Eye-Opening Science: Conversation and Controversy
Earth 2.0: Where is it… Can We Visit?
Moderated by Jill Tarter
Bernard Oliver Chair for SETI Research & Academy Fellow
Speakers:
Rusty Schweickart, former NASA astronaut and Chair Emeritus of the B612 Foundation
David DesMarais, NASA Ames and Academy Fellow
Carl Pilcher, NASA Solar System Exploration

Saturday, September 28th 9:00am to 10:30am in the Boardroom
NASA scientists from the SETI institute will be discussing their latest research with Academy Fellows & Scientists and would like to invite you to join them for a small gathering in an intimate Saturday morning setting. Come join them in the conversation while enjoying pastries, coffee and tea. The topic of conversation? Extraterrestrial Life! Current estimates indicate that there are 100 Billion or more Earth sized planets in the Universe. A relatively high percentage of them exist in what is referred to as the habitable zone around their star or stars. Yes, scientists have even discovered Earth sized planets around binary systems. Is it just a matter of time before we find Extraterrestrial Life? Come ask NASA scientists & Academy Fellows what they think. This conversation will revolve around whether our search for Earth 2.0 and other exoplanets is an absolute requirement for humanity’s survival. Are there alternatives to moving out? What can the climate changes we study on other worlds tell us about the potential for husbanding our world successfully? Welcome by Dr. Terry Gosliner.

Reservations: Individual event tickets: Members $25, Adults $35, Seniors $25, or Eye-Opening Science three event series tickets for Sept 28, Oct 12 & Oct 26: Members $70, Adults $90, Seniors $70. Reserve your Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831 Your ticket does not include museum admission. This Saturday morning conversation series is part of a larger Academy festival called Brilliant!Science: Extraterrestrial Life.

In Partnership with the San Francisco Public Library - Main
A Voyage of Discovery in the Sea of Cortez
Professor Aaron E. Hirsh, Vermilion Sea Institute
Dept of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, U. of Colorado, Boulder

Tues, Oct 1 at 6pm, SF Main Library - Koret Auditorium
When biologist Aaron Hirsh leads twelve college students to a remote fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, they come upon a bay of dazzling beauty and richness. As the group pursues various threads of investigation—ecological and evolutionary studies of the sea, the desert, and their various species of animals and plants; the stories of local villagers; the journals of conquistadors and explorers—they recognize that the bay has changed significantly through the years. Life in the Sea of Cortez has been reshaped by complex human ideas and decisions—the laws and economics of fishing, property, and water; the fantasies of tourists seeking the wild; even efforts to retrieve species from the brink of extinction. After weathering a hurricane and encountering a rare whale in its wake, they come to see that the bay’s best chance of recovery may in fact reside in our own human stories, which can weave a compelling memory of the place. Glimpsing the intricate and ever-shifting web of human connections with the Sea of Cortez, the students comprehend anew their own place in the natural world—suspended between past and future. They come to recognize their roles in the path ahead, and ultimately come to see one another, and themselves, in a new light. In Telling Our Way to the Sea, Hirsh’s voice resounds with compassionate humanity, capturing the complex beauty of both the marine world he explores and the people he explores it with. His story is a profound meditation on our changing relationships with nature and with one another.
Book signing to follow.

Reservations: This is a Free lecture taking place at the SFPL at 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA. Seating is limited with advanced ticketing suggested. To reserve a seat today, please call 1-877-227-1831 (Please note the web reservations for SFPL events should be back in the fall. Thanks for your understanding while we update our ticketing system.)

Conservation Photography Class & Excursion
In Partnership with the Oceanic Society
Whales, Birds & Life of the Farallon Islands
Gary Sharlow, Photographer, Education Manager
Izzy Szczepaniak, Marine Biologist

Sat Oct 5 1:00pm Talk at the Academy (ends at 4pm)
Sun Oct 6 7:30am Meet at the Boat in SF (4pm return)
***** Sold Out***** Affectionately known as San Francisco’s "Galapagos Islands" the Farallon Islands serve as one of the most biologically rich and important habitats along the western coast of the United States. Come do what 99% of San Francisco residents never do… hop aboard a boat and ride out under the Golden Gate Bridge to visit one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world. The Farallon Islands, just 27 miles off the coast of San Francisco, lie amid the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, a food-rich marine ecosystem that attracts whales, dolphins, seals and seabirds each summer and fall, to feed and to breed. Researchers have catalogued hundreds of individual humpbacks and blue whales as seasonal feeding residents. Twenty three species of marine mammals, including eighteen species of whales and dolphins, can be found here. The Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge is the largest seabird rookery in the contiguous United States with nesting Tufted Puffins, Pigeon Guillemots, Rhinoceros Auklets, Common Murres and other species. Migratory seabirds such as Shearwaters, Jaegers, and Phalaropes are also attracted by these nutrient-rich waters. Island beaches are covered with sea lions, including massive Steller's sea lions, now on the Endangered Species List.

Isidore (Izzy) Szczepaniak is a field investigator for the Oceanic Society/Cascadia Research humpback whale research program in California and Costa Rica. Since 1972, primarily as a Research Associate for the California Academy of Sciences' Department of Mammalogy, Izzy has studied and published papers on marine mammals. In Australia and New Zealand he assisted with research on dusky dolphins and sperm whales. Other cetacean research includes work for Cascadia Research in northern California, and harbor porpoise surveys off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington for the National Marine Fisheries Service. He is a member of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Szczepaniak will give a presentation about the research that he does on the marine life that make the Farallon Islands home… or at least a stop over in their annual migrations. This one hour presentation will be followed by a photography how to presentation by photographer Gary Sharlow who will give an introduction to your DSLR that will provide you with some easy tips that will allow you to keep your head up with your eyes on the horizon and in search of whales and birds. (The advice is also intended to help you keep from looking down at your camera during the trip so you can be enjoying the life of the Farallon Islands and not think about your camera.)

Please Note: Entrance is via the Academy's Business and Staff Entrance at the back door located at 75 Nancy Pelosi Drive. Please arrive 15 minutes early.

Reservations: This Event is sold out. Thank you!

Special Performance: The Kepler Story
Motion Institute & Morrison Planetarium

Sun, Oct 6 at 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Planetarium
We are excited to announce our first ever prime-time Sunday evening performance series taking place in the Morrison Planetarium - the world’s largest all digital dome. As a one-man performance with dramatic supporting music and full dome visuals, the Morrison Planetarium in collaboration with Motion Institute presents The Kepler Story - an innovative, immersive performance piece about the life and story of 17th-century astronomer and mystic Johannes Kepler. The story of his life, including his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion which removed Earth once and for all from its position at the center of the Universe, took an even more dramatic turn when his mother was arrested for witchcraft and Kepler was forced to defend her. On the way to her trial, reading Galileo’s father’s book on harmony, Kepler experienced one of his greatest epiphanies about the harmony of the universe.

Learn More...

Reservations: Academy Members: $12, General: $15. This is a 60-minute performance. Seating is limited. To reserve a place today, buy a ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831. Late arrivals will not be permitted entry, tickets are not transferable and non refundable.

Eye-Opening Science: Conversation and Controversy
Cosmic Evolution: A Scientific Creation Myth Like No Other
Moderated by Jill Tarter
Bernard Oliver Chair for SETI Research & Academy Fellow
Featuring David Morrison, Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe, SETI Institute and Academy Fellow
Eugenie Scott, Executive Director, National Center for Science Education and Academy Fellow

Saturday, October 12th 9:00am to 10:30am in the Boardroom
NASA scientists from the SETI institute will be discussing their latest research with Academy Fellows & Scientists and would like to invite you to join them for a small gathering in an intimate Saturday morning setting. Come join them in the conversation while enjoying pastries, coffee and tea. The topic of conversation? Extraterrestrial Life! Current estimates indicate that there are 100 Billion or more Earth sized planets in the Universe. A relatively high percentage of them exist in what is referred to as the habitable zone around their star or stars. Yes, scientists have even discovered Earth sized planets around binary systems. Is it just a matter of time before we find Extraterrestrial Life? Come ask NASA scientists & Academy Fellows what they think. Our current standard model of cosmology is, in fact, just the latest in a long line of “creation myths.” Why does it matter that this one is told by scientists? How can we encourage the general public to adopt suggested solutions for current/pending environmental challenges, when they appear to be losing confidence in science and scientists? Welcome by Dr. Terry Gosliner.

Reservations: Individual event tickets: Members $25, Adults $35, Seniors $25, or Eye-Opening Science three event series tickets for Sept 28, Oct 12 & Oct 26: Members $70, Adults $90, Seniors $70. Reserve your Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831 Your ticket does not include museum admission. This Saturday morning conversation series is part of a larger Academy festival called Brilliant!Science: Extraterrestrial Life.

Special Performance: The Kepler Story
Motion Institute & Morrison Planetarium

Sun, Oct 13 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Planetarium
We are excited to announce our first ever prime-time Sunday evening performance series taking place in the Morrison Planetarium - the world’s largest all digital dome. As a one-man performance with dramatic supporting music and full dome visuals, the Morrison Planetarium in collaboration with Motion Institute presents The Kepler Story - an innovative, immersive performance piece about the life and story of 17th-century astronomer and mystic Johannes Kepler. The story of his life, including his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion which removed Earth once and for all from its position at the center of the Universe, took an even more dramatic turn when his mother was arrested for witchcraft and Kepler was forced to defend her. On the way to her trial, reading Galileo’s father’s book on harmony, Kepler experienced one of his greatest epiphanies about the harmony of the universe.

Learn More...

Reservations: Academy Members: $12, General: $15. This is a 60-minute performance. Seating is limited. To reserve a place today, buy a ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831. Late arrivals will not be permitted entry, tickets are not transferable and non refundable.

Benjamin Dean Lecture
The Search for Habitability and Life Beyond Earth:
From micro-ETs to Exoplanets
Nathalie A. Cabrol
Planetary Scientist at the Carl Sagan Center (SETI Institute)

Monday, October 14th at 7:30pm, Planetarium
The last decade has seen a revolution in astrobiology – the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Results returned by planetary missions in the Solar System such as Messenger, Venus Express, the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Express, MSL and the Curiosity rover, Cassini, and Kepler, as well as multi-disciplinary research in terrestrial extreme environments have resulted in a new, inclusive, vision of astrobiology. What we learn from one planet helps us understand others, including our own, and guides the design and planning of future astrobiology-focused missions. In her presentation, Dr. Cabrol will discuss this revolution in astrobiology, with the latest updates from these various missions, and where we stand on our quest to understanding habitability and find life beyond Earth.

Reservations: Members: $8, General $12, Seniors $10. Seating is limited and advanced ticketing is required. To reserve a place today, buy a Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831

Nerd Nite SF!
Confessions of an Alien Hunter
Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute and Academy Fellow
Ryan Wyatt, Director of Science Visualization

Wed, Oct 16th 8–10pm Doors at 7:00 pm
Seth Shostak knew he would spend his life hunting for signs of life in the Universe from the time he was just 10 years old. He is now Senior Astronomer at the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute whose mission is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the Universe. Shostak has published hundreds of scientific articles, written several popular books and even has his own radio show. Ryan Wyatt, Director of Morrison Planetarium at the California Academy of Sciences will join Shostak on stage to hear the latest confessions of one of this world’s leading alien hunters! Of course, we all know that learning is more fun when you’re drinking with friends and colleagues, which is why Nerd Nite exists in the first place. Held monthly in more than 50 cities across the globe, this is where science nerds take the stage to give fun and informative presentations while the audience drinks along. As nerds and non-nerds say, Nerd Nite is like the Discovery Channel™...with Beer!

Reservations: Held at Rickshaw Stop, 155 Fell Street at Van Ness. Tickets $8. We have 100 seats held for Academy guests at this ticketing link when you use the promo code "NERDALIEN". The remaining tickets will be available at sf.nerdnite.com one week before the event.

Special Performance: The Kepler Story
Motion Institute & Morrison Planetarium

Sun, Oct 20 at 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Planetarium
We are excited to announce our first ever prime-time Sunday evening performance series taking place in the Morrison Planetarium - the world’s largest all digital dome. As a one-man performance with dramatic supporting music and full dome visuals, the Morrison Planetarium in collaboration with Motion Institute presents The Kepler Story - an innovative, immersive performance piece about the life and story of 17th-century astronomer and mystic Johannes Kepler. The story of his life, including his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion which removed Earth once and for all from its position at the center of the Universe, took an even more dramatic turn when his mother was arrested for witchcraft and Kepler was forced to defend her. On the way to her trial, reading Galileo’s father’s book on harmony, Kepler experienced one of his greatest epiphanies about the harmony of the universe.

Learn More...

Reservations: Academy Members: $12, General: $15. This is a 60-minute performance. Seating is limited. To reserve a place today, buy a ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831. Late arrivals will not be permitted entry, tickets are not transferable and non refundable.

Naturalist 101: Skulls Tell It All

Sunday, October 20, 9:45am – 12:00pm
Scientists can learn many things by looking at an animal’s skull, and so can you! In this two-hour workshop, learn the essentials of how to identify local animals by their skulls. Discover what determines if the animal was predator or prey, what it ate, what sense was most important to its survival and more. You’ll have the opportunity to examine a variety of fascinating skulls from our collections. For adults and families with children ages 10 and up.

Please note: Sign-in is required by 9:45. Please enter via the Academy's Staff and Research Entrance at the back door located at 75 Nancy Pelosi Drive.

Reservations: Members: $12, Seniors: $10, General $15. Seating is limited and advanced ticketing is required. To reserve a place today, buy a Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831

Pritzker Lecture
The Enduring Journey: Natural History Collections And The Future Of Life
Charles Griswold
Schlinger Curator of Arachnology

Wednesday, October 23rd at 7:00pm, African Hall
Natural history collections, behind the scenes in museums, document the history and scope of life on Earth through time and space. Their study is multinational and multigenerational: anyone with curiosity may make an enduring discovery. At scales of resolution ranging from molecular to global, collections provide hard data to model the past, present and future of life. Collections also present objects and patterns of sublime beauty to please and inspire. Since the Gold Rush, the California Academy of Sciences has been at the forefront of efforts to build and use collections to explore, explain and sustain life on our planet. Charles Griswold, the Academy's expert on spiders, will lead a virtual tour of the how, what, where and why scientists collect and what it reveals to us about life on Earth of the past, present and future.

Reservations: Seating is limited. General $12, Seniors $10 This event is free to members and RSVP is required. Please reserve your seat over the phone at 1-877-227-1831 (Please note the member web reservations should be back in the fall. Thanks for your understanding while we update our ticketing system.)

Eye-Opening Science: Conversation and Controversy
SETI: The Archaeology of the Future
Moderated by Jill Tarter
Bernard Oliver Chair for SETI Research & Academy Fellow
Geoff Marcy, Professor of Astronomy, UC Berkeley and Academy Fellow
Andrew Fraknoi, Professor of Astronomy, Foothill College

Saturday, October 26th 9:00am to 10:30am in the Boardroom
NASA scientists from the SETI institute will be discussing their latest research with Academy Fellows & Scientists and would like to invite you to join them for a small gathering in an intimate Saturday morning setting. Come join them in the conversation while enjoying pastries, coffee and tea. The topic of conversation? Extraterrestrial Life! Current estimates indicate that there are 100 Billion or more Earth sized planets in the Universe. A relatively high percentage of them exist in what is referred to as the habitable zone around their star or stars. Yes, scientists have even discovered Earth sized planets around binary systems. Is it just a matter of time before we find Extraterrestrial Life? Come ask NASA scientists & Academy Fellows what they think. The successful detection of a signal from another extraterrestrial technology would tell us that, on average, technology is a stabilizing influence and we could have a long future if we get it right. What are the statistics? What can we really learn—if we get a signal and if we do not? How long should we listen before we transmit? Welcome by Dr. Terry Gosliner.

Reservations: Individual event tickets: Members $25, Adults $35, Seniors $25, or Eye-Opening Science three event series tickets for Sept 28, Oct 12 & Oct 26: Members $70, Adults $90, Seniors $70. Reserve your Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831 Your ticket does not include museum admission. This Saturday morning conversation series is part of a larger Academy festival called Brilliant!Science: Extraterrestrial Life.

Special Performance: The Kepler Story
Motion Institute & Morrison Planetarium

Sun, Oct 27 at 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Planetarium
We are excited to announce our first ever prime-time Sunday evening performance series taking place in the Morrison Planetarium - the world’s largest all digital dome. As a one-man performance with dramatic supporting music and full dome visuals, the Morrison Planetarium in collaboration with Motion Institute presents The Kepler Story - an innovative, immersive performance piece about the life and story of 17th-century astronomer and mystic Johannes Kepler. The story of his life, including his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion which removed Earth once and for all from its position at the center of the Universe, took an even more dramatic turn when his mother was arrested for witchcraft and Kepler was forced to defend her. On the way to her trial, reading Galileo’s father’s book on harmony, Kepler experienced one of his greatest epiphanies about the harmony of the universe.

Learn More...

Reservations: Academy Members: $12, General: $15. This is a 60-minute performance. Seating is limited. To reserve a place today, buy a ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831. Late arrivals will not be permitted entry, tickets are not transferable and non refundable.

Bay Area Science Festival - Special Program
Big Ideas in Science: The Lightning Round!
In partnership with Stanford, UC Berkeley and UCSF,
With a special guest performance from Youth Speaks

Monday Oct 28th 2013 7:00pm – Planetarium
Five of the Bay Area leading scientists get together to present their work in a lighting round style presentation! Get to know scientists who are making some of the most exciting discoveries of our day and hear the latest on their fascinating research. The event will kick off with a series of nine-minute presentations on scientific topics covering the range from cloud robotics to dark matter from the far corners of the Universe to science visualization. Presented in the Academy’s Morrison Planetarium, the world’s largest all-digital planetarium dome, learn how science visualization brings complex scientific concepts to life in an immersive visual experience. What if robots and automation systems were not limited by onboard computation, memory, or software? What if scientists could create an artificial retina to put an end to blindness? What do we know about dark matter? Find out from the beginning of the Universe to the very end. Then, head to the Academy’s African Hall to mingle with scientists and have your burning science questions answered in an intimate environment. Plus, Youth Speaks will partner with UCSF to highlight cutting edge human health research and its impacts on our society. Presenters include five local scientists who are changing the way we understand the world, including Ken Goldberg (UC Berkeley), Patricia Burchat (Stanford University), Dean Schillinger (UCSF School of Medicine), Sat Pannu (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) and Ryan Wyatt of the California Academy of Science.

Reservations: Members: $12, Adults: $15, Seniors: $12, Seating is limited. Reserve your Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831

Benjamin Dean Lecture
The Modern Origins Story: From the Big Bang to Habitable Planets
Eliot Quataert,
Professor of Astronomy & Physics U.C. Berkeley

Monday, Monday Nov 4th at 7:30pm, Planetarium
The scientific understanding of our origins began in earnest with Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin, and others, and has since evolved into a rich, detailed, and well-tested model. In addition to their intrinsic scientific importance, these ideas also have far reaching implications for other aspects of people’s lives (e.g., philosophical, religious, and political). In this talk Quataert will provide an overview of the modern understanding of origins in astrophysics, from the big bang to the discovery of planets around other stars. The story begins in the infant universe, which we now know was remarkably smooth compared to what we see around us today, with only tiny differences in its properties from one part to another. By contrast, in the present universe there are enormous differences in the properties of matter from one part to another: some regions host planets, stars, and galaxies (and even humans!) while others do not. Quataert will describe how the universe evolved from its smooth beginnings to its current state, emphasizing how gravity reigns supreme and builds up the planets, stars, and galaxies required for biological evolution to proceed.

Reservations: Members: $8, General $12, Seniors $10. Seating is limited and advanced ticketing is required. To reserve a place today, buy a Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831

Conservation Photography Class
Introduction To Your DSLR

Gary Sharlow, Photographer, Education Manager

Sunday November 10th 2013 at 1 to 4pm
In this three-hour classroom presentation, you will learn about the inner workings of your DSLR camera. This class is designed as an overview to help you better understand your camera, the digital workflow and how to make better images. We cover basic features of the DSLR camera to include choosing lenses and filters, ISO, white balance, shutter, aperture and program modes, EV, exposure, bracketing, focusing, resolution, histograms and more. The main objective is to help you understand the fundamentals of exposure so that you can get your camera out of auto mode and start making images the way you want them to look. Once you have the skills to get the correct exposure under any conditions, we can shift our efforts to proper techniques for focus, light metering, depth of field and some basic rules of composition.

Please Note: Entrance is via the Academy's Business and Staff Entrance at the back door located at 75 Nancy Pelosi Drive. You will not be permitted entry at the front door. Please arrive at least 10 minutes early.

Reservations: Members: $40, General $50. Seating is limited and advanced ticketing is required. To reserve a place today, buy a Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831

In Partnership with the San Francisco Public Library - Main
Wild Ones: A Look at People Looking at Animals in America
Jon Mooallem in Conversation with Amy Standen

Nov 13th at 6pm in the Koret Auditorium at the SFPL, Koret Auditorium
As a father, Jon Mooallem has watched his daughter’s world overflow with animals from toys to her favorite butterfly pajamas. She has inspired him to venture into the field, often taking his daughter with him, to move beyond childlike fascination and make those creatures feel more real. Wild Ones is a tour through our environmental moment and the eccentric cultural history of people and wild animals in America that inflects it—from Thomas Jefferson’s celebrations of early abundance to the turn-of the-last-century origins of the teddy bear to the whale-loving hippies of the 1970s. In America, Wild Ones discovers, wildlife has always inhabited the terrain of our imagination as much as the actual land. The journey is framed by the stories of three species: the polar bear, ogled by tourists outside a remote northern town; the little-known Lange’s metalmark butterfly, foundering on a small patch of industrialized land near San Francisco; and the whooping crane as it’s led on a months-long migration by costumed men in ultralight airplanes. The wilderness that Wild Ones navigates is a scrappy, disorderly place where amateur conservationists do grueling, sometimes preposterous-looking work; where a marketer maneuvers to control the polar bear’s image while at the same time Martha Stewart turns up to film those beasts for her show on the Hallmark Channel. Our most comforting ideas about nature unravel and in their place, Mooallem forges a new and affirming vision of the human animal and the wild ones as kindred creatures on an imperfect planet. Wild Ones merges reportage, science, and history into a humane and endearing meditation on what it means to live in, and bring a life into today’s world. Amy Standen is a producer for KQED Science.
Book signing to follow.

Reservations: This is a Free lecture taking place at the SFPL at 100 Larkin Street San Francisco, CA. Seating is limited with advanced ticketing suggested. To reserve a seat today, please call 1-877-227-1831 (Please note the web reservations for SFPL events should be back in the fall. Thanks for your understanding while we update our ticketing system.)

Pritzker Lectures 

Free to Academy members, the Pritzker lecture series features engaging speakers from the Bay Area and beyond. Topics cover a wide range of subjects related to the Academy's mission to "explore, explain, and sustain life."

Pritzker Lecture
The Enduring Journey: Natural History Collections And The Future Of Life
Charles Griswold
Schlinger Curator of Arachnology

Wednesday, October 23rd at 7:00pm, African Hall
Natural history collections, behind the scenes in museums, document the history and scope of life on Earth through time and space. Their study is multinational and multigenerational: anyone with curiosity may make an enduring discovery. At scales of resolution ranging from molecular to global, collections provide hard data to model the past, present and future of life. Collections also present objects and patterns of sublime beauty to please and inspire. Since the Gold Rush, the California Academy of Sciences has been at the forefront of efforts to build and use collections to explore, explain and sustain life on our planet. Charles Griswold, the Academy's expert on spiders, will lead a virtual tour of the how, what, where and why scientists collect and what it reveals to us about life on Earth of the past, present and future.

Reservations: Seating is limited. General $12, Seniors $10 This event is free to members and RSVP is required. Please reserve your seat over the phone at 1-877-227-1831 (Please note the member web reservations should be back in the fall. Thanks for your understanding while we update our ticketing system.)

Benjamin Dean Lectures

This series of talks for the general public is given by noted scientists in the fields of astronomy and space science. It is held in the Morrison Planetarium, home of the most accurate and interactive digital Universe ever created, which is shown on the world's largest all-digital dome.

Benjamin Dean Lecture
The Search for Habitability and Life Beyond Earth:
From micro-ETs to Exoplanets
Nathalie A. Cabrol
Planetary Scientist at the Carl Sagan Center (SETI Institute)

Monday, October 14th at 7:30pm, Planetarium
The last decade has seen a revolution in astrobiology – the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Results returned by planetary missions in the Solar System such as Messenger, Venus Express, the Mars Exploration Rovers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Express, MSL and the Curiosity rover, Cassini, and Kepler, as well as multi-disciplinary research in terrestrial extreme environments have resulted in a new, inclusive, vision of astrobiology. What we learn from one planet helps us understand others, including our own, and guides the design and planning of future astrobiology-focused missions. In her presentation, Dr. Cabrol will discuss this revolution in astrobiology, with the latest updates from these various missions, and where we stand on our quest to understanding habitability and find life beyond Earth.

Reservations: Members: $8, General $12, Seniors $10. Seating is limited and advanced ticketing is required. To reserve a place today, buy a Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831

Benjamin Dean Lecture
The Modern Origins Story: From the Big Bang to Habitable Planets
Eliot Quataert,
Professor of Astronomy & Physics U.C. Berkeley

Monday, Monday Nov 4th at 7:30pm, Planetarium
The scientific understanding of our origins began in earnest with Copernicus, Galileo, Darwin, and others, and has since evolved into a rich, detailed, and well-tested model. In addition to their intrinsic scientific importance, these ideas also have far reaching implications for other aspects of people’s lives (e.g., philosophical, religious, and political). In this talk Quataert will provide an overview of the modern understanding of origins in astrophysics, from the big bang to the discovery of planets around other stars. The story begins in the infant universe, which we now know was remarkably smooth compared to what we see around us today, with only tiny differences in its properties from one part to another. By contrast, in the present universe there are enormous differences in the properties of matter from one part to another: some regions host planets, stars, and galaxies (and even humans!) while others do not. Quataert will describe how the universe evolved from its smooth beginnings to its current state, emphasizing how gravity reigns supreme and builds up the planets, stars, and galaxies required for biological evolution to proceed.

Reservations: Members: $8, General $12, Seniors $10. Seating is limited and advanced ticketing is required. To reserve a place today, buy a Member or Non-Member ticket online or over the phone at 1-877-227-1831