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    2018 Dec 09

    The Science of Pizza: It's a Little Cheesy!

    2:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Science Center, Lecture Hall B, 1 Oxford St. Cambridge

    Why does pizza crust have holes? How does cheese form from milk? How do you break down food into the fuel your body needs? What makes pizza dough stretchy? Join us at the 2018 Harvard Holiday Science Lecture as we observe, touch, taste, and explore some of your favorite foods. Kids, families, students, teachers and the curious are welcome! You will discover the physics, chemistry and biology of cheese and bread, look at them under a microscope, make a simple cheese (yum!), and learn about digestion (yuck!). Using...

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    2018 Dec 09

    The Science of Pizza: It’s a Little Cheesy!

    11:00am to 12:00pm

    Location: 

    Science Center, Lecture Hall B, 1 Oxford St. Cambridge

    Why does pizza crust have holes? How does cheese form from milk? How do you break down food into the fuel your body needs? What makes pizza dough stretchy? Join us at the 2018 Harvard Holiday Science Lecture as we observe, touch, taste, and explore some of your favorite foods. Kids, families, students, teachers and the curious are welcome! You will discover the physics, chemistry and biology of cheese and bread, look at them under a microscope, make a simple cheese (yum!), and learn about digestion (yuck!). Using live experiments and interactive...

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    2018 Nov 15

    Early Science from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

    7:30pm

    Location: 

    60 Garden Street, Phillips Auditorium, Cambridge, MA 02138

    Sam Quinn, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

    NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) began science operations in July 2018, and over the next two years will survey most of the sky in search of small planets transiting the nearest stars, the brightness of which enables studies of planetary compositions and atmospheric properties. These will likely be the planets on which we focus our search for life through the detection of biosignature gases in the planets' atmospheres. However, TESS is not just an exoplanet mission; by monitoring...

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    2018 Nov 08

    Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past

    6:00pm

    Location: 

    Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

    David Reich, Professor, Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Senior Associate Member, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT

    Sweeping technological innovations in the field of genomics are enabling scientists to extract and analyze ancient...

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    2018 Nov 08

    Exhibition Opening: Measure

    5:00pm

    Location: 

    Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

    Anna Von Mertens is an exhibited artist who uses the structures of quilting and drawing to explore the frontiers of human understanding. Her new exhibition "Measure" explores the life and work of Henrietta Leavitt, one of the women “computers” hired to study glass-plate astronomical photographs at the Harvard College Observatory a century ago. Leavitt’s findings provided a unit of measurement for galactic distances. Reimagined in meticulous stitches and intricate graphite marks, Von Mertens examines our current understanding of the size and shape of...

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    2018 Nov 07

    The Secret Lives of Roots

    2:30pm to 4:00pm

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

    The Arnold Arboretum is full of spectacular specimens from around the world that any visitor will appreciate. However, what they observe is only half the story. How a tree uptakes water and nutrients, stays grounded in place, stores energy, and sometimes even propagates itself, is all thanks to its roots. Join horticulturists Andrew Gapinski and Conor Guidarelli as they unearth these questions and more during an exclusive look into the extraordinary world of roots.

    ...

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    2018 Nov 05

    Next in Evolution

    2:30pm to 5:30pm

    Location: 

    Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

    The Next in Science series provides an opportunity for early-career scientists whose creative, cross-disciplinary research is thematically linked to introduce their work to one another, to fellow scientists, and to nonspecialists from Harvard and the greater Boston area. The focus of this year’s program is in the study of evolution. In this program, two leading researchers will explore the genetic impact of Neanderthal interbreeding with modern humans and consider how people migrated, adapted, and mixed over the course of human history. Two...

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    2018 Oct 28

    Fog x Kids: Family Drop In's: Engineering in the Fog

    2:00pm to 4:00pm

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building and Lawn, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

    Engineering in the Fog --make your own glasses to create your up close and personal Fog for ages 8 and up.  One adult may bring a maximum of three children; age suitability listed above after dates. Meet on the Hunnewell Building lawn to the south of the building.  Free, drop in, no registration required.

    ...

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    2018 Oct 27

    Growing Woody Plants from Seeds

    9:00am to 12:30pm

    Location: 

    Dana Greenhouse, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

    Learn about seed biology, embryo dormancy, and factors present in woody plant seeds. The class will focus on seed storage and various treatment techniques, including over-wintering and aftercare. Appropriate for those who have succeeded at growing some plants from seed and are ready for greater challenges. Post-class nurturing will be required. Fee $55 members; $68 non-members.

    ...

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    2018 Oct 26

    The Undiscovered

    9:00am to 5:00pm

    Location: 

    Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Knafel Center, 10 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA

    To paraphrase Louis Pasteur, sometimes luck favors the prepared mind, as when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by noticing that mold growing accidentally in his lab seemed to kill bacteria. This 2018 Radcliffe Institute science symposium will focus on how scientists explore realities they cannot anticipate. Speakers from across the disciplines of modern science will present personal experiences and discuss how to train scientists, educators, and funders to foster the expertise and open-mindedness needed to reveal undiscovered aspects of the world around us.

    ...

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    2018 Oct 22

    What’s Going On in This Graph?

    7:00pm to 8:30pm

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

    Sharon Hessney, Writer and Moderator of New York Times Learning Network "What's Going On in This Graph?"

    Graphs can go a long way in conveying information that might otherwise take several paragraphs to explain. But it is easy to misread or not fully understand the content and context. In this participatory program, we will decipher several graphs based on data from Arnold Arboretum curators and scientists. We will also look at the data...

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    2018 Oct 21

    Small Trees for Small Spaces

    10:00am to 12:30pm

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building and Landscape, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

    Urban and suburban planting spaces are often constrained, often not ideal for accommodating a large oak, linden, or maple tree. But there are many smaller tree species that will thrive in a smaller space and won’t overwhelm the area. Some trees are cultivars that have been selected for their smaller size or narrow characteristics, while others are naturally genetically petite. Guided by the “right plant, right place” philosophy, Laura Mele...

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    2018 Oct 18

    Quantum Tools to Explore the Universe…and Help Life on Earth

    7:30pm

    Location: 

    60 Garden Street, Phillips Auditorium, 60 Garden St, Cambridge, MA 02138

    At the Center for Astrophysics, we exploit quantum physics to advance the state-of-the-art in measurement and imaging, and then apply these tools to search for Earth-like planets around other stars and probe the nature, history, and fate of the Universe. Sometimes, these quantum tools can also be applied to down-to-Earth problems — ranging from health to navigation. 

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    2018 Oct 17

    Here Come the Seeds: The Journey of a Seed from Collection to Propagation at the Arboretum

    5:00pm to 6:00pm

    Location: 

    Larz Anderson Bonsai & Penjing Collection, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

    Manager of Plant Production, Tiffany Enzenbacher, will discuss the Arnold Arboretum's propagule collection and documentation procedure. She will also display some of the different types of fruits, nuts, and seeds that are in the process of becoming the next generation of Arboretum plants. Seed showcased will be those collected during Tiffany's 2018 expedition to the Ozarks, as well as those collected on other institutional collecting trips.

    Free,...

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    2018 Oct 16

    Family Hike - Seeds with Wings

    2:00pm to 3:30pm

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

    Learn among the trees and discover the Arboretum on guided hikes for families. Seeds can fly. Find out which ones do and how they do it. One adult may bring a maximum of three children; suitable for children ages five through twelve. Meet in the Hunnewell Visitor Center.

    Free, drop in, no registration required.

    ...

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    2018 Sep 17

    Saving Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys

    6:00pm

    Location: 

    Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street, Cambridge MA

    James W. Porter, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia

    Coral reefs support more than a quarter of all marine life, yet many are critically endangered. In the Florida Keys, the once common elk horn coral (Acropora palmata) has experienced steep declines since the 1970s. Preliminary blame was attributed to global warming and coral bleaching, but in fact, a human bacterial pathogen associated with a wide range of serious infections was the culprit. James Porter will discuss how Key West residents are saving these reefs...

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