Join POST and Santa Clara County Parks for Raptor Fest - a free educational event celebrating birds of prey and their vital role in our ecosystems!This unique experience will be held at Rancho San Vicente, a newer addition to Calero County Park protected by POST that’s becoming a premier raptor ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Berkeley Recycling Center TourIn honor of National Recycling Day, also known as America Recycles Day, the EPA recognizes the importance and impact of recycling, which has contributed to American prosperity and the protection of our environment.The Ecology Center is hosting a tour of the Berkeley Recycling Center. Join us Saturday, September 14, 2026, ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Techs on DecksStep aboard for Techs on Decks, an annual celebration of sea, air, and space innovation. On the anniversary of the Apollo 12 Moon Landing, students will explore hands-on activities and meet the innovators shaping tomorrow’s technologies.Techs on Decks celebrates Innovation. We celebrate the anniversary of the Apollo 12 Moon mission ...
Family Nature Adventures: FungiThis Months Theme: Fungus Among Us - Exploring the Secret Life of Mushrooms!Unlock the mysterious world of fungi that thrives in the redwood forest!Interactive Workshop: Learn about the fascinating life cycle of mushrooms, their role in the ecosystem, and how to identify various species.Guided Nature Walk: Venture into the forest ...
Where: OaklandCost: $25 Adult, $35 Age 3 - 8, Members $15 discount
El Niño Community Education EventJoin the Port of San Francisco and the Exploratorium on the waterfront! What can we expect during this season’s high tides? What is the effect of El Niño on our sea levels? Come explore the science of what’s going on from tides to El Niño to sea level rise, and ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: Free
El Niño Community Education EventWhat can we expect during this season’s high tides? How does El Niño affect sea levels? Join us to explore the science behind tides, El Niño and sea level rise, along with adaptation and sustainability projects happening across San Francisco and the region.Explore practical ways you can take climate action ...
In the last year, AI models have rapidly improved on public benchmarks measuring their ability to carry out research tasks autonomously. Such performance suggests that models may be capable of automating parts of the AI R&D process itself, thereby accelerating the pace of AI progress. However, there is still little ...
I am broadly interested in the conservation of Earth's biological diversity in the face of many interrelated threats, such as climate change, altered disturbance regimes, and land-use conversion. My research interests are in using remote sensing, geospatial technology, and machine learning to map and monitor our changing coupled human and ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Mechanisms of retron phage defense and bacterial-derived technologies for molecular recordingThe Shipman lab investigates the complex molecular machines that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses and other bacteria, then draws on those mechanisms to invent new technologies that help researchers study and manipulate technically challenging aspects of biology. This seminar will touch on both the fundamental and technological components ...
The electrification of thermochemical processes with clean electricity has great potential as both an immediate and long-term solution towards the scalable decarbonization of chemical production. In this talk, I will discuss new paradigms in electrified thermochemical reactors based on high frequency electromagnetic fields. I will first discuss metamaterial reactors in ...
The IceCube project at the South Pole melted 86 holes 2.5 kilometer deep in the Antarctic ice sheet to construct an enormous astronomical observatory that is also the largest neutrino detector ever built. The experiment discovered a flux of neutrinos from deep space with energies more than a million times ...
One of the most profound questions in biology is also one of the simplest: what is life? A powerful way to approach it is to trace life's origins back to LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor. Although LUCA lived billions of years ago, microbiologists can infer many of its properties ...
Extensive attention has been paid to the potential harms of media consumption generally, and social media use in particular, with relatively little consideration given to the potential psychological benefits of media use. This talk will address why this bias exists and its potential for unintended negative consequences. Evidence of how ...
AI and Education: A Conversation about Where We Are and Where We’re Headed - LivestreamIt’s a simple truth that the acceleration of artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed the academic landscape, and its influence is felt in the classroom, in research, and in the way students study. Hear from our top faculty in biology and astrophysics about how this rapidly advancing technology is changing the ...
Where: Cost: Free
Popping the Science Bubble: Chemistry & Neural CommunicationLearn about cutting-edge research happening at UC Berkeley, directly from the scientists themselves. Join Popping the Science Bubble in person or join us virtually on Zoom. Register by clicking here.This months presentations will be:Fits Like a Glove: How Weak Interactions Can Differentiate the Right and Left Hands of Molecules - ...
Our experiences, relationships, and surroundings don't just shape our memories. They can get “under our skin,” influencing how our bodies respond to stress and, over time, our emotions, behavior, and health. These responses are shaped by our biology, developmental histories, and the social and environmental conditions we live in.In this ...
Where: San JoseCost: $27
Gray Whales in San Francisco Bay - examining health and mortality in a new habitat - LivestreamWe are so pleased to have marine biology doctoral student, Josie Slaathaug, present her timely master’s thesis research. Amidst a shocking population decline and a declared Unusual Mortality Event throughout their range, gray whales began seasonally occurring in San Francisco Bay in 2018. As their occurrence continued, concerning numbers of ...
Dr. Kathi Meier will present the problems associated with mushroom poisoning from her perspective as a clinical pharmacist and toxicologist. This presentation will focus on answering questions regarding the population that develops mushroom poisoning and describe the danger of mushroom poisoning syndromes, including clinical aspects and interventions. Speaker: Kathi ...
Walk with a NaturalistJoin Shelby Hendricks, group tour and family programs manager, for an observation-based exploration of works currently on view through the lenses of art and science.These cross-disciplinary tours invite visitors to engage with artworks in unexpected ways, bringing a more-than-human dimension to scientific ideas while deepening our emotional connection to the ...
In this talk, we take the position that agent security must be approached as a systems problem: the AI model powering the agent must be treated as an untrusted component, and security invariants must be enforced at the system level. Through this lens, efforts to increase model robustness (the dominant ...
Liat Berdugo (Media Artist) on "Technologies of the Surface: Embodying the Gestural Interfaces of Everyday Technology" Julia Markel on "Which self does AI remember?" Vinod Menon (Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences) on "The Default Mode Network, the Self, and Consciousness in the Age of AI"
Professor Alexie Leauthaud (UC Santa Cruz) will discuss some of the largest challenges to our understanding of the universe and its basic ingredients. She will focus on some of the latest research on the nature of dark energy and will explain why recent results from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument ...
Remember when everyone rushed to ship microservices without service discovery, circuit breakers, or tracing? AI agents are in that exact "wild west" phase right now. Everyone is building them; very few are thinking about the infrastructure underneath.Drawing from real-world experience deploying production agents across 120+ microservices, this talk bypasses the ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Southern Skies, Global Reach: Chile and Modern AstronomyChile is home to many of the largest and most advanced observatories on Earth, due to high altitudes, dry deserts, and low light pollution. Chile has become a center of cutting edge astronomical research, but this has been made possible by the collaborative efforts of multiple countries and the work ...
The Humanist Review of AI: Abundance & ScarcityWhat becomes scarce when intelligence is abundant? Artificial intelligence promises a new era of abundance??"but how will it deliver on that promise? And what impact will abundance have on how our society works?This event marks the publication of the second issue of The Humanist Review of AI, a new journal ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $45 General, $10 students, discount for members
Thursday, 11/19/26
The Fourthteenth Annual Eastman Distinguished Lecturers in Catalysis - LivestreamThe 14th Annual Eastman Foundation Distinguished Lectures in Catalysis will be held online and feature four younger-generation leaders in catalysis research, who will share their research insights as well as aspirations for future research. The program features a lecture from each speaker followed by an open panel discussion. Each year ...
Where: Cost: Free
Studying Marine Food Webs with Puke and PoopThe diets of marine predators can tell us a lot about the ocean’s health, fisheries ecology, and climate change. At the Point Blue Marine Laboratory, the contents of regurgitated pellets of Brandt’s cormorants (a common coastal seabird species) and scat of California sea lions are examined to understand what they ...
The success of transition metal catalysis in organic synthesis is rooted in decades of advances in fundamental organometallic reactivity. Bonding theory on d-block elements has allowed synthetic chemists to design novel and powerful catalysts that underpin modern chemical manufacturing. However, the increasing demand, cost, and environmental impact associated with many ...
Speaker: Laura Lagomarsino, Louisiana State University
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
How to Use AI SafelyCurious about using AI chatbots, but afraid it will send you down the wrong path? You are not alone! Join the Mechanics' Institute “How to Use AI Safely” workshop to learn how to use popular AI chatbots to support your learning, rather than bypassing critical thinking.In this workshop we will ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $5 General, Free for members
SETI Live: Could the Sun Unleash a Superflare?Could our Sun produce an explosion far more powerful than anything we've witnessed in the modern era?In April 1947, astronomers observed an enormous sunspot roughly 40 times Earth's diameter. Nearly 80 years later, researchers discovered that this giant sunspot could produce a superflare - an extraordinarily powerful burst of radiation ...
Wireless networks of the future are envisioned to be highly heterogeneous. They will include flying nodes like UAVs as base stations, relays, and sensors. We will discuss the characteristics of the future wireless communication and sensor networks and present the role of UAVs. We will consider the deployment and trajectory ...
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
The Machine-Mediated Economy: When AI Becomes the Interface to EverythingWe’re entering an economy where AI increasingly sits between people and the companies, products and services they choose. Discovery, evaluation, comparison and eventually transactions are moving inside AI. What happens when your customer’s AI talks to your company’s AI before the customer ever talks to you? We’ll explore what this shift ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22 General, member discounts
Woodrats Offer a Window for Characterizing Temporal Structure of Truffle ReproductionDr. Chris Bivins is a mycologist and ecologist who recently completed his Ph.D. in Quantitative & Systems Biology at UC Merced. His research focuses on fungal ecology in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, particularly on the interactions among truffle-forming fungi, plants, and mammals. Chris uses field surveys, DNA metabarcoding, and natural ...
Where: SebastopolCost: Free
After Dark: Glow OpeningYour favorite winter tradition returns - step into the art and science of light, bask in luminous artworks, play with optical illusions, and more.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95 General, Free for members
Statistics about climate change can feel distant and easy to scroll past. Stories, music, and performance can make them feel real. This lecture asks how the arts transform environmental issues into experiences we can see, feel, and imagine.Cathryn Flores, PhD candidate in English at UC Davis, specializes in Performance Studies ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $27
Friday, 11/20/26
Coastal Walk at Pillar Point BluffJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust for a beautiful walk at Pillar Point Bluff just north of Half Moon Bay! You will be guided by POST ambassadors who will share details about the area’s interesting natural history, from the coastal scrub habitat to the Fitzgerald Marine Preserve which hosts tide pools ...
Marsh Hike at Coyote PointStep into the baylands and explore the vibrant marsh ecosystem right outside our doors. Join CuriOdyssey educators for a guided hike through Coyote Point’s wetlands, where we’ll look for native plants, local wildlife, and signs of seasonal change.We will gather at CuriOdyssey before heading out to the marsh together. Participants ...
Baylands ExplorationsJoin expert EV docents for an exploration of the science and nature of the Palo Alto Baylands. What makes this habitat so special? How do the plants and animals survive the salty conditions? Why is it so different at different times of day or times of the year? How can ...
Where: Palo AltoCost: Free
Salamander Search! - Community Nature HikeAdventure awaits beneath the leaves! Join YSI for a guided nature hike through the beautiful habitats of Sanborn County Park as we search for signs of one of the forest’s most fascinating residents: salamanders!Along the way, we’ll explore the cool, damp environments these secretive amphibians call home, learn about their ...
Learn about pollinators and how native plants support them with naturalist Margaret Flaherty.Pollinators move pollen within or between flowers and play a crucial role in supporting biodiversity. Over 80% of flowering plants must be pollinated to reproduce. Learn more about how pollinators are essential to plant reproduction and plant diversity. ...
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
Twilight Marsh WalkExperience the salt marsh at twilight on an easy stroll along refuge trails (about 0.6 miles). You will learn about the habitats at the refuge, the wildlife it protects, why the refuge was established and why it is just as important for us. This program is led by USFWS volunteer ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Sunday, 11/22/26
King Tides Walk & Litter Clean-up at the EECKing tides are a natural phenomenon causing extreme high tides each year. They are notorious for washing trash and debris into our waterways and exposing debris as they recede.Join us at the Environmental Education Center in Alviso as we prepare for some of the Refuge's highest tides of the year ...
Where: AlvisoCost: Free
Marine Science Sunday: An Ocean FeastJoin us in exploring how marine mammals hunt and catch their prey. Did you know that whales use bubbles to help them catch fish? Or that otters use tools to eat their prey? Learn more about seals, otters, dolphins and whales eating habits!Sessions at 10:30 AM, 12:00 PM or 2:00 PM and last 30 minutes. Anyone can participate ...
Her dissertation work focused on the process of asymmetric cell division and how a cell polarizes using the early C.elegans embryo as a model. In the Hansen Lab, Laurel is researching how the basic cellular recycling process called autophagy is regulated during aging, using C...Speaker: Laurel Koch, Buck Institute
Where: Rohnert ParkCost: Free
Tuesday, 11/24/26
King Tides at Ravenswood UnitJoin us for a guided walk and discover how the highest tides of the year give us a glimpse into the future of sea level rise. We'll learn what King Tides are, how sea level rise is reshaping our coastal communities, why habitat restoration matters and how you can contribute ...
While our visual perceptions are informed by the patterns of light entering our eyes, our conscious experience is actively constructed by our brains. This construction is impacted by our expectations and attention, making it a “controlled hallucination.” Inferences generated by the brain literally make sense of the patterns of neural ...
Where: NovatoCost: Free
Saturday, 11/28/26
Science Saturday: Monarch MagicJoin us for a magical Science Saturday focused on the remarkable lives of monarch butterflies! Explore the intricate relationship between these remarkable insects and the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the importance of other threatened and endangered species. Through engaging activities, attendees will learn about the life cycle of ...
Where: Pacific GroveCost: Free
Family Astronomy: Mysteries of the SunExplore the Sun’s influence on Earth, its place among the billions of stars in our galaxy, and the exciting science of NASA’s upcoming MUSE mission, which will help scientists better understand the Sun and its dynamic atmosphere. Through a variety of solar-themed astronomy experiences, families will discover how our star ...
Where: OaklandCost: $25 General, $15 Kids, less $10 for members
I joined the Department of Biological Sciences at San Jose State University in Fall 2020. As a Bay Area native, I'm honored to be back at my undergraduate institution and excited to serve as a mentor to my students. I am proud to be 1st generation Filipino-American and am committed ...
The Simons Observatory, a new millimeter-wave observatory in the Atacama, is now gathering data. With its smaller telescopes we are seeking a primordial signal imprinted by gravitational waves generated in the early universe. Its largest telescope is measuring the finer scales of the CMB with increased sensitivity, probing the initial conditions of ...
Thorns are plant defensive structures that arise from axillary shoot apical meristems that proliferate for a time and then terminally differentiate into a sharp hard tip. Like other meristems, thorn meristems contain stem cells but, in the case of thorns, these stem cells undergo a programmed cessation of proliferative activity. ...
Fluid Machinery: The Nucleolus, Ribosomes, and AgingResearch combining insights from materials physics and cell biology has ushered in a new paradigm for understanding how the chaotic intracellular environment is brought to order, through the collective condensation of biomolecules into droplets of living information. In this talk, I will present an overview of these principles and ongoing ...
A few years ago Gil Durán launched his blog titled The Nerd Reich and now he has a popular book of the same title. He was once press spokesperson for Kamala Harris and other California politicians before he returned to his journalistic roots and became the scourge of the local ...
Cool seasons in Northern and Central California frequently bring an increased threat of high-impact weather-from widespread flooding, landslides and destructive windstorms to high surf, coastal flooding/erosion, and occasionally severe thunderstorm events. How will the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) shape these hazards this winter?This seminar provides a look inside NOAA’s National ...
Speaker: Jim Elser, Professor, University of MontanaAttend in person or see weblink for Zoom information
Where: BerkeleyCost: Free
After Dark: Rule BreakersGet out of your comfort zone, try something new, and enjoy a special musical performance by innovative sound artist Ivana Dama.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95, Free for Members
NightLife: Naughty or NiceWhatever list you’re on, you’re invited. Grab your crew and celebrate during our last party of the year.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $26
Friday, 12/04/26
Bear Creek Redwoods HikeJoin us for this beautiful hike! A POST volunteer will share a few words about POST’s decades of conservation success before the hiking group explores a strenuous but mostly shaded 5.4 mile hike with ~900 feet of elevation gain.In one of the county’s best preserved, second-growth coastal redwood forests, we’ll ...
First Friday Nights at CuriOdysseySwing into the weekend with science, animals, music, food trucks, and fun! On the first Friday of every month, parents and kids celebrate together at CuriOdyssey.Dance to some of your favorite hits, while enjoying animal presentations and science activities. Activities and programs are different each time, so make it a ...
First Saturday Tours are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the Arboretum or to deepen your knowledge of the Arboretum’s plant collections. Each tour is a little different depending on the time of year, the interests of the tour guide, and the people who join in. For example, you ...
Where: Santa CruzCost: Free with admission
A Year With the Urban Gray FoxLearn about gray foxes in this presentation by Bill "The Fox Guy" Leikam. Bill will tell stories about a family of gray foxes, from when they have their litter of pups through when the pups disperse. He'll share little-known facts about how important they are to keeping an ecosystem healthy. ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Starry Nights Star PartyJoin the San Jose Astronomical Association (SJAA) and Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (OSA) for an unforgettable night of exploring the night sky. Our knowledgeable docents, members of SJAA, will be your guides to providing valuable insights into the wonders of our universe. The viewing site, Rancho Canada del ...
When the first rains tease up the chanterelles and porcini, fungus lovers head to the Fungus Fair: A Celebration of Wild Mushrooms.The MSSF 54th Fungus Fair will display fungi collected in various locations in California. Annual collections have been made by MSSF since 1972. This historical information is a potentially ...
Where: South San FranciscoCost: See weblink for early bird and regular options
Solar ObservingIt’s there for us year round, lighting our days and providing energy for our lives, so maybe it’s time to give it a closer look. Join SJAA for amazing and detailed views of the Sun, and be assured that we’ll be using special telescopes that will keep your eyeballs perfectly ...
Her doctoral research focused on new statistical and deep learning methods for metabolomics data, specifically looking at the systemic impact of age-related disease and lifestyle interventions on metabolic state in human cohorts. At the Buck, Dr. Schweickart continues to employ her expertise in data science and machine learning methods towards ...
How many times a day do you ask the question, “What should I eat?” Are you overwhelmed by the thousands of factory-made foods supermarkets sell? Or the abundance of diets (paleo, Mediterranean, low-fat, low-carb, low-calorie, intermittent fasting, vegan, vegetarian, carnivore) claimed to optimize your health and manage your weight? In this ...
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22 General, free for students
Almost every asynchronous action at Meta passes through a single system most people have never heard of. The Facebook Ordered Queueing Service (FOQS), a fully managed, horizontally scalable priority queue, moves close to a trillion items per day for 300+ engineering teams, and it has become critical infrastructure for AI ...
Where: Mountain ViewCost: Free
Tuesday, 12/08/26
CITRIS Tech Policy Conversation: Governing AI Safety, Catastrophic Risk, and Public HarmsJoin the CITRIS Tech Policy Initiative for a conversation on the challenges of governing artificial intelligence, featuring California State Chief Information Officer Chris Given in discussion with CITRIS Executive Director Camille Crittenden.As AI reshapes government, industry and everyday life, policymakers face increasingly complex questions about how to address both catastrophic ...
Environmental DNA has transformed how aquatic species are detected, but environmental RNA (eRNA) may provide something more: information about what organisms are doing. Realizing that potential requires understanding how RNA moves from an organism into the environment, what controls the signal that remains, and how that information can be preserved ...
Where: Moss LandingCost: Free
Thursday, 12/10/26
After Dark: Unplug and PlayYour monthly invitation to hang out and try something new - play science trivia, find your community, and connect deeply.
Where: San FranciscoCost: $22.95 General, Free for members
Saturday, 12/12/26
Hike at Calero County ParkJoin Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) at Calero County Park, one of the region’s most beautiful oak woodlands just south of San Jose on the westside of Santa Clara Valley. You will be led by POST ambassadors who will share about the natural history of the area and about POST’s ...
Where: San JoseCost: Free
Twilight Marsh WalkExperience the salt marsh at twilight on an easy stroll along refuge trails (about 0.6 miles). You will learn about the habitats at the refuge, the wildlife it protects, why the refuge was established and why it is just as important for us. This program is led by USFWS volunteer ...
Where: FremontCost: Free
Sunday, 12/13/26
Marine Science Sunday: Patient Superstars of 2026!This month we reminisce about our patient superstars! Hundreds of marine mammals, ranging from California sea lions to endangered Hawaiian monk seals, were rescued in 2026. Learn about how our team of dedicated volunteers and veterinarians are able to heal these sick, injured and orphaned patients so that they can be released to their ocean ...
Where: SausalitoCost: Free
Geminids Meteor Shower Watch PartyGet ready to light up the chilly December night with wonder at our Geminid Meteor Shower Watch Party! Under the vast winter sky, the Geminids will dazzle with their brilliant streaks of light, a celestial gift from asteroid 3200 Phaethon. As Earth sails through trails of cosmic dust, these meteoroids ...
Where: OaklandCost: $15 General, $7 Youth, Free for members
