Boston Flora

Tag: Cambridge Science Festival

  • Thursday, April 20, 6:00 pm – Ocean Evolution Today

    A Harvard Museum of Natural History Panel Discussion on Ocean Evolution Today will take place Thursday, April 20, beginning at 6 pm in the Science Center, Hall D, 1 Oxford Street. Participants will include:

    Samantha B. Joye, Athletic Association Professor in Arts and Sciences, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia

    Bruce H. Robison, Senior Scientist and Midwater Ecologist, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

    Randi Dawn Rotjan, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Boston University Marine Program

    Moderated by Peter R. Girguis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University; Adjunct Research Engineer, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

    Human activities are causing changes in the ocean that could influence the evolution of its organisms. In this panel discussion, three marine scientists with expertise in chemistry, microbiology, geology, marine conservation, and the use of remotely operated vehicles to study deep-sea organisms will discuss the impact of human activity on ocean and coastal ecosystems and answer questions about actions that individuals and organizations can take to support the health of the ocean.

    Presented in collaboration with the Cambridge Science Festival. The Evolution Matters Lecture Series is supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit.  Free parking is available at the 52 Oxford Street Garage.Free and open to the public.

  • Tuesday, April 18, 7:00 pm – 8:15 pm – The Genius of Birds

    Acclaimed science and nature writer Jennifer Ackerman shares stories about her travels and cutting-edge research on the newly discovered brilliance of birds. Learn how birds craft and use tools, solve complex problems, sing to one another in regional accents, make sophisticated navigational decisions, demonstrate astonishing feats of memory, deceive one another, eavesdrop, give gifts, and even kiss to console. Discover the intelligent behavior of birds evident in our backyards, parks, city streets, and country skies around the world. The Genius of Birds will be available for purchase and signing. Free, registration requested at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

    Offered by the Arnold Arboretum and Papercuts JP . This program is part of the Cambridge Science Festival.

     

  • Saturday, October 26, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm – Alfred Russel Wallace Day

    Although Alfred Russel Wallace co-discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin, he has held a relatively obscure place in the history of science. This year marks the centenary of his death and the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in conjunction with the Cambridge Science Festival, is celebrating Wallace’s rich legacy with “Wallace Day” on Saturday, October 26.  Learn more about a brilliant scientist, a heroic naturalist, and a passionate social reformer.

    Event Schedule
    11:00 am – 4:00 pm (In the galleries, free with museum admission)
    Explore the HMNH galleries and see a one-day-only display of Wallace-related specimens and objects from the Museum’s zoological collections. Come see Wallace’s spectacular birds of paradise and birdwing butterflies. At 2:00 pm
, join Alfred Russel Wallace himself (impersonated by Wallace historian and evolutionary biologist Andrew Berry) for a live presentation about his remarkable life as scientist, author, and social activist.

    Evening program (below): Admission is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available by online registration only.  Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking is available after 3:00 pm in the 52 Oxford Street Garage.

    4:00 pm
    Who was Alfred Russel Wallace?
    A panel discussion with: James T. Costa, Professor of Biology at Western Carolina University; John Durant, Director of the MIT Museum; James Wood, Professor of Literary Criticism at Harvard University and staff writer for The New Yorker. Moderated by Janet Browne, Aramont Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, and acclaimed biographer of Charles Darwin.

    Parallel Lives: Edward O. Wilson & Alfred Russel Wallace
    A conversation with Edward O. Wilson, Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, and Andrew Berry, Wallace historian and Lecturer on Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University.

    The evening program will conclude with a reception in the HMNH galleries for all ticket holders.

    http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Observer/Pix/pictures/2013/1/19/1358595917414/Alfred-Russell-Wallace-po-011.jpg

  • Tuesday, April 16, 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Forecasting the Future: Can Ecologists Predict the Fate of Plant and Animal Populations?

    Elizabeth Crone, Population Ecologist of Harvard Forest, will speak at the Arnold Arboretum on Tuesday, April 16, beginning at 6:30, in a program co-sponsored by the Cambridge Science Festival. Population ecologists study plant and animal populations in essentially the same way that insurance actuaries assess risks about human populations: they track births and deaths of different plant and animal species, and use these patterns to predict how these species will respond to changes in habitat management, climate, and more. However, there is much less data about most species than about humans, and environmental planners often want longer-term forecasts than insurance companies. Elizabeth Crone will describe how plant ecologists monitor populations and collect demographic information. She will also speak about successes and failures in forecasting the futures of different plant populations, and describe how ecologists go about the science of fortune-telling. Free, but registration requested at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

    http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/sites/harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/files/leaves/Elizabeth_Crone.jpg

  • Saturday, April 21, 2:00 pm – The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources

    Visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History on Saturday, April 21 at 2 pm for an author talk and book signing by Michael Klare. In his newest book, The Race for What’s Left, Michael Klare, Five College Professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College, describes a world facing an unprecedented crisis of resource depletion—from oil to coal and natural gas, copper and cobalt, water, and arable land.
    Regular admission rates apply. Part of the Cambridge Science Festival.  For more information, visit www.hmnh.harvard.edu.

  • Friday, April 20, 7:00 pm – What If? Alternative Histories of Science

    Imagine that phrenology, the 19th-century study of mind by measuring bumps on people’s heads, had turned out to be true? Or that Darwin hadn’t been invited to go on the voyage of the Beagle? Or that the luminiferous ether had turned out to actually exist? Now imagine historians in discussion with stand-up comedians on these subjects, and you have “What If…?” Join moderator Anne Harrington and guests Andrew Berry, David Jones, Roberto Lalli and comedians Kevin Harrington, Raj Sivaraman, and Rob Crean as they improvise alternative histories of science, at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge on Friday, April 20, beginning at 7 pm.  Free and open to the public. Free parking available in the 52 Oxford Street garage. Part of the Cambridge Science Festival.  Kudos to www.triggerandfreewheel.com for the fabulous comic below.