Sunset Walk & Talk
Each month the Observatory offers a sunset hike led by a Park Ranger and a Museum Guide. The hike starts on the Observatory's West Terrace, proceeds up the Charlie Turner trail to the Berlin Forest on the hill just north of the Observatory, and then returns to the West Terrace. The distance covered is about half a mile over the course of an hour at a very moderate pace with stops along the way to discuss the highlights and history of Griffith Park and objects visible in the evening sky. More information.
Location: Griffith Observatory, West Terrace
Audience: General public
Format: Hike
RSVP: n/a
Reef Check California San Diego Training
In California, Reef Check helps ensure the long-term sustainability and health of the nearshore rocky reefs and kelp forests. Reef Check California volunteers are divers, We monitor rocky reefs inside and outside of California's marine protected areas (MPAs). We work with marine managers, researchers and the public to provide the scientific data needed to make informed, science-based decisions for the sustainable management and conservation of California's ocean environment. We would love your support, volunteer today!
Reef Check California Training Schedule
Reef Check California Training Course details:
The Reef Check California Training course is designed to provide participants with the skills and experience to accurately complete the Reef Check California survey protocol. In addition to direct survey methods, the training program will address safe diving practices, techniques of research diving, sampling design and theory, general marine ecology including species identification and interactions, and the importance of monitoring to meet marine management needs. Trainings include a combination of class room and field sessions. Following completion of the training, all participants will have the skills necessary to successfully complete the training examination allowing them to contribute data to the statewide database and will be eligible to obtain a Reef Check California Specialty Certification (NAUI).
Course prerequisites: • Proof of dive certification
* Minimum of 30 logged lifetime dives
* Minimum of 15 logged dives in California or other temperate region with water temp below 68° F
* Minimum of 6 dives within the last year
* Minimum age of 16 on the first day of class
* Completion of liability release
* Completed reading of Reef Check California training manual
Training and research materials will be provided which include the Reef Check California training manual, indicator organism ID cards, dive slates, transect line and underwater data sheets. Participants must provide all their own dive gear including weights and tanks. In addition to standard dive gear you will need a flashlight, cutting device, and clips to attach your slate to your BC. All dive gear should be well maintained and in good working order.
Recommended Dive Skills
1. Comfortable swimming in and around kelp both at depth and on the surface.
2. Able to keep track of your buddy, your air, and your no-deco time while engaged in other tasks.
3. Able to dive in a horizontal position within a foot off the bottom while maintaining proper buoyancy.
San Diego July 14-15, 2018 [class/pool] & July 28-29, 2018 [field]
Class session at either Upwelling Gallery or CMIL (with a tour of Birch Aquarium); Lois Ann (6 dives) out of Mission Bay. More information.
Location: Upwelling Gallery or CMIL (TBD)
Audience: General public, Science experts, Scuba Divers who have an interest in consideration through citizen science
Format: Hands on activities & demos, Lecture, Pool and Ocean survey training.
RSVP: Required
Reef Check California - OC Training
Orange County July 7-8, 2018 [class/pool] & July 21-22, 2018 [field]
Class session at Aquarium of the Pacific; Bottom Scratcher overnight boat trip (6 dives) out of San Pedro. More information.
Location: Aquarium of the Pacific
Nerd Nite Los Angeles
We all know that learning is more fun when you're drinking with friends and colleagues. Thus, Nerd Nite is a monthly event held in more than 100 cities across the globe during which several folks give 20-minute fun-yet-informative presentations across all disciplines – while the audience drinks along. It's like the Discovery Channel… with beer. More information.
Location: Busby's East
Audience: 21+
Format: Presentations
Curiosity and Cosmology: Science at the Cutting Edge: a conversation and book signing event with Emily Lakdawalla and Brian Keating
The Design and Engineering of Curiosity: How the Mars Rover Performs Its Job describes the most complex machine ever sent to another planet: Curiosity. It is a one-ton robot with two brains, seventeen cameras, six wheels, nuclear power, and a laser beam on its head. No one human understands how all of its systems and instruments work. This essential reference to the Curiosity mission explains the engineering behind every system on the rover, from its rocket-powered jetpack to its radioisotope thermoelectric generator to its fiendishly complex sample handling system. Its lavishly illustrated text explains how all the instruments work -- its cameras, spectrometers, sample-cooking oven, and weather station -- and describes the instruments' abilities and limitations. It tells you how the systems have functioned on Mars, and how scientists and engineers have worked around problems developed on a faraway planet: holey wheels and broken focus lasers. And it explains the grueling mission operations schedule that keeps the rover working day in and day out. (Springer)
Losing the Noel Prize: In 2014, astronomers wielding BICEP2, the most powerful cosmology telescope ever made, revealed that they'd glimpsed the spark that ignited the Big Bang. Millions around the world tuned in to the announcement broadcast live from Harvard University, immediately igniting rumors of an imminent Nobel Prize. But had these cosmologists truly read the cosmic prologue or, swept up in Nobel dreams, had they been deceived by a galactic mirage? Cosmologist and inventor of the BICEP experiment, Brian Keating tells the inside story of BICEP2's mesmerizing discovery and the scientific drama that ensued. More information.
Location: Vroman's Bookstore
Audience: General Audience
Format: Talk and book signing
UC Irvine Climate Solutions Summit
The Climate Solutions Summit will facilitate interactions among UC Irvine researchers, community leaders, stakeholders, and decision makers. The summit will solicit input on community needs regarding climate issues. Summit participants will help identify socially meaningful research priorities, important problems and solutions, as well as ways to improve public communication. Through this effort, the summit will foster a more diverse, inclusive, and impactful set of partnerships to develop climate solutions. The summit format is designed to emphasize community input through moderated discussions and listening sessions on topical themes. Keynote presentations will address climate solutions from both scientific and community perspectives. More information.
Location: Beckman Center of the National Academies of Science and Engineering
Audience: General public, Science experts
Format: Open discussion, Panel, Lecture
RSVP: Required by May 21
Mikhail G. Shapiro - "Talking to Cells"
Treating patients with engineered cells may one day become as common as it is now to be treated with drugs. As therapeutic agents, cells have much greater sophistication than simple molecules: they can be engineered to migrate to sites of disease such as tumors, sense their local environment, make logical decisions, multiply themselves, release therapeutic molecules and self-destruct.
However, cell therapy today is a risky proposition. Once the engineered cells enter your body, there is no effective way to monitor their location, see what they are doing, or give them further instructions.
To solve this problem, we are developing molecular "communications equipment" that allows us to use methods such as ultrasound to remotely monitor cells' activity and give them commands deep inside the body.
Mikhail G. Shapiro is Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering andHeritage Medical Research Institute Investigator at Caltech, in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. More information.
Location: Beckman Auditorium Caltech
Format: Lecture
Into the Unknown: the James Web Space Telescope Screening and Discussion
Launching in 2020, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will reveal a universe we have never seen before and is poised to answer questions such as: How did the universe make its first stars and galaxies? The documentary INTO THE UNKNOWN tells the story of building the James Webb Space Telescope — a revolutionary successor to the Hubble Telescope and 100 times more powerful. Featuring dynamic scenes of construction, fascinating conversations with scientists and engineers and stunning visuals, Into the Unknown offers an in-depth look at one of the most daring scientific missions ever attempted. A story for all ages, this film captures the wonder of the cosmos and the timeless human desire to understand our place within the universe.
The documentary will be introduced by Sandra Evers-Manly, Northrop Grumman Foundation President. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A. More information.
Location: Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater, Griffith Observatory
Format: Film and discussion
Cost: $10 FOTO Members, $25 nonmembers
Public Star Party
Free public star parties are held monthly at Griffith Observatory with the assistance of volunteers from the Los Angeles Astronomical Society, the Los Angeles Sidewalk Astronomers, and The Planetary Society. They are a chance for the whole family to look at the Sun, Moon, visible planets and other objects, to try out a variety of telescopes, and to talk to knowledgeable amateur astronomers about the sky and their equipment.
Location: Griffith Observatory
Format: Open, public event
Magic and Lightning: Into the Mind of Nikola Tesla
Acclaimed playwright and actor Ian Ruskin brings his newest multi-media one-man play to Theatre West, continuing his mission to highlight misunderstood men in American and World history.
"All is rhythm. The movement of a planet, the surging and ebbing of the tide, the reverberations in the air, the oscillations of electric current, the infinitely varied phenomena of organic life…birth, growth, old age, and death… what is it all but rhythm." http://www.theteslaproject.org /. More information.
Location: 3333 Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90068
Format: One man play followed by a talk back.
Careers in Tech Panel
Speakers from top companies (Disney, JPL, JP Morgan Chase) in technology and creative industries will showcase the surprising range of career applications of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) skills in an informative panel discussion!
This free event is a fundraiser for building a public STEAM workshop above the Pio Pico-Koreatown Library Branch! Suggested donations are $10 for parents and $25 for community members: bit.ly/careersinSTEAM. More information.
Location: 694 S Oxford, Los Angeles, CA 90005
Audience: Elementary school students, Middle or high school students, General public, Families
Cost: donations accepted
Reef Check California - SO CAL TRAINING - Santa Barbara
Course prerequisites:
Proof of dive certification
Minimum of 30 logged lifetime dives
Minimum of 15 logged dives in California or other temperate region with water temp below 68° F
Minimum of 6 dives within the last year
Minimum age of 16 on the first day of class
Completion of liability release
Completed reading of Reef Check California training manual
Comfortable swimming in and around kelp both at depth and on the surface.
Able to keep track of your buddy, your air, and your no-deco time while engaged in other tasks.
Able to dive in a horizontal position within a foot off the bottom while maintaining proper buoyancy.
San Luis Obispo/Santa Barbara
May 5-6, 2018 [class/pool] & May 19-20, 2018 [field]
Class session at UCSB; Peace overnight boat trip (6 dives) out of Ventura. More information.
Location: UCSB
Reef Check California Training Los Angeles
Los Angeles May 5-6, 2018 [class/pool] & June 2-3, 2018 [field]
Class session at Aquarium of the Pacific; Magician overnight boat trip (6 dives) out of San Pedro. More information.
Location: Aquarium of the Pacific with ocean surveys out on the Magician
All Space Considered
Griffith Observatory holds this exciting, FREE public program on the first Friday of every Month in the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon. Join the Observatory's curatorial staff and occasional special guests as they examine and explain the most-talked-about subjects in astronomy and space science. Seating is first come, first served. For the upcoming program's topics click HERE.
Dr. Lucy Jones discusses and signs The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (and What We Can Do about Them)
Earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanoes--they stem from the same forces that give our planet life. Earthquakes give us natural springs; volcanoes produce fertile soil. It is only when these forces exceed our ability to withstand them that they become disasters. Together they have shaped our cities and their architecture; elevated leaders and toppled governments; influenced the way we think, feel, fight, unite, and pray. The history of natural disasters is a history of ourselves.
In The Big Ones, leading seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones offers a bracing look at some of the world's greatest natural disasters, whose reverberations we continue to feel today. At Pompeii, Jones explores how a volcanic eruption in the first century AD challenged prevailing views of religion. She examines the California floods of 1862 and the limits of human memory. And she probes more recent events--such as the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the American hurricanes of 2017--to illustrate the potential for globalization to humanize and heal.
With population in hazardous regions growing and temperatures around the world rising, the impacts of natural disasters are greater than ever before. The Big Ones is more than just a work of history or science; it is a call to action. Natural hazards are inevitable; human catastrophes are not. With this energizing and exhaustively researched book, Dr. Jones offers a look at our past, readying us to face down the Big Ones in our future. More information.
Natural Curiosities: Curious Minds
Orangutans are clever tool users but strangely such skills remained undiscovered for centuries. They were considered as just clever mimics until discovery in remote Sumatran swamps revealed their true potential. Crows are clever birds that can solve problems and they too make surprisingly sophisticated tools. How have the curious minds of these two animals helped them become so inventive?.
Mason McGill, a graduate student in computation and neural systems at Caltech, will introduce the film and guide the post-screening discussion. More information.
Audience: General public, middle and high school students, families
Make and a Movie: Wall-E and Plant Pal Bot Fundraiser
Come watch WALL-E with us and then make your own Plant Friend Bot! Plants provided. Pizza by the slice.
Proceeds to: LA Makerspace is a parent-founded nonprofit working to make sure all LA kids have access to hands-on science and technology education. More information.
Location: 12815 S Western Ave, Gardena, CA 90249
Audience: Elementary school students, Middle or high school students, Families
Format: Film and Hands-on activities and demos
City of STEM BIG Science Fest
After a month of celebrating all things STEM throughout Los Angeles, join us at the Columbia Memorial Space Center as we get together with all of our science and informal science partners for a FREE party, including games, hands-on activities, demos, live music, food trucks, and more! More information.
Location: Columbia Memorial Space Center
Format: Hands on activities & demos
RSVP: Not required
Art, Science and Community
University of La Verne SACNAS Outreach to K-12 students. We will have STEM and Art activities for kids.
Location: University of La Verne, 1950 3rd Street, La Verne, CA 91750
Audience: Elementary school students, Middle or high school students
Format: Hands-on activities and demos
March for Science LA: Rally and Science Expo
Mark your calendars for the second March for Science Los Angeles event! In the wake of assaults to our environment, healthcare, and facts themselves, standing up for science is more important than ever. Additional details will be available in the coming months, so please check our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/marchforscienceLA/ for additional information. We can't wait to see you there!
Location: Pershing Square
Format: Rally and Science Expo
RSVP: Encouraged
Victoria J. Orphan - "Microbial Life Support: The Invisible Living Networks That Shape Our Oceans"
While invisible to the naked eye, microorganisms and their interactions with each other and their environment play fundamental roles in the cycling of elements critical to life on our planet. In deep seafloor sediments, billions of microorganisms compete and cooperate via a complex network of metabolic interactions that are still poorly understood, but are important in the cycling of methane and sequestration of carbon.
Dr. Orphan will talk about the activities of marine microorganisms from the ocean surface to deep in the earth's crust and consider the globally important geochemical processes they orchestrate through metabolic collaboration. More information.
Petri Paint Workshop
Using a harmless research strain of bacteria TheLab has developed a collection of colorful bacteria allowing us to create living bio art. During this class you will learn how we genetically modified bacteria to express color pigments, some which are vibrantly fluorescent. Then try your hand at bio art. At first your canvas will appear blank but over 48 hours the bacteria colonies will multiply by millions and your art will come life.
This class is open to anyone 6 years or older. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. (Parents do not need to register themselves for the class if only their child is participating.) There is no prior knowledge required and all supplies will be provided. $20 per participant.
Your art will take about 48 hours to develop in the incubators at TheLab or up to a week if left at room temperature. Participants have the option to take their art home following the event or leave their art in our incubators and return during our Sunday Social or schedule an appointment to pick up their art.
Location: TheLab
Audience: Elementary school students, Middle or High school students, General public, Science experts, Families
Format: Hands on activities & demos, Lecture