael Crystallah-Selk is the SOMA Science Coordinator and ID Expert, and handles the Poison Control hotline. As physical therapy from a back injury, Mikhael often slowly walks through the woods, where he came to ...
Where: Santa RosaCost: Free
Astronomy on Tap Santa Cruz: How to take a picture of an exoplanetWe know of thousands of planets that orbit stars beyond our solar system. With the largest telescopes in the world, we can now take pictures of planetary systems and study the light from extrasolar planets directly. But how do we take these pictures and what can we learn about exoplanets?Speakers: ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
Pushing Back Plants: The Invasive Spartina Project - LivestreamSan Francisco Bay is more than just the geographic feature that defines our region, it is a major global biodiversity hotspot. The largest estuary on the west coast of North America, it is a critical stopover along the Pacific Flyway migration route for millions of shorebirds and waterfowl. At a ...
Urine is not sterile: Taking advantage of a golden opportunity by Krystal Thomas-White, PhDThe human microbiome includes all the bacteria that live in and on you. These bugs live in our gut, on our skin, and yes, in your bladder. Even though doctors will tell you, “of course urine is ...
Antarctica is exceptional. The coldest, windiest, iciest, driest, and most remote of continents is widely celebrated for its rich history of exploration, science and diplomacy and for its exceptional beauty. However, fishing pressure - mostly for krill and toothfish - combined with cumulative impacts of climate change, jeopardizes the future ...
Where: Cost: Free
Planet Mixology: Stirring the Mantle of Water WorldsWater worlds are exoplanets ranging in size between Earth and Neptune that are predicted to be rich in water. The interior structure of a water world is assumed to have distinct layers: (1) iron core, (2) rocky mantle, and (3) water. This 3-layer model may work in smaller planets where ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free
NASA's New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt With its 2015 flyby and first up-close look at a new class of small icy planet, the New Horizons mission ushered in a new era of planetary geology for the Pluto system. A second flyby of the small Kuiper belt object Arrokoth at the start of 2019 did the same ...
Where: LivermoreCost: Free
Saturday, 05/20/23
NextGen HackathonJoin us for the NextGen Hackathon and tap into the cutting-edge power of Generative AI tools! This is your chance to build practical projects that enhance business productivity and enable data-driven decision-making. With a $15,000+ prize pool and additional investment opportunities up to $25,000, you won't want to miss this ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
5th Annual TinkerfestTinkerfest is a one-day event that celebrates the creative, curious, and inventive spirit in all of us. Tinkerfest will bring together makers, artists, and tinkerers to showcase their work and invite attendees of all ages to join in on the DIY fun. Activities are geared towards a family audience, but ...
Where: OaklandCost: $20 General $15 Kids, $10 Seniors, $5 Members
Green Home Tours are free, virtual tours of Bay Area homes. They are a chance to learn from your Bay Area neighbors what they are doing with their homes to combat climate change, improve air quality, generate clean energy, and move towards a safer, healthier, greener future. Green Home Tour ...
Where: Cost: Free
Easy Morning Walk at WavecrestEnjoy a refreshing morning hike along the bluffs of the Wavecrest Trail! This family-friendly hike is an easy 2-mile walk and great for all ages and levels of hikers.This serene space is surrounded by POST-protected agricultural land and open space. Many people enjoy this scenic hike because of the great ...
Life is full of challenges at each stage. Rajan will describe challenges he faced from his graduate school career, along with the skills he developed to overcome them. Moving to the US for his postdoctoral work presented a new set of challenges with the opportunity to develop new solutions, both ...
Where: Cost: Free
Family Nature Walks - Baylands Nature PreserveEnvironmental Volunteers’ Family Nature Walks program is designed to help students and their families get to know our local open space areas. Small family groups will be guided by a knowledgeable environmental educator during an exploration of a local open space. These small groups will be introduced to fun nature-based ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Living with Wildlife on Oona-pa’is (Sonoma Mountain)Meet the wildlife that lives around us on Sonoma Mountain and throughout Sonoma County. Did you know that wildlife has habitat and migration/movement corridors? Who are these animals and why should we care?Meet representatives from 13 bay area nature, environmental and rescue organizations to learn about our wildlife, their lives, ...
Where: Glen EllenCost: Free
Family Nature Walks - Foothills Nature PreserveEnvironmental Volunteers’ Family Nature Walks program is designed to help students and their families get to know our local open space areas. Small family groups will be guided by a knowledgeable environmental educator during an exploration of a local open space. These small groups will be introduced to fun nature-based ...
Are you having difficult discussions with people on the edge of falling into magical thinking rabbit holes? This workshop will provide you some skills to help with this problem that so many of us have experienced. We will discuss the concepts of debunking vs prebunking (also called innoculatin theory). We ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
An Astronomical Perspective on Globular Clusters and the Pale Blue DotGlobular clusters are beautiful and ancient structures that have been providing insight into the structure of our galaxy and the evolution of stars for more than 100 years. Each of these globe-like clusters contains some hundreds of thousands of stars in constant motion, and held together by their mutual gravitational ...
Where: OaklandCost: Free
Sunday, 05/21/23
Presidio: Changes Through TimeJoin the National Park Service and celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the GGNRA!This half-mile, level walk shows the historical changes to the Presidio, from the Spanish fort all the way to the new Tunnel Tops. Who benefitted from these changes, and who did not?Learn about the people who lived here, and ...
Are you interested in outdoor recreation and environmental conservation? Join us for an evening with James Edward Mills, a National Geographic Explorer and photographer with over 20 years of experience. He’ll be discussing his book, The Adventure Gap: Changing the Face of the Outdoors, which was named by Outside Magazine ...
