The Secret Science Club

The Secret Science Club presents Cognitive Neuroscientist David Carmel, Wednesday, February 22, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2012-02-15T13:11:00.011-05:00

There are things known, and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception . . .

Our sensory organs are what connect us to our environment, allowing for our survival, relationships, and experiences. But how is all this sensory data — light, shadow, the motion of molecules — interpreted? Do your eyes ever deceive you? Is your mind playing tricks? Neuroscientist David Carmel of NYU’s Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science uses brain imaging and behavioral experiments to explore how the brain constructs our perception of the world and how those perceptions can be manipulated. He also addresses the latest scientific research on consciousness, which attempts to answer the question, “How does brain activity make humans self-aware?”

Before & After

--Groove to wet-wired tunes

--Stick around for the sensational Q&A

--Try our synapse-stimulating cocktail of the night, the Gray Matter

This brain-boggling edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, February 22, 2012, at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+.

Free! Just bring your smart self.

The Secret Science Club presents Astrophysicist and Cosmologist David Hogg, Wednesday, January 18, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2012-01-05T16:14:00.023-05:00

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, contains at least 200 billion stars and 50 billion planets. It is just one of about 350 billion galaxies in the known Universe. And astronomers believe that closer observation and mapping of our own stellar neighborhood may help unfold the story behind the Universe’s evolution.

Cosmologist David Hogg peers into the night sky and asks:

--What can new space missions and digital surveys tell us about Dark Matter and Dark Energy?

--What came before the Big Bang?

--How are Black Holes detected? And how do we know the Universe is expanding?

The co-author of over 100 scientific papers, Dr. Hogg is an associate professor at NYU’s Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, and works with the Gaia Space Mission, an international effort to create the largest and most precise ever 3-D chart of the Milky Way, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III, and the citizen science project, Astrometry.net.

Before & After

--Groove to heavenly sounds

--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

--Try our cosmic cocktail of the night, the Red Shift

The Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, January 18 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

Free! Just bring your smart self!

Hot off the presses: Check us out in this NY Times article, "Continuing Education, at the Bar." Cheers!

Calling All Creatures . . . The Secret Science Club presents the 6th-annual "Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest," Friday, December 9, 8 PM @ the Bell House, $7

2011-11-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

Just in time for the holidays . . . the beasts are back!

The Secret Science Club presents the 6th-annual “Carnivorous Nights TAXIDERMY CONTEST,”
Friday, December 9, 8 pm @ the Bell House, $7

Calling all science geeks, nature freaks, and rogue geniuses! Your stuffed squirrel got game? Got a beaver in your brownstone? Bring your beloved beast to the Bell House and enter it to win!

Eligible to enter: Taxidermy (bought, found, or homemade), biological oddities, articulated skeletons, skulls, jarred specimens—and beyond, way beyond.

Show off your moose head, snake skeleton, rabbit relics, and other amazing specimens. Compete for prizes and glory. Share your taxidermy (and its tale) with the world.

The contest will be judged by our panel of savage taxidermy enthusiasts, including Robert Marbury of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists and feline wrangler Dorian Devins, co-founder and curator of the Secret Science Club.

Plus!

--Groove to furry tunes & video

--See an illustrated lecture on (yes!) taxidermy

--Imbibe ferocious specialty drinks! (They’ll bring out the animal in you.)

Entrants: Contact secretscienceclub@gmail.com to pre-register.

Spectators: Don’t miss a beastly second of this wild night!

Tickets: Advance tickets are available for purchase here.

This fiercely special edition of the Secret Science Club meets Friday, December 9 @ the Bell House, 149 7^th St. (between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. $7 cover.

The Secret Science Club presents Fossil Hunter, Paleoanthropologist, and Human Evolution Expert William Harcourt-Smith, Monday, November 21, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-11-17T11:14:00.017-05:00

Step into the Way-Back Machine . . . the Secret Science Club is heading back tens of thousands of years to explore the mysteries of human origins!

As a species, Homo sapiens is a mere 250,000 years old (give or take). Around 100,000 years ago, we walked out of our homeland in Africa and proceeded to populate the entire world. Now, we're the only species of human left. So how did we evolve into our freakishly amazing selves? And what about the other humans? What were our ancestors and extinct relatives like?

Just returned from Kenya and the northern Sudan, paleoanthropologist William Harcourt-Smith of the American Museum of Natural History and Lehman College lectures on recently discovered hominid and primate species, new research on human evolution and our family tree, and his expeditions to a 20-million-year-old fossil site. Dig it!

Before & After

--Groove to primordial sounds

--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

--Try our Darwinian cocktail of the night, the Fossil Evidence

--Special guests: Australopithecus sediba, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo floresiensis!

This (r)evolutionary edition of the Secret Science Club meets Monday, November 21 @ the Bell House, 149 7^th St. (between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

Free! Just bring your smart self.

Calling All Creatures . . . The Secret Science Club presents the 6th-annual "Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest," Friday, December 9, 8 PM @ the Bell House

2011-11-10T21:12:00.003-05:00

Just in time for the holidays . . . the beasts are back!

The Secret Science Club presents
the 6th-annual "Carnivorous Nights
TAXIDERMY CONTEST"
Friday, December 9, 8 pm @ the Bell House, $7

Calling all science geeks, nature freaks, and rogue geniuses! Your stuffed squirrel got game? Got a beaver in your brownstone? Bring your beloved beast to the Bell House and enter it to win!

Eligible to enter: Taxidermy (bought, found, or homemade), biological oddities, articulated skeletons, skulls, jarred specimens—and beyond, way beyond.

Show off your moose head, snake skeleton, rabbit relics, and other amazing specimens. Share your taxidermy (and its tale ) with the world.

Plus!

--Groove to furry tunes & video

--See an illustrated lecture on (yes!) taxidermy

--Imbibe ferocious specialty drinks! (They’ll bring out the animal in you.)

Entrants: Contact secretscienceclub@gmail.com to pre-register.

Spectators: Don’t miss a beastly second of this wild night!

Tickets: Advance tickets are available for purchase here.

This fiercely special edition of the Secret Science Club meets Friday, December 9 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St. Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. $7 cover.

The Secret Science Club presents a live screening of NOVA's "The Fabric of the Cosmos," with special guest astronomer Munier Salem, Wednesday, November 9, 8 PM, FREE!

2011-11-07T16:36:00.013-05:00

Grab your gravity boots, hold on to your wigs and keys, and have us pour you a cosmic cocktail . . .

The Secret Science Club shatters the space-time continuum with a special live screening of physicist Brian Greene’s NOVA: The Fabric of the Cosmos---The Illusion of Time.

Is “time” nothing more than a product of our imaginations? Join us as we hurtle 50 years into the future, then step into a wormhole to travel back to the Big Bang—where the ultimate secrets of time may be hidden.

PLUS! Blast off into the stratosphere with an awesome pre-screening lecture and Q&A on the "Anatomy of the Universe" with Munier Salem of Columbia University's Astronomy Public Outreach Program

Before & After

--Groove to tunes from another dimension

--Imbibe a rocket-fueled cosmic cocktail! (It’ll knock you into orbit . . .)

--Enter our spacey trivia contest and score celestial prizes

This intergalactic edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, November 9, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+.

No cover! Just bring your smart self.

Special thanks to NOVA and the WGBH Educational Foundation

Image of the Tarantula Nebula courtesy of the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)

The Secret Science Club hosts the Imagine Science Film Festival and a NIGHT OF SCI-TASTIC CINEMA @ the Bell House, Monday, October 17, 8 PM, FREE!

2011-10-14T18:56:00.012-04:00

SPECIAL EVENT: The Secret Science Club is teaming up with the Imagine Science Film Festival for “Controlled Experiment,” a night of science-inspired short films. Documentary. Music Video. Animation. Don’t miss some of the festival’s coolest, most futuristic entries, including Transgenic Spider Goats, Stanley Milgram: The City and The Self, Protein Expression, E. Chromi, Creature Cast: Footage From the Deep, Fossil Carrion Feeders, and Four Letter Words.

Plus!
--Groove to cinematic sounds and live music by Victoire
--Sample our animated cocktail of the night, the Stop Motion
--Meet filmmakers and ISFF artistic director Alexis Gambis

When: Monday, October 17, 8 pm

Where: The Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

FREE! Just bring your smart self. Doors open at 7:30 PM. 21+.

The Imagine Science Film Festival runs from October 14 to 21 at venues all around the city. Visit here for a complete listing of events.

The Secret Science Club Goes Off the Grid with Ecologist Eric Sanderson, Thursday, October 13, 8 PM at the Bell House, FREE!

2011-10-05T17:07:00.007-04:00

The Secret Science Club presents NYC's wild past and wilder future with landscape ecologist and Mannahatta author Eric Sanderson

What was here before New York City? Ecologist Eric Sanderson wanted to know—and his curiosity turned into a decade-long environmental and cartographic investigation. To discover what Manhattan looked like 400 years ago, he mined through historic documents and scientific data—and plugged every hard-won bit of information into computer models. The resulting 3D maps and visualizations revealed a lost world of diverse ecosystems. Forests covering what’s now Times Square. Beavers in Greenwich Village. Wolves pacing the Lower East Side.

Now, with Manhattan under his belt, Dr. Sanderson has expanded his project to embrace all five boroughs and to explore, not only the city’s past, but also its future. He asks:

--What will NYC’s ecological footprint look like in the year 2411—400 years from now?

--What remains of forgotten ecosystems? Do ghost-like streams still run?

--How can citizens, scientists, planners, designers, architects, and artists reintegrate and re-connect with nature in the city?

--What wildness pulses beneath the Secret Science Club’s Bell House lair? Does the city’s lost wilderness lurk beneath your neighborhood?

Eric Sanderson is a Senior Conservation Ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, author of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, and founder of the Welikia Project, which aims to explore, digitize, and map Gotham's wild history.

Before & After

--Groove to geo-referenced tunes

--Sample the cartographic cocktail of the night, the “Urbanist”

--Stick around for the uncharted Q&A

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Thursday, October 13 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

Free! Just bring your smart self.

COMING UP… On Monday, October 17, 8 pm @ the Bell House, the Secret Science Club teams up with the Imagine Science Film Festival for “Controlled Experiment,” a night of science-themed short films, including Transgenic Spider Goats, Stanley Milgram: The City and The Self, Protein Expression, E. Chromi, Creature Cast: Footage From the Deep, and Four Letter Words.

Sketchy Science II

2011-09-19T20:26:00.006-04:00

Thanks to all the participants in our Sketchy Science contest at the Secret Science Club's Kickstarter party. The challenge was to draw the “Future of Science,” and sketchers envisioned oversexed computers, jellyfish-powered vehicles, scientists wet-wired to their iPads, and scary robot monsters. Congratulations to our winner, Aaron Lampell!

Sun, Sept 18, Celebrate the Secret Science Club’s 5th Anniversary with the Cosmic Jazz Quartet!

2011-09-16T12:31:00.000-04:00

Come celebrate the Secret Science Club’s fifth anniversary and our wildly successful (fingers crossed) Kickstarter campaign with the Cosmic Jazz Quartet (featuring SSC’s Dorian Devins!) on Sunday, September 18 at Tagine (537 9th Ave. at 40th St.) in Manhattan.

Drop by anytime from 8 to 11:30 pm for swinging sounds of science and atom-smashing cocktails. No cover!

The Secret Science Club presents the Census of Marine Life with Jesse Ausubel, Wednesday, September 14, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-09-06T20:51:00.008-04:00

Step into liquid, and explore strange blue worlds where no one has gone before . . .

Dive beneath the waves at the Secret Science Club with Jesse Ausubel, co-founder of the Census of Marine Life. For an entire decade, 2,700 scientists in 80 countries conducted an unprecedented exploration of the oceans, studying undersea ecosystems from hydrothermal vents to the icy Arctic. Their results reveal an astonishing diversity of life, as well as an ocean biosphere dramatically impacted by humans. Dr. Ausubel shares their amazing findings, among them:

--More than 1,200 ocean species completely new to science, including the hairy-clawed Yeti Crab living 7,200 feet down in the South Pacific, a Darth Vader-shaped deep-sea jellyfish in the Arctic, and a new genus of “zombie worms” that feed on bones of dead whales

--The “White Shark Café,” a mysterious open-ocean hangout between Baja and Hawaii where these cartilaginous creatures congregate for purposes that remain unknown

--An almost incomprehensibly vast world of microscopic life, including tiny microbes forming ginormous mats on the Pacific seafloor, one of which is the size of Greece

An environmental scientist and recipient of the Peter Benchley Ocean Award for Excellence in Science, Jesse Ausubel is director of the Program for the Human Environment at Rockefeller University, and vice president of programs at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Following the completion of the Census of Marine Life in 2010, a newly discovered genus and species of deep-sea lobster was named in Dr. Ausubel's honor: Dinochelus ausubeli, which roughly translates as Ausubel's terrifying-clawed creature.

Before & After

--Sway to sea shanties and the murmurs of mermaids

--Stick around for the salty Q&A

--Try our wet and wild cocktail of the night, the Deep-Sea Vent. (It’ll take you down… down…)

This undersea edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, September 14 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. Free!

Photos: Jellyfish photo by Kevin Raskoff; Yeti crab by Ifremer/A. Fifis.

Flower Power! The Secret Science Club presents Plant Geneticist Rob Martienssen, Wednesday, August 24, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-08-16T12:47:00.003-04:00

Rob Martienssen studies the strange genetics and sex lives of plants—and his garden-variety discoveries have rocked the scientific world. Until recently plant breeders used trial-and-error methods to create newer, more beautiful, and more useful hybrids. Now Dr. Martienssen and his colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are unlocking the molecular mechanisms at the heart of plant evolution. They hope to use their new knowledge to unravel the stories behind some of the world’s most successful breeds and to create the future’s most awesome new cultivars.

Dr. Martienssen asks:

--Can we breed better biofuels? Could duckweed—a plant growing in NYC’s ponds and parklands— be supercharged to become an efficient source of energy?

--What’s the story behind King Corn? How exactly was maize—the most widely grown crop in the U.S.—created in Ancient Mesoamerica from a native grass that looks almost nothing like corn?

--What does biotechnology have to do with food security and climate change? Could the sequencing of plant genomes and a fundamental understanding of “jumping genes” lead to the production of higher-yielding crops that consume fewer resources?

Before & After

--Groove to tunes inspired by pistils and stamens

--Try our cocktail of the night, the Planter’s Punch (pow!)

--Stick around for the cultivated Q&A

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, August 24 at 8 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7^th St. (between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St.

No cover. Just bring your smart self!

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

The Secret Science Club presents an ENCORE SCREENING of “Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives,” Wed., August 10, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-08-03T15:15:00.001-04:00

Can time move backwards? Is the future different on other worlds? Are meetings of the Secret Science Club forbidden in a parallel universe?

Singer-songwriter Mark Everett of the band Eels grew up not knowing that his father, Hugh Everett, was a genius—to him, his dad was the chain-smoking guy who didn’t say much at the dinner table. The fact that Hugh Everett was one of the world’s pre-eminent quantum mechanics, the physicist who came up with the Theory of Parallel Universes was just one more thing they didn’t discuss.

Sadly, Hugh Everett’s theory was so revolutionary—so trippy in fact—that its elegance and importance were not recognized until well after his death. (Mark Everett was just 18 when he found his father lying dead at age 51 on the family’s couch.) Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives chronicles the journey of the musical-but-math-challenged son to learn more about his father’s profound contributions to science and the “Many Worlds” in which we all—for better or worse—may play out different versions of ourselves.

Mind-boggling and moving, this original BBC cut of the documentary features physicist Max Tegmark of MIT, plus a guest appearance by Schrodinger’s Cat.

Before & After

--Groove to tunes from other dimensions (wha-ha-ha!)

--Plunge into the Time Warp, a tessalating cocktail that will give you multi-vision

This cinematic edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, August 10 at 8 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7^th St. (between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St

Free! Just bring your smart self!
Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

Red alert! We're running out of rocket fuel. But never fear . . . Kickstarter is here!

2011-07-29T12:16:00.005-04:00

Science scenesters, we need your help! We just launched a Kickstarter campaign to jumpstart "Secret Science Club: Season Five" and to help make it our most creative and mind-blowing season ever. And here's the cool part: There are awesome rewards for your Kickstarter pledges. We've got T-shirts, tickets to upcoming special events, and other swag (plus, we'll be adding new items periodically).

The Secret Science Club is serious and passionate about science communication and building bridges between science, the humanities, and the arts. As we approach our 5th anniversary, we're committed to keeping our regular monthly events free, and we're also determined to expand our low-cost programming to feed the need for more public science events. Failure is not an option!

To make a pledge, learn more about our secret mission, or just check out the rewards, visit us on Kickstarter. And thanks for your support!

Meanwhile . . . stay tuned for information about upcoming Secret Science Club events on Wednesday, August 10, and Wednesday, August 24, at the Bell House.

Journey to the Center of Your Mind! The Secret Science Club presents Brain Explorer Partha Mitra, Wednesday, July 6, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-06-30T14:55:00.009-04:00

It's all in your head . . . One hundred billion neurons. One hundred trillion neural connections. The architecture of the human brain is more complex than any super computer. In fact, neuroscientists recently calculated that one single human brain contains more “switches” than all the computers on Earth combined. And yet . . . we still know so little about what makes the mind tick.

Partha Mitra of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is seeking to change all that, embarking on a bold new project to map the brain’s architecture. Dr. Mitra asks: What is the brain circuitry that underlies human behavior and emotion? How many basic emotions do we have, and what causes them? How can we fundamentally expand our knowledge of the brain’s systems and interconnections in order to better treat neurological conditions and diseases of the mind?

A neuroscientist and theoretical physicist, Dr. Mitra is the Crick-Clay Professor of Biomathematics at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The author of Observed Brain Dynamics and over 100 scientific papers, he is also a musician and artist, recently collaborating with Berlin-based sculptor Fre Ilgen on artistic renditions of neurosystem anatomy. Earlier this year, Dr. Mitra was awarded a prestigious Transformative Grant from the National Institutes of Health for his Brain Architecture Project. These special grants were designed to fund “exceptionally innovative, high-risk, original and/or unconventional research that has the potential to create new or challenge existing scientific paradigms.”

Before & After

--Groove to wet-wired tunes

--Stick around for the nervy Q&A

--Peek into Dr. Mitra’s mind-blowing microscope!

--Try our synapse-stimulating cocktail of the night, the Circuit Party

Don't miss one microsecond of this mind-expanding evening!

This cerebral edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, July 6 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+
Free! Just bring your smart self!

It’s a Planet of Sound! The Secret Science Club presents Sensory Neuroscientist Jim Hudspeth, Thursday, June 9, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE

2011-05-24T17:44:00.016-04:00

FEAST YOUR EARS . . . Waves of sound travel through the air at about 760 mph. But what happens when they reach the human ear? Our ears process information 1,000 times faster than our eyes, and our sense of hearing is so discriminating we can distinguish more than 300,000 sounds. In fact, if our ears were any more sensitive, we would hear the random motion of air molecules bumping against our eardrums.

World-renowned sensory neuroscientist Jim Hudspeth has revolutionized our understanding of how biological and neural networks process auditory inputs. Over the last three decades, his research has demonstrated how thousands of microscopic cells in the inner ear sway with vibrations, starting a cascade of neurotransmissions to the brain—translating sound waves into everything from Beethoven to Lady Gaga.

Dr. Hudspeth asks: What do we know about the sense of hearing, and how did it evolve? How is hearing different among different species? Is there such a thing as a bionic ear? Can sound-sensitive cells be repaired, regenerated, or even built to aid the deaf and hearing impaired?

Co-founder of the journal Neuron and winner of numerous awards in the fields of neuroscience, biophysics, and otolaryngology, Dr. Hudspeth is the F.M. Kirby Professor at Rockefeller University, director of Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, and investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

JUST ADDED! Lit-hop artist Baba Brinkman opens the night with an aural report from his smash show, The Rap Guide to Evolution. Darwin got it all going on!

Before & After

--Get drowned in sound at our quadraphonic cabearet

--Sample our supersonic cocktail of the night, the “Mach 5”

--Stick around for the fortissimo Q&A
--Door prizes! Two lucky peeps will win free tix to see The Rap Guide to Evolution live at the SoHo Playhouse

The Secret Science Club meets Thursday, June 9 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+.

Free! Just bring your smart self.

The Secret Science Club Goes Boom with Experimenter Extraordinaire David Maiullo, Wednesday, May 4, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-05-01T16:55:00.000-04:00

Feel the electricity, the vibrations, the friction! Physics has never been this steamy!

David Maiullo of Rutgers University brings his traveling physics roadshow to the Secret Science Club for a night of wonder and experimentation. Co-host of the National Geographic Channel’s new series Humanly Impossible, Maiullo reveals the mysterious forces of the universe, using beds of nails, glasses of wine, liquid nitrogen, and a lab-made cannon. Who knows what forms of potential energy may be unleashed? Don’t miss this physics phantasmagoria . . .

Before & After
--Groove to the music of the spheres
--Stick around for the quantum Q&A
--Try our cosmic cocktail of the night, the Heavenly Motion

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, May 4, 2011 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+.

FREE! Just bring your smart self.

Kinda spooky, kinda wow...Thursday, April 28, Secret Science Club Goes to the Opera

2011-04-27T10:22:00.004-04:00

The Secret Science Club is teaming up with the L Magazine to host a cocktail party following Thursday evening’s performance of Séance on a Wet Afternoon at City Opera. Everyone with tickets to the opera is invited, and when the Séance is over, Secret Science Club will materialize with ghost-busting grooves and haunting experimentation.

Special guests at the post-opera “sci- éance” include:
--Neuroscientist and composer Dave Sulzer, creating wraithlike music from brainwaves
--Physics presenter David Maiullo, combating the supernatural with a sledgehammer and pipettes

Scary! Grab your opera glasses and get over to the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Thursday, April 28. Séance on a Wet Afternoon starts at 8 pm, and the free cocktails start flowing afterwards in the Fourth Ring. Opera tickets can be snagged for as low as $12.

The Secret Science Club Blasts Off to the Far Side of the Moon, Monday, April 25, 8 pm @ the Bell House, $5

2011-04-15T13:15:00.004-04:00

Begin countdown and prepare for zero gravity . . . The Secret Science Club presents a special screening of Moon, one of the trippiest indie sci-fi films of the past decade. PLUS lunar scientist Arlin Crotts of Columbia University gets this cinema party started with a mini-lecture on Earth’s beloved satellite.

Directed by Duncan Jones (Source Code), Moon stars Sam Rockwell as an engineer in charge of a mining station on the far side of the moon. He’s all alone on this lunar outpost—or is he? Set in the near future and full of psychological chills, Moon is mind-bending, cerebral sci-fi at its best.

With stunning new maps and images of the moon, Dr. Crotts takes the Secret Science Club on a pre-film tour of the latest lunar discoveries and visions of future exploration.

Before & After

--Groove to gravity-defying tunes

--Try a rocket-fueled cocktail in our Space Lounge!

--Enter the lunar trivia contest to score cosmic prizes

Viva la luna! See you at the launch site . . .

This special “Manic Moonday” edition of the Secret Science Club meets Monday, April 25 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510. Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9^th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. $5. Advance tix are available here.

The Secret Science Club presents a Brain-Boggling Evening with Neuroscientist and Author Paul Glimcher, Sunday, April 3, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-03-24T17:11:00.005-04:00

Think fast! Every waking moment involves choice. Android or iPhone? Pancakes or waffles? Boxers or briefs? Time to call it quits, or time for another drink? My place or yours? What exactly goes on in our brains when we’re confronted with so many options?

A leading pioneer in the new field of neuroeconomics, scientist and author Paul Glimcher uses the latest technology to uncover how brain biology controls decision-making. He asks: Why do wrong decisions sometimes feel so right? Are other animals ever irrational? Is money an outgrowth of our neural circuitry? What happens inside the brain when we choose to take risks?

The author of Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis and Neuroeconomics: Decision Making and the Brain, Dr. Glimcher is professor of Neural Science, Economics and Psychology at New York University and director of NYU’s Center for Neuroeconomics.

Before & After
--Groove to synapse-stimulating sounds
--Stick around for the cerebral Q&A
--Try our dopamine-spiked cocktail of the night, the "Brainstorm"
--Snag a signed copy of Paul Glimcher's mind-blowing new book!

JUST ADDED! This brain-boggling evening will feature a special performance by theremin player Jen Rondeau. Eerie and ethereal, the theremin is one of the earliest electronic instruments—and one that is mysteriously played without touching. (Jen Rondeau will also be performing April 7 at the Knitting Factory Brooklyn with her band Changing Modes and April 20 - 23 as part of the upcoming Ensemble Studio Theatre workshop production of Pidgeon, the new play about physicist Leon Theremin, the instrument’s inventor.)

This brainy edition of the Secret Science Club meets Sunday, April 3 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510. Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+
Free! Just bring your smart self!

The Secret Science Club presents Theoretical High-Energy Physicist Matthew Strassler, Wednesday, March 16, 8 pm @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-03-04T19:26:00.001-05:00

Kick it into warp drive! The Secret Science Club is heading out—way out. The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, a ginormous subterranean machine that sends subatomic particles smashing into each other at incomprehensible speeds. The resulting explosions mimic conditions just moments after the Big Bang. Theoretical physicist Matthew Strassler of Rutgers University lectures on how this phenomenal new experiment could unveil the fundamental building blocks of the universe and transform our understanding of matter, space and time, and the cosmos.

Before & After

--Groove to high-energy tunes

--Stick around for the quantum Q&A

--Try our quarky cocktail of the night, the elusive Dark Matter
--Plus! Science rapper Zach Charlop-Powers live. Oh, yeah!

The Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, March 16 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+ Free!

The Compact Muon Solenoid Experiment is on the hunt for Dark Matter;
photo courtesy of CERN

The Secret Science Club presents Dinosaur Hunter Stephen Brusatte, Thursday, February 17, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-02-12T15:43:00.000-05:00

The beast is out of the box!
The Secret Science Club goes on a post-Valentine’s rampage with the Mesozoic Era’s most beloved creature, Tyrannosaurus rex. Paleontologist Stephen Brusatte of the American Museum of Natural History and Columbia University lectures on recently discovered tyrannosaur species, new thinking about dinosaur evolution, and the hunt for fossils in Europe, China, and the American West. Dig it! This is one creature feature you don’t want to miss!

Before & After
--Groove to prehistoric tunes
--Stick around for the Cretaceous Q&A
--Try our Darwinian cocktail of the night, the T. Rex on the Beach. (No schnapps, but lots of bite . . .)

The Secret Science Club meets Thursday, February 17 @ the Bell House, 149 7^th St. (between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St; F or G to Smith/9^th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. Free!

The Secret Science Club presents Astrophysicist Charles Liu, Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-01-13T17:17:00.000-05:00

Strap on your rocket pack! The Secret Science Club is heading for the edge of time and space. Astrophysicist Charles Liu of the Hayden Planetarium and CUNY discusses the evolution of galaxies, supermassive black holes, star birth, and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. Don't miss one nanosecond of this far-out talk!

Before & After
--Groove to celestial tunes
--Stick around for the cosmic Q&A
--Try our quantum cocktail of the night. (It'll knock you into another orbit . . .)

This Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, January 19 @ the Bell House, 149 7^th St. (between 2^nd and 3^rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9^th St; F or G to Smith/9^th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. Free!

Note: This event was originally slated for January 12, 2011, and rescheduled for the 19th due to dastardly weather.

Snow Cancellation: The Secret Science Club Melts into the New Year

2011-01-11T15:37:00.014-05:00

Sorry, folks! Due to the snow forecast, we're cancelling the Secret Science Club for Wednesday, January 12, and rescheduling for Wednesday, January 19, 8 PM @ the Bell House. Stay warm! And see you on the 19th with astrophysicist Charles Liu . . .

Meanwhile, enjoy this massive new video from science rapper Zach Charlop-Powers.

The Secret Science Club Rockets into the New Year, Wednesday, January 12, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2011-01-03T16:07:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: Due to the snow forecast for Wednesday, January 12, this edition of the Secret Science Club has been rescheduled for Wednesday, January 19.

Strap on your rocket pack! The Secret Science Club is heading for the edge of time and space with astrophysicist Charles Liu. Don't miss one nanosecond of this far-out talk!

Before & After
--Groove to celestial tunes
--Stick around for the cosmic Q&A
--Try our quantum cocktail of the night. (It'll knock you into another orbit . . .)

The Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, January 12 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. Free!

The Secret Science Club presents the 5th-annual Carnivorous Nights TAXIDERMY CONTEST, Tuesday, December 7, 8 pm @ the Bell House, $5

2010-12-05T16:00:00.002-05:00

The beasts are back! Calling all science geeks, nature freaks, and rogue geniuses!

Your stuffed squirrel got game? Got a beaver in your brownstone? Bring your beloved beast to the Bell House and enter it to win!

Eligible for prizes: Taxidermy (bought, found, or homemade), biological oddities, articulated skeletons, skulls, jarred specimens—and beyond, way beyond.

The contest will be judged by our panel of savage taxidermy enthusiasts, including Robert Marbury of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists; Dorian Devins, co-founder and curator of the Secret Science Club; and beast mistress Melissa Milgrom, author of Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy.

SPECIAL GUEST: Purveyor of scientific wonders and star of the inimitable new show Oddities on the Discovery Channel, Mike Zohn joins the judging panel and presents an illustrated lecture on (yes!) taxidermy.

Plus!
--Groove to wildlife-inspired tunes
--Imbibe ferocious specialty drinks!

--More secrets and surprises

Entrants: Contact secretscienceclub@gmail.com to pre-register. Share your taxidermy (and its tale) with the world!

Spectators: Don't miss a beastly second of this wild night!

--Doors and pre-show at 7:30 pm

--Taxidermy Lecture at 8 pm

--TAXIDERMY CONTEST at 8:30 pm

This special edition of the Secret Science Club meets on Tuesday, December 7, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

$5 cover charge. Doors open at 7:15 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

Aya Kakeda for the New Yorker

The Secret Science Club Gets Wet and Wild! Melanie Stiassny Explores the Mysterious Depths of the Congo River, Tuesday, November 9, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2010-10-29T02:20:00.011-04:00

Step into liquid with ichthyologist and explorer Melanie Stiassny as she plunges into the heart of darkness. Described by Joseph Conrad as an “immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea . . . and its tail lost in the depths of the land,” the Congo is the deepest river on Earth, home to raging rapids, and hidden submarine canyons. Such mysterious depths shelter astonishingly strange creatures, ranging from blind fishes to truly monstrous needle-toothed carnivores.

Axelrod Research Curator of Fishes at the American Museum of Natural History, a New York Times blogger, and featured scientist on The Colbert Report, Dr. Stiassny researches the evolutionary biology of fishes, focusing on freshwater conservation and Old World tropical systems. She discusses her recent fish-finding expeditions to the Congo and plumbs the river’s amazing biodiversity. Prepare to go deep . . .

Before & After
--Groove to siren song and the murmurs of mermaids
--Imbibe the wet and wild cocktail of the night, the Stiassny Stinger
--Immerse yourself in the fishy Q&A

The Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, November 9 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:15 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. Free!

The Secret Science Club hosts the Imagine Science Film Festival and A NIGHT OF AVANT-GARDE FILMS @ the Bell House, Mon, Oct 18, 8pm FREE!

2010-10-13T01:34:00.002-04:00

SPECIAL EVENT: The Secret Science Club is teaming up with the Imagine Science Film Festival to present a selection of science-inspired short films, plus “Dance Your Ph.D.” and live music by neuroscientist rockers, the Amygdaloids, and Balún.

Techno noir. Music Video. Animation. Don’t miss some of the festival’s quirkiest and coolest entries, featuring subjects like murder and meteorites, particles and prescription drugs, and the dark nature of fear. Check out the following films from the USA, Australia, France, Thailand, Canada, Portugal, and the Future: Mind Over Matter, Velvet Cell, Origin of Mass, Breu, Skhizein, and more!

When: Monday, October 18, 8 pm
Where: The Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn.

FREE! Just bring your smart self. Doors open at 7:30 PM. 21 and over.

The Imagine Science Film Festival runs from October 15 to 22 at a whole host of venues around the city. Visit here for a complete listing of events.

The Secret Science Club presents Evolutionary Anthropologist Todd Disotell on Human and Primate Origins, Tuesday, October 12 @ the Bell House, 8 pm, FREE!

2010-10-06T01:53:00.004-04:00

No more monkeying around . . . The Secret Science Club goes ape!

The order Primates represents more than 400 living species, including the Pig-Tailed Macaque, the Golden Lion Tamarin, the Mountain Gorilla—and yours truly, Homo sapiens. We primates all share certain characteristics, but humans are the only ones that live on all seven continents, question the meaning of life, and conduct DNA analysis.

Dr. Todd Disotell of NYU’s Center for Human Origins is an anthropologist and molecular primatologist who uses DNA to study the evolution of Homo sapiens. He also uses DNA analysis to throw a monkey wrench into “evidence” of cryptozoological primates, such as Bigfoot, and has appeared on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, National Geographic’s Naked Science, and Monster Quest. The author of scores of scientific papers and recipient of numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, Dr. Disotell asks:
--When did our first primate ancestors evolve?
--How did humans emerge—and diverge—from other primates, such as our closest relatives, the chimpanzees and bonobos?
--How do genomics help elucidate and recalibrate the fossil record?
--What happened to the other species of Homo—erectus, habilis, and neanderthalis?
--And what exactly is a Chumanzee?

Before and After

--Groove to ever-evolving tunes
--Try our Halloween-inspired simian cocktail of the night, the Monkey’s Paw. (You’ll never “wish” for another . . . wah-ha-ha . . . )
--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, October 12 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th.

Doors open at 7:15 pm. Please bring ID: 21+.
No cover. Just bring your smart self. Pocket protectors suggested.

PLUS! COMING SOON . . .
Monday, October 18 @ the Bell House, 8 pm

The Secret Science Club teams up with the Imagine Science Film Festival for an evening of new science-themed short films, plus Dance Your Ph.D. and live music by neuroscientist rockers, the Amygdaloids, and Balun. Stay tuned for more info!

The Secret Science Club presents a mind-blowing screening of "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives," Tuesday, August 24 @ the Bell House, 8 pm, FREE!

2010-08-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

Can time move backwards? Is the future different on different worlds? Are meetings of the Secret Science Club forbidden in a parallel universe?

Singer-songwriter Mark Everett of the band Eels grew up not knowing that his father, Hugh Everett, was a genius—to him, his dad was the chain-smoking guy who didn’t say much at the dinner table. The fact that Hugh Everett was one of the world’s pre-eminent quantum mechanics, the physicist who came up with the Theory of Parallel Universes was just one more thing they didn’t discuss.

Sadly, Hugh Everett’s theory was so revolutionary—so trippy in fact—that its elegance and importance were not recognized until well after his death. (Mark Everett was just 18 when he found his father lying dead at age 51 on the family’s couch.) Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives chronicles the journey of the musical-but-math-challenged son to learn more about his father’s profound contributions to science and the “Many Worlds” in which we all—for better or worse—may play out different versions of ourselves.

Mind-boggling and moving, this original BBC cut of the documentary features physicist Max Tegmark of MIT, plus a guest appearance by Schrodinger’s Cat.

Before & After
--Groove to tunes from other dimensions (wha-ha-ha!)
--Launch into the Time Warp, a tessalating cocktail that will give you multi-vision
--Immerse yourself in the quantum Q&A

The Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, August 24 at 8 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 W: http://thebellhouseny.com Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

Free. Just bring your smart self!
Doors open at 7:15 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

The Secret Science Club presents "A Sexy & Cerebral Evening" with Psychologist Paul Bloom, Tuesday, July 13 @ the Bell House, 8 pm, FREE!

2010-07-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

The world of pleasure is mysterious and murky. Seafood lovers glory in devouring raw oysters. People slow their cars to look at gory accidents, and enjoy going to movies that make them cry. Abstract art can sell for millions of dollars. Countless men and women like being spanked.

Yale psychologist and cognitive scientist Paul Bloom delves into the remakable realm of desire, discussing how new research shows that simple pleasures like sex and food are far more complex than scientists ever imagined. The author of How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like, Dr. Bloom challenges longstanding explanations of human pleasure as a simple sensory response, arguing that pleasure is linked to our beliefs about the "true nature," or essence of things. He asks:

--What is at the root of our attachment to sentimental objects?
--Why do people pay top dollar for items owned by celebrities?
--Why would most people rather be kissed by a movie star than by his or her identical twin?
--Does wine taste better the more we pay more for it?
--How do humans derive enjoyment from art, music, and stories?

Before & After
--Groove to ecstasy-inducing tunes
--Stick around for bacchanalian Q&A
--Snag a signed copy of Dr. Bloom’s new book, How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like
--Try our dopamine-spiked cocktail of the night, the “Pleasure Dome.” (It'll tickle your fancy . . .)

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, July 13 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510. Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

Doors open at 7:15 pm. Please bring ID: 21+
No cover. Just bring your smart self!

The Secret Science Club presents Molecular Biologist Lee Silver & the DNA Time Machine, Tuesday, June 8 @ the Bell House, 8 pm, FREE!

2010-05-25T20:26:00.003-04:00

When the future meets the past, get ready for a whole new you . . .

For a few hundred dollars and a tube of your own spit, you can now obtain a read-out of millions of secret histories embedded in your DNA. Thanks to a growing volume of data on the genetics of human populations, the budding field of “deep ancestry” promises to take your family tree to a whole new level. Could a quick peek at your personal genome reveal that you’re a descendant of Marie Antoinette? Genghis Khan? Charles Darwin? Turn the clock back even further, and you might be able to learn what path your ancient ancestors took as Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa.

Molecular biologist and biotechnology expert Lee Silver reveals the surprising tales hidden in his own genome. (For example, did his maternal ancestor really get hot and heavy with a man from another species? Shwing!) And he explores the ethics and anxieties society faces as science makes increasingly dramatic advances in personal genomics.

A professor of molecular biology and public policy at Princeton University, Lee Silver is the author of over 180 scientific papers and two popular books, Challenging Nature and Remaking Eden. The recipient of the MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health for outstanding research in genetics, he has appeared as a featured scientist on the Colbert Report, Charlie Rose, 60 Minutes, NPR, and Nightline. His research focuses on cloning, advanced reproductive technologies, genetic testing, human stem cells, and genetic engineering.

Before & After
--Groove to genetically altered tunes, plus Zach Charlop-Powers performs his latest science rap LIVE!
--Imbibe our past-life-regenerating cocktail, the Wayback Machine
--Stick around for the mind-blowing Q&A

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, June 8 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

Doors open at 7:15 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart self.

The Secret Science Club presents “The Perfect Swarm” with Biologist Iain Couzin, Tuesday, May 18 @ the Bell House, 8 pm, FREE!

2010-05-06T15:11:00.003-04:00

Dr. Iain Couzin syncs up and goes wild at the Secret Science Club . . .

A predator approaches a school of fish, and—seemingly in one motion—the fish dart to safety. A flock of pigeons wheel over Brooklyn rooftops, their movements orchestrated as if by a conductor’s baton. What’s at the root of these mysterious behaviors?

Biologist and mathematician Iain Couzin of Princeton’s Collective Animal Behavior Lab discusses swarming locusts, marching army ants, and even crowds of bugged-out Homo sapiens. He asks:
--How did collective animal behavior evolve and what are the fundamental principles underlying this behavior?
--What enables groups of animals to move in unison?
--How does individual behavior influence group dynamics?
--Can crowds of species (even humans) undergo dramatic “personality” changes?

Dr. Couzin is Assistant Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Adjunct Faculty in the Program of Applied and Computational Mathematics at Princeton University. He is a member of the Faculty of 1000 Biology and the recipient of a Searle Scholar Award in 2008 and the Mohammed Dahleh Award in 2009.

Before and After
--Groove to synchronized tunes
--Stick around for the "orderly" Q&A
--Flock don't run to try our cocktail of the night, the Herd Mentality

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, May 18 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

No cover. Just bring your smart self! Please bring ID: 21+ Doors open at 7:15 pm. Limited seating.

The Secret Science Club presents “A Night of Chemistry and Culinary Experimentation,” Tuesday, April 13 @ the Bell House, 8 pm, FREE!

2010-03-30T15:40:00.013-04:00

NYU Chemist Kent Kirshenbaum and Chef Will Goldfarb probe the properties, boundaries, and conventions of food

Food glorious food! Spicy pork tacos. Neopolitan pizza. Chocolate crème brulee. These mouth-watering menu items dazzle and delight the senses. But break them down into their parts and they’re merely ingredients: flour, raw meat, tomatoes, etc. Broken down further, they’re chemical elements of the periodic table, such as carbon, calcium, and nitrogen, forming chains of amino acids and polymers. Chemist Kent Kirshenbaum of NYU examines the interface between science and food so that we can better appreciate and understand what goes into our mouths and tummies. Chef Will Goldfarb explores the creation of futuristic desserts and down-home dishes using innovative, research-driven techniques. Together, Kirshenbaum and Goldfarb are founders of the Experimental Cuisine Collective. They discuss:

--What are kitchen chemistry and molecular gastronomy?
--Are chemicals (gulp) good for us?
--How does a scientific understanding of cooking help the average eater or chef?
--What mysterious concoction can they cook up on stage?

Kent Kirshenbaum is a professor of chemistry at NYU where he studies and creates new macromolecules in his lab; Dr. Kirshenbaum was the recipient of a National Science Foundation Career Award for “outstanding achievements in science” and a featured scientist on the Food Network’s “Food Detectives.” Will Goldfarb is an award-winning chef and the founder of WillPowder (a source for experimental pastry products); chef Goldfarb was the subject of a New Yorker magazine profile titled “The Dessert Lab,” and recently squared off on the Food Network Challenge: Ice Cream Clash.

Before & After

--Groove to freshly chopped tunes

--Stick around for the highly nutritional Q&A

--Try our brain-boggling brew of the night (containing elements from the “BEERiodic Table”)

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, April 13 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

No cover. Just bring your smart self! Please bring ID: 21+

Doors open at 7:15 pm. Limited seating.

The Secret Science Club presents “A Mind-blowing Evening,” Tuesday, March 9, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2010-02-17T18:20:00.027-05:00

Neuroscientists Joseph LeDoux and Daniela Schiller lecture on fear, memory, and the brain. Then they jam with their "heavy mental" band, the Amygdaloids.

Dr. LeDoux and Dr. Schiller discuss:
--What is fear? What parts of the brain are most involved with emotions?
--How are frightening and traumatic memories stored? Can fearful memories go "out of contol"?

--Are memories subject to revision, like stories? Can bad memories be erased? Should they be?
--What are links between music, brain biology, and our emotions?

Plus! The Amygdaloids perform original songs like “Memory Pill,” “Mind Over Matter,” “Brainstorm,” and “Piece of My Mind”
“They’re not rocket scientists. They’re brain scientists who rock it!”
The Amygdaloids are

-- Joseph LeDoux, guitarist, professor of neuroscience and psychology at NYU, and author of The Emotional Brain and Synaptic Self
-- Daniela Schiller, drummer, NYU neuroscientist, and Moth StorySlam winner
-- Tyler Volk, guitarist, biologist, science director of NYU’s Environmental Studies Program, and author of CO2 Rising and Metapatterns
-- Gerald McCollam, bass player and solutions architect

Before & After
--Groove to dopamine-drenched sounds
--Take your brain on a bender . . . Sample our super-smart cocktail, the Synapse Sling!
--Stick around for the brain-boggling Q&A

FREE! Just bring your smart self.
Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+.

This mind-blowing edition of the “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, March 9 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

The Secret Science Club presents Molecular Biologist Gregory Hannon, Tuesday, February 9th, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2010-02-03T16:24:00.010-05:00

Put on your lab coats and prepare to enter the world of inner space . . .

Molecular biologist Gregory Hannon of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is one of the world’s foremost genetic researchers, deciphering the mechanisms used by cells to fight invaders and that soon may be used to create treatments for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Dr. Hannon is a pioneer in the field of RNA interference (RNAi), a powerful new tool for gene analysis. Hannon and his colleagues have harnessed RNAi, a naturally occurring process of gene regulation, to selectively turn off genes in living cells. Hannon uses the technique to study cancer development and to probe the mechanisms that make this method of gene control so effective.

The author of over 200 scientific papers, Dr. Hannon was recently in the news with groundbreaking research on the origins of a mysterious communicable cancer that is attacking the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial, the Tasmanian Devil. He is the recipient of the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, and the American Association for Cancer Research Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research.

Plus!

Scientist-and-rhymer Zach Charlop-Powers performs the PCR rap!

Before & After
--Groove to genetically engineered tunes
--Imbibe our scientifically inspired cocktail, the Cell-o-bration!
--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

The “Secret Science Club” meets @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. FREE! Just bring your smart self.

The Secret Science Club presents Computer Scientist Christoph Bregler, Tuesday, January 12, 8 PM @ the Bell House, FREE!

2010-01-06T17:52:00.017-05:00

He's Got the Moves: Computer Scientist Christoph Bregler lectures on "Virtual You"

Don't move a muscle . . . Every human being has a unique body signature. Your hand gestures. Your facial expressions. The way you walk. Computer scientist Christoph Bregler of NYU's Courant Institute is a master of analyzing and recreating such subtleties--designing systems to track human movement and train computers to recognize and animate all that "you-ness." Jumping off from recent collaborations with dancers, animators, film producers, and game designers, Dr. Bregler discusses:

--motion capture in science and entertainment
--massive multiplayer "Mocap" games and flying "Squidballs"
--"Obama-ness" versus "Palin-ness"
--his "GreenDot" iPhone app, an experiment in community video and nonverbal expression

Before & After
--Groove to animated tunes
--Try our machine-coded cocktail of the night, the Wet Wire
--Stick around for the fast-moving Q&A

The "Secret Science Club" meets Tuesday, January 12, 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. No cover. Just bring your smart self.

SPECIAL EVENT! The Secret Science Club presents Climatologist James Hansen, Tuesday, December 15 @ 8 PM, $4

2009-12-09T17:47:00.006-05:00

Global warming expert James Hansen rips the roof off the climate crisis
Too hot to miss . . .

James Hansen, climatologist, Columbia University professor, advisor to Al Gore, and longtime director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been researching human-caused climate change for more than three decades, and he was the first scientist to testify before Congress on the threat of growing carbon emissions. Now, as world leaders meet in Copenhagen to negotiate a global emissions treaty, Dr. Hansen warns the Earth’s climate may be approaching one of three “tipping points” from which there is no return.

In his first book, Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity, Dr. Hansen raises concerns that current proposals would do too little to reduce heat-causing emissions and offers bold new strategies for solving the global warming dilemma.

Before & After
--Groove to earthy, low-impact tunes
--Try the sultry cocktail of the night, the Dark and Stormy
--Stick around for the sizzling Q&A
--Pick up a signed copy of Dr. Hansen's new book—it's hot off the presses.

This special edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, December 15 @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

$4 cover charge. Come early to snag a seat!

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

The Secret Science Club presents Visual Neuroscientist Ben Backus, Tuesday, December 8 at the Bell House

2009-11-28T23:29:00.035-05:00

Tuesday, December 8 at 8 pm, FREE!
Open the doors of perception with visual neuroscientist Ben Backus
You won’t believe your eyes. . .

At the back of the human eye, the retina is smaller than a penny and tissue thin. Yet it contains 100 million neurons. When the eye is open, the retina constantly transmits information on edges, angles, motion, and light intensity to more than 30 areas of the cerebral cortex. How does the brain process and interpret all this visual stimuli—and are our perceptions reliable?

Cutting-edge vision scientist Ben Backus of SUNY discusses how our brains learn to “see,” whether perception is linked to emotions, and optical illusions that are both illuminating and trippy.

Before and After
--Groove to synesthetic tunes
--Try our cockeyed cocktail of the night, the Parallax View (You’ll see the world in a whole different way . . . )
--Participate in the laser-sharp Q&A

--PLUS, stick around for a live set of holiday melodies with the band LA STRADA

The Secret Science Club meets @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+. Pocket protectors suggested.

And the Winners Are . . .

2009-11-18T14:41:00.025-05:00

Thanks to everyone for bringing their creatures, bones, skins, and stories to the 4th-annual Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest. The competition was red in tooth and claw as judges Melissa Milgrom, Dorian Devins, and Robert Marbury viewed dozens of specimens, all vying to be the most beastly of them all. Many were worthy, but these--the fiercest--prevailed.

The Order of Carnivorous Knights Grand Prize (Best in Show) went to Ryan Matthew for Felis dancicus fighticus

Ian Mehr took the Secret Science Club Prize for Best in Bones
with his goat-skull-and-crystal chandelier, "Halal."

The Rump Ape Prize for Best Hybrid Creature went to Natalie Stevens and her pal, Ralph.

Mike Zohn of Obscura Antiques (and 2007 Grand Champion) took the Rogue Taxidermy Prize, presented by the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists (MART), for his automatons--two 19th-century caged taxidermy birds that moved and sang. Check out the amazing video here.

The Most Twisted Prize, presented by MART, went to artist and 2006 Grand Champion of Taxidermy Takeshi Yamada for his stunning showmanship, sneaky sea rabbit, and collection of freakshow babies crafted from his own skin!

The Cabinet of Curiosities Prize went to Ronni Ascagni and Chrissie for their collection of weird wonders, including a cat princess and a charming double-bodied rat. Rata-two-ie?

The Best Buddy audience prize went to Daisy Tainton for a group of delicate insect dioramas.

The Norman Bates Prize for Best Taxidermy went to Brooklyn-based taxidermist Melissa Dixson for her puppy on a pillow, little Chloe.

Photo credits: Felis dancicus fighticus, Goat Skull Chandelier, Automaton Birds, Takeshi Yamada, and Beast in a Box (Rats) by Tenebrous Kate; Natalie Stevens with Ralph, and Cat Princess with Friends by Jessica Elias; Insect Diorama by Daisy Tainton; and Puppy on Tuft by Eric Harvey Brown for Time Out.

Read more about the contest @ Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire!

The Secret Science Club presents the 4th-annual Carnivorous Nights TAXIDERMY CONTEST at the Bell House, Sunday, November 15 @ 8 pm, $4

2009-10-30T13:20:00.021-04:00

Announcing the most beastly event of the year . . .

• Calling all science geeks, nature freaks, and rogue geniuses

• Your stuffed squirrel got game? Got a beaver in your brownstone? Then enter it to win in the Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest!

• Show off your beloved moose head, jarred sea cucumber, snake skeleton, raven remains, and other specimens. Compete for prizes and glory!

• Eligible for prizes:
--Taxidermy (bought, found, or homemade)
--Biological oddities (articulated skeletons, skulls—and beyond)

• The contest will be judged by our panel of savage taxidermy enthusiasts, including Robert Marbury, co-founder of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, and Dorian Devins, WFMU DJ and Secret Science Club co-curator

• Don’t miss the feral taxidermy talk by beast mistress Melissa Milgrom, author of the forth-coming book, Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy

• Plus!
--Groove to taxidermy-inspired tunes and video
--Imbibe ferocious specialty drinks!
--Meet and try to beat Grand Master of Taxidermy, Takeshi Yamada of the Museum of World Wonders

• Where: the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues), Gowanus, Brooklyn

• When: Sunday, November 15. Doors and pre-show at 7:30 pm. Taxidermy talk at 8 pm. Contest at 8:30 pm!

• Cover charge: $4

• Entrants: Contact secretscienceclub@gmail.com to pre-register. Share your taxidermy (and its tale) with the world!

• Spectators are invited to cheer their favorite specimens.

Background: The Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest is hosted by the Secret Science Club, an organization dedicated to exploring scientific discoveries and potent potables. The contest was started in 2005 by Secret Science Club co-curators Margaret Mittelbach and Michael Crewdson to shamelessly promote their taxidermy-inspired book Carnivorous Nights: On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger. The event has since taken on a life of its own, with first-year winners Andrew Templar and Jim Carden—co-owners of the Bell House—now providing a permanent home for this beastly annual smack-down. Special thanks to Robert Marbury of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, the Rump Ape, and Poe the Crow.

The Secret Science Club presents age-defying biologist Leonard Guarente Monday, Nov 9 @ 8 PM FREE!

2009-10-27T00:07:00.014-04:00

According to conventional wisdom, 40 is the new 30. But how about 80 being the new 20? The search for a proverbial fountain of youth has been the subject of legend for centuries, but today the quest for a medical equivalent is the focus of intense research.

Molecular biologist Leonard Guarente pioneered the anti-aging field at MIT with his discovery of genes that control longevity. When activated, these longevity genes cause the body to conserve resources, and they’ve been found to “dramatically boost the life span of yeast, worms, mice and potentially humans.” Specifically, Dr. Guarente studies proteins called sirtuins, which regulate longevity genes and show great promise for developing therapies that slow aging. Dr. Guarente asks:
--Could future drugs decelerate the aging process and allow us to stay young longer?
--Could diseases of aging—cancer, Alzheimer’s, type-2 diabetes, and others—be prevented by prospective anti-aging medications?
--Could we extend not only our life spans, but our “health spans”?

Before & After
--Groove to genetically-altered tunes and video
--Stick around for the Q&A
--Try our cocktail of the night, the “Immortal Skol” (Rhymes with soul, baby!)

The “Secret Science Club” meets Monday, November 9 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

FREE! Just bring your smart self! Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

Sketchy Science!

2009-10-21T21:29:00.013-04:00

Check out these drawings from the Sketchy Science Contest at the October 20 Secret Science Club . . . robots, future evolution, pair bonding, UFOs, and beer . . .

The Secret Science Club hosts the Imagine Science Film Festival and A NIGHT OF QUIRKY SHORT FILMS @ the Bell House, Tues, Oct 20, 8pm FREE!

2009-10-14T09:57:00.025-04:00

SPECIAL EVENT: Techno noir. Animation. Documentary. Music Video.

Join us for a selection of short films from the Imagine Science Film Festival. The brainchild of SSC resident scientist/filmmaker, Alexis Gambis, the Imagine Science Film Festival attracted over 300 international entries this year. We’ll be showing some of the quirkiest and best-est entries at the Bell House, featuring subjects like madness & molecules, time travel & trans-species friendships, and the dwarf planet Pluto. Check out the following films from the USA, UK, Israel, France, Canada, and the Kuiper Belt: Naming Pluto, Animated Minds, The Moth and the Firefly, PCR Rap, Lab Waste, The Exquisite Corpse of Science, A Micrometer from Here, Natural Selection, and more!

Alexis Gambis, the festival's founder and artistic director, will be on-hand to answer your brainiest questions and oversee the mixing of the cocktails.

Before & After
--Groove to tunes from our mixology lab
--Participate in our “Sketchy Science” drawing contest. We’ll provide the paper. You draw a scientastic picture. Winners will be selected and prizes will be awarded by our panel of non-judgmental judges.
--Vote for your favorite film as part of the Imagine Science Film Festival’s “People’s Choice” award
--Imbibe the wide-angle cocktail of the night, the Digital Zoom
--Pick up some science swag from the film festival’s generous sponsors

The “Secret Science Club” presents the IMAGINE SCIENCE FILM FESTIVAL on Tuesday, October 20 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

FREE! Just bring your smart self. DOORS OPEN @ 7:30 PM. 21 and over.

The Imagine Science Film Festival runs from October 15 to 24 at a whole host of venues around the city. Visit www.imaginesciencefilms.com for a complete listing of events.

Upcoming events at the Secret Science Club

Mon., November 9—Renowned biologist Leonard Guarente on slowing the aging process

Sun., November 15—The return of the Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest!

Black Holes Sing! The Secret Science Club presents all-star astrophysicist Janna Levin at the Bell House, Tues., Oct. 13 @ 8 pm, FREE!

2009-10-02T15:43:00.015-04:00

The term “cosmic ballet” has just taken on a whole new meaning. Apparently outer space has a soundtrack. It’s not Tchaikovsky, but … when two spinning black holes orbit each other, engaging in an invisible pas de deux, they create gravitational waves—essentially ripples in the fabric of space-time—that cause the cosmos to “ring like a drum.”

Astrophysicist Janna Levin is in hot pursuit of these orbiting drumbeats—and the information they carry about the distant universe. Predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity, gravitational waves have never been directly detected. But the interstellar search is on, and two far-reaching space-science experiments—LIGO and LISA—now seek to capture and “hear” the beatbox of the universe for the first time.

A professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College of Columbia University, Janna Levin is the author of two award-winning books A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines and How the Universe Got Its Spots, as well as dozens of scientific papers on chaos, black holes, and the early universe.

Don't miss a single nanosecond of this cosmic talk! Grab your outer space boogie board and catch the groovitational wave . . .

Before & After
--Trip to far-out tunes and video
--Stick around for out-of-this-world Q&A
--Try our quantum cocktail of the night, the “Cosmos-politan” (It will rock you into orbit . . .)

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, October 13 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

No cover charge! Just bring your smart self!

Doors open at 7:30 pm. Please bring ID: 21+

Jungle Love! The Secret Science Club presents botanical explorer Susan Pell at the Bell House, Tuesday, August 11 @ 8 pm, FREE!

2009-07-27T13:42:00.011-04:00

Surrounded by the Coral Sea, the Louisiade Archipelago is a volcanic island chain stretching away from the southeastern extremity of Papua New Guinea’s mainland. These tropical islands are home to rare plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

Earlier this year, Dr. Susan Pell led a five-person botanical expedition to the islands’ remote mountains, rain forests, and wet savannahs. The team’s goal? To locate rare and endemic plants and identify endangered ecosystems.

A molecular plant scientist at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and blogger (who sometimes sends posts via satellite phone), Dr. Pell chronicles her team’s search as they boat from island to island; hike across swollen rivers teeming with freshwater crocodiles; and encounter creatures such as giant spiders, walking “stick” insects the size of small branches, boa constrictors, and flying foxes.

So grab your boots and backpack . . . And don’t miss this hot and steamy, flower-powered adventure!

Before & After
-- Groove to tunes inspired by pistils and stamens

-- Try our cocktail cooler, the Tropitini! It’ll knock you from Cancer to Capricorn . . .

-- Stick around for the floristic Q&A

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, August 11 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510

Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

FREE! Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30 PM. 21 and over.

Evolution Revolution! The Secret Science Club presents Donald Johanson—the discoverer of Lucy—at the Bell House, Tuesday, July 14 @ 8 pm, FREE!

2009-07-05T22:05:00.022-04:00

Make your bones at the Secret Science Club. . .

Our species, Homo sapiens, is a mere 200,000 years old (give or take). Where did humans come from? How did we evolve? And what were our ancestors like? Fossil hunters have been asking these questions ever since Darwin developed the theory of evolution. And in the last few decades, we've been getting some pretty amazing answers. One find revolutionized the world's thinking about early human origins: In 1974 paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson discovered the bones of Lucy—a 3.2-million-year-old early hominid—in the Afar region of Ethiopia. With about 40 percent of Lucy's skeleton intact, she represented a new species, Australopithecus afarensis.

The founding director of the Institute for Human Origins, professor of paleoanthropology at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, and author of the just-published Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins, Dr. Johanson joins the Secret Science Club to discuss his historic find and the latest discoveries in human evolution:
--How many hominid species existed prior to humans—or even co-existed with humans? What were their habitats and behaviors?
--When did hominids begin to walk? When did big brains develop?
--Have fossil hunters located the common ancestor of humans and chimps?
--Why is Homo sapiens the only hominid species that survives?

Before & After
--Groove to bone-jangling tunes
--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

--Snag a signed copy of Dr. Johanson's new book, Lucy's Legacy: The Quest for Human Origins

--Try our cocktail of the night--the "I Love Lucy!"

(And check this out . . . All of Lucy's lovely bones are on display in a new exhibit in New York City, titled "Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia" and organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Science. You can see Lucy for yourself at the new Discovery Times Square Exposition space in—you guessed it—Times Square.)

The Evolution Revolution edition of the Secret Science Club featuring Dr. Donald Johanson meets Tuesday, July 14 at 8 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510
Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

FREE! Just bring your smart self.

Please bring ID: 21+. Doors open at 7:30 PM.

Special thanks to the Houston Museum of Natural Science for bringing Dr. Johanson to New York City and making his appearance at the Secret Science Club possible.

Endless Forms Most Freaky . . . The Secret Science Club presents Marine Biologist Jack Costello at the Bell House, Tuesday, June 9 @ 8 pm, FREE!

2009-05-21T20:30:00.010-04:00

The Undersea World of Jack Costello

Dive into summer with marine biologist Jack Costello as he lectures on the spineless wonders of the world’s oceans. Cavort with gelatinous and ghostly creatures such as jellyfish (cnidarians) and their comb jelly brethren (ctenophores). Feel the motion of the ocean, and ride the waves with copepods and zooplankton.

A professor of biology at Providence College and featured scientist in the PBS documentary The Shape of Life, Dr. Costello asks:

--Why do sea jellies have such creepy-seeming body forms?
--How do cnidarians and ctenophores kill their prey?
--What causes jellyfish invasions and how do gelatinous sea creatures get around?
-- Why is so little known about undersea invertebrates when they make up such an enormous part of Earth’s biomass?

Before & After
-- Groove to free-floating tunes and video from Davey Jones’ locker

-- Try our aquatic cocktail, the Alien Stinger. Looks like liquid… feels like fire!

-- Stick around for the utra-buoyant Q&A

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, June 9 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

No cover charge! Just bring your smart self.

Please bring ID: 21+. Doors open at 7:30 PM.

SPECIAL EVENT: The Secret Science Club & Criterion Collection present a NIGHT OF SUBMARINE CINEMA at the Bell House on Sunday, May 17 @ 7 PM, FREE!

2009-05-13T09:39:00.013-04:00

Get wet and wild with the surreal underwater films of Jean Painlevé. Sea life has never been this sexy—or strange. Experience The Love Life of the Octopus, The Witches’ Dance, and more—all featuring “The Sounds of Science,” a 21st-century score created specially by indie rockers Yo La Tengo.

Marine scientist J. Rudi Strickler will be your guide to the depths . . .

(Films from “Science Is Fiction: 23 Films of Jean Painlevé” courtesy of the Criterion Collection.)

Before & After
--Groove to siren song and liquid video

--Plunge into the “Painlevé Periscope,” a cinematic cocktail that will give you aqua-vision

--Immerse yourself in the tidal Q&A and soak up some fishy door prizes!

This special edition of the Secret Science Club meets Sunday, May 17 at 7 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self!

Please bring ID: 21+

Brain and Memory: The Secret Science Club presents Neuroscientist Ottavio Arancio at the Bell House on Tuesday, May 12 @ 7:30 pm

2009-04-09T13:50:00.011-04:00

The arithmetic of the brain is staggering. In just 3 lbs. of gray matter, there are 100 billion brain cells—each with branches connecting at 100 trillion synapses. Dozens of chemical neurotransmitters travel through this neural network, creating, storing, and accessing memories—the sum total of our sensations, thoughts, experiences, and knowledge. Currently, the brain’s total capacity for memory-making is beyond calculation.

But what happens when the brain loses its ability to remember new things? In his lab at Columbia University, neuroscientist Ottavio Arancio explores the molecular mechanisms of memory formation. He asks:

--Why do some people stop remembering?
--How does disruption of the brain’s pathways affect our ability to learn?
--Can new drugs slow, stop, or even reverse the process of memory-impairing diseases such as Alzheimer’s?
--What can we learn from forgetful lab mice?
--Can memory be enhanced? Will future medications act as brain boosters?

Dr. Arancio is a cellular neurobiologist at Columbia University’s Department of Pathology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain.

Don’t miss this dopamine-spiked evening . . .

Before & After
-- Groove to brain-bending tunes and video

--Enjoy the Cocktail of the Night—the “Brain Scan”

--Stick around for the mind-altering Q&A

The “Secret Science Club” meets Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self! Please bring ID: 21+.

Destination Mars! The Secret Science Club presents Planetary Geoscientist James Head at the Bell House, Wednesday, April 1 @ 8 pm, FREE!

2009-03-23T15:14:00.011-04:00

Put on your life support suits and set the dial to “extreme conditions” . . . the Secret Science Club is heading for the Red Planet via Antarctica.

Recent unmanned missions have revolutionized our thinking about Mars. The Red Planet is no longer known as just a dry dusty desert—but the repository for 2 to 3 million cubic kilometers of ice. Surprisingly, it turns out Mars may have a lot in common with the environment at Earth’s South Pole.

Mars expert James Head recently spent his “holidays” in Antarctica, studying the bone-chilling landscape for clues that might help explain the mysterious Martian terrain. Dr. Head asks: Could frigid water below the surface of Mars contain evidence of life—like the microscopic extremophiles surviving such conditions in Antarctica? What’s the latest news from recent Mars missions such as the Mars Express and Phoenix? Will Earthlings send a manned mission to the Red Planet?

Professor of Geological Sciences in the Planetary Geosciences Group at Brown University, Dr. James Head spent his early career at NASA, training Apollo astronauts and planning lunar landing sites. As a geological explorer, he has traveled around the world (and to the bottom of the ocean in deep-sea submersibles) to study volcanism and tectonism. He is the author of more than 300 scientific papers on topics ranging from glaciation on Mars to Venusian impact craters. Currently, he is a co-investigator for the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Mission, the NASA MESSENGER mission to Mercury and the NASA Moon Mineralogy Mapper(M3).

Before & After
--Groove to spaced-out tunes and video

--Blast off with the Secret Science Club’s quantum cocktail of the night, the “Mars Express”

--Stick around for the out-of-this-world Q&A and music from Phantogram and Big Bang TV!!

The Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, April 1 at 8 p.m. @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self!
Please bring ID: 21+. Doors open at 7:30 pm.

The Secret Science Club’s new “theme song”—written and performed by the Dead River Company

2009-03-21T15:16:00.006-04:00

For those of you who missed seeing it performed live at Plutopalooza (before astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson’s tour de force talk), listen here and check out the lyrics below.

“Secret Science Club” by the Dead River Company

I’ve got a secret for you
It’s the kind of secret that will split your mind in two

Take my hand, I’ll show you wonders
The sharpest minds speak clearly
Where there’s lightning there is thunder.

[Chorus]
Hold on to your hats, kids (at the Secret Science Club)
Shocking information (at the Secret Science Club)
Gonna blow your mind out (at the Secret Science Club)
Indulge your science addiction
Because truth is stranger than fiction

You’ve got a light, I’ll make it brighter
You got me feelin’ like a particle in the Large Hadron Collider!

Come on girls, I’m no pretender
We’re just a ragtag bunch of pencil pushers slash the Universe’s defenders

[Chorus]
Hold on to your hats, kids (at the Secret Science Club)
Shocking information (at the Secret Science Club)
Gonna blow your mind out (at the Secret Science Club)
Indulge your science addiction
Because truth is stranger than fiction

Now you’ve cracked our little code
Well hush my love and face your fears and enter the unknown

[Chorus]

PLUTOPALOOZA! The Secret Science Club presents Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on Wednesday, March 18 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, $3 cover charge

2009-03-06T17:06:00.018-05:00

photo by David Gamble

COUNTDOWN TO RE-LAUNCH . . .
Hold on to your wigs and keys, science scenesters! Union Hall and the Secret Science Club have been overwhelmed by audience demand---so it is now official: The Secret Science Club is moving from Union Hall to Brooklyn’s big new Bell House! PLUS, the Secret Science Club is debuting its first-ever "theme song," written and performed by the Dead River Company. Check it out LIVE before the Neil deGrasse Tyson lecture.

Special Event! Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson blasts off from the Bell House with a lecture on the "Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet," $3 cover

The icy little world known as Pluto is billions of miles from Earth. Yet, when the International Astronomical Union demoted Pluto to the status of dwarf planet in 2006, the reaction was out of this world. Defiant T-shirt slogans, and pity-filled songs all raged against Pluto’s sad fate. Hell hath no fury like a planet (and its fans) scorned. No one knows better than astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of NYC’s Hayden Planetarium, who was on the receiving end of much of this celestial wrath—including tear-stained hate mail from third-graders.

According to Tyson, Pluto may be a dwarf—but it’s still awesome. Now enthroned with its trans-Neptunian brethren in the Kuiper Belt, Pluto is the focus of intense scientific interest. NASA’s New Horizons Pluto-Kuiper Belt spacecraft has already passed Saturn on a 9-year journey to reach and take a peek at Pluto and its moon Charon. The question, says Tyson, is not what we call Pluto, but “What’s out there?”

The director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, Neil deGrasse Tyson is host of PBS’s “Nova: ScienceNOW” and recently served on NASA's prestigious advisory council. He is the author of nine books, including his most recent The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet and the best-selling Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries. In 2007, Time magazine named Dr. Tyson one of the world’s 100 most influential people. What did People magazine name him? You got it, baby! He’s the "Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive.”

Don’t miss one freakin’ nanosecond of this cosmic talk. Get on your laser, Daddy and RIDE!!!!

Before & After
--Groove to heavenly tunes and video inspired by the cosmic ballet.

--Defy gravity with the Secret Science Club’s quantum cocktail of the night, the Big Bang (it will knock you into orbit . . .)

--Grab a signed copy of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s brand-new book: The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet

--Stick around for the extraterrestrial Q&A

The Secret Science Club meets Wednesday, March 18 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St.

$3 cover charge at the door. Please bring ID: 21+.

LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE. Doors open at 7:30. Come early to get a seat.

The Secret Science Club presents World Population Expert Joel E. Cohen on Wednesday, March 4 at 8 pm @ Union Hall

2009-02-25T17:00:00.016-05:00

Can conservation succeed with 9 billion people on the planet?

Every day the world’s population grows by approximately 200,000 people. That means every 40 days, the planet adds enough new people to replace the entire population of New York City.

Mathematician and population expert Joel E. Cohen asks: How many Homo sapiens can the Earth support? How is the exploding human population affecting the Earth’s physical, biological, and chemical environments? What will happen as the population grows larger, older, and more urban?

A recipient of the MacArthur genius grant and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Dr. Cohen is Professor of Populations and Head of the Laboratory of Populations at Rockefeller University and Columbia University. His research deals with the demography, ecology, epidemiology and social organization of human and non-human populations and with mathematical concepts applicable to those fields. He is the author of more than a dozen books and over 300 scientific papers.

Before & After
--Groove to an ever-multiplying collection of tunes in Union Hall’s subterranean grotto, stick around for the Q&A, and try our explosive new cocktail, the Population Bomb.

The “Secret Science Club” meets Wednesday, March 4 at 8 pm @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.
Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

Tick tock . . .

Calling all filmmakers . . . Submit your science-themed film today!

2009-02-10T15:30:00.013-05:00

Have you made an original narrative film with a scientific or technological theme? Or a film with a scientist, engineeer or mathematician as its leading character?

Then don't forget to submit your science-loving film to the 2009 Imagine Science Film Festival!

Mystery. Comedy. Techno thriller. Animation. And Beyond . . . Click here for a complete set of festival submission guidelines.

Once accepted, your film is up for 2 awards, sponsored by the science journal, Nature. The $2,500 Nature Scientific Merit Award will go to the film that most accurately portrays science. The $2,500 Nature People’s Choice Award will go to the film voted the best by audience members.

The Imagine Science Film Festival takes place in October 2009 in New York City. For festival updates, click here. And stay tuned . . .

Light Up Your Brain! The Secret Science Club presents Neurobiologist Vincent Pieribone at the Bell House on Wednesday, February 4 @ 8 PM. FREE!

2009-01-26T18:30:00.019-05:00

Secret Science Alert: This month, the Secret Science Club meets at the Bell House, the all-new all-awesome venue in Gowanus, Brooklyn, created by the owners of Union Hall (our lovely hosts).

Make like a bathysphere and submerge, because the Secret Science Club is going down. Intrepid neurobiologist (and scuba diver) Vincent Pieribone lures us into the depths—where ocean research and brain science collide. Dr. Pieribone uncovers the secrets of the seas and technicolor reefs in his quest for biofluorescent creatures—and then shows how they can be used to create glowing proteins that make cells and neurons light up in the lab.

A cellular and molecular biologist at Yale University’s School of Medicine and the co-author of Aglow in the Dark: The Revolutionary Science of Biofluorescence, Dr. Pieribone asks:

--What do jellyfish and coral reefs have to do with the human brain and quest for medical cures?

--What makes undersea animals glow?

--How can biofluorescent technology link the human mind with machines?

--What are the latest advances in fluorescent micro-photography?
--And whatever happened to that transgenic, glow-in-the-blacklight rabbit in France?

Plus Special Guest: Marine Biologist and “Aglow” co-author David Gruber on coral reef ecology… DIVE! DIVE!

Before & After
-- Groove to glittering tunes and incandescent video
-- Stick around for the tidal Q&A
-- Try our oceanic cocktail: the Sea Shandy, a phosphorescent libation that will snap your synapses . . .
-- Grab a signed copy of Dr. Pieribone’s and Dr. Gruber's luminous new book: Aglow in the Dark: The Revolutionary Science of Biofluorescence

The “Secret Science Club” meets Wednesday, February 4 at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510. Subway: F to 4th Ave.

FREE! Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30. PLEASE BRING ID: 21 and over only.

Tip: The Bell House has 2-for-1 drink specials before 7 pm if you want to get your sauce on before the lecture . . .

The Secret Science Club presents "Living Skyscrapers—Ecologist Dickson Despommier Re-Envisions the City" on Tuesday, January 13 @ 8 pm

2009-01-08T20:36:00.016-05:00

Step into the great glass elevator . . . the Secret Science Club is heading skyward with microbiologist and ecologist Dickson Despommier, whose ambitious project to create vertical farms in urban skyscrapers could radically re-vision the way we live—and eat.

A professor of environmental science and public health at Columbia University, Dr. Despommier asks:
--How might urban sky farms reduce global warming, and give “eating local” a whole new meaning?
--What technologies and architectural designs are appropriate for vertical farms?
--How did studying parasites in underdeveloped countries lead to his concept for living skyscrapers?

Dr. Despommier’s provocative ideas for re-thinking agriculture and land use have been the subject of recent articles in the New York Times, Time, New York Magazine, and Scientific American. Don’t miss this tall tale . . .

Before & After
-- Groove to towering tunes and vaulting video
-- Stick around for the lofty Q&A
-- And try our stratospheric new cocktail: the Mile Highball (you won’t be vertical for long . . .)

The "Secret Science Club" meets Tuesday, January 13 at 8 p.m. in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400. Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.
Our venue fills up fast! Come early to get a seat.
Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.
PLEASE BRING ID: 21 and over only. Pocket protectors suggested.

Design by Blake Kurasek, Graduate School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Get Ready to Blast Off . . . into 2009

2008-12-19T13:38:00.009-05:00

Happy holidays to all you brainiacs from the Secret Science Club!

Polish up your anti-gravity boots and prepare to float into the new year with our first lecture of 2009 on Tuesday, January 13 @ Union Hall. We promise it will be "elevating."

And stay tuned for more news of upcoming lectures and special events, including the Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest.

Cheers!

The Secret Science Club presents Neuroscientist Carl Hart on Wednesday, December 3 at 8 pm

2008-11-26T18:19:00.005-05:00

Wednesday, December 3 @ 8 pm at Union Hall
Neuroscientist Carl Hart lectures on "Methamphetamine: A Good Drug Gone Bad"

Carl Hart is an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at Columbia University, and Director of the Methamphetamine Research Laboratory at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Dr. Hart’s NIH-funded research focuses on understanding neurobehavioral and physiological effects of psychoactive drugs in humans. He is the author or co-author of dozens of peer-reviewed scientific articles, co-author of the influential textbook, Drugs, Society, and Human Behavior, and a member of a NIH review group.

Before & After
--Groove to dopamine-spiked tunes and video in Union Hall’s subterranean grotto

--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

--Cocktail alert! Enjoy the Brain-Boggling Libation of the Night—the Synapse Sling!!

The “Secret Science Club” meets December 3 at 8 pm in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

FREE! Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30 pm. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE. 21+

The Secret Science Club presents Biologist and Biosphere Expert Tyler Volk at the Bell House on Wednesday, November 5 at 8 pm FREE!

2008-10-24T10:59:00.018-04:00

Secret Science Alert: This month, the Secret Science Club will be meeting at the Bell House, an all-new all-awesome venue in Gowanus, Brooklyn, created by the owners of Union Hall (our lovely hosts).

Where will you be on the night after the presidential election? The Secret Science Club is “ready on day one” with more Earth-shattering lectures, flaming cocktails, and scorching-hot sounds.

Wednesday, November 5 @ 8 pm at the Bell House
Tyler Volk of New York University lectures on the State of the Earth: “CO2 Rising: The World’s Greatest Environmental Challenge”

Without carbon, we are nothing. The fourth most abundant element in the Universe, carbon is in the soil, the air, the oceans, the cells of every living thing—and unfortunately in the fossil fuels we burn. As fossil fuels are combusted, they release carbon atoms that have been locked underground for millions of years, causing gigatons of CO2 to enter the global carbon cycle.

Biologist Tyler Volk is science director of the environmental studies program at New York University, the author of a just-released book CO2 Rising: The World’s Greatest Environmental Challenge, and the guitarist for the all-scientist rock band, the Amygdaloids. For more than 20 years, his research has focused on the global carbon cycle, the dynamics of the biosphere, and closed ecological systems for life support. Dr. Volk asks: How is CO2 changing the natural world? Can new technologies and new energy sources—carbon sequestration, biomass, solar, wind, and nuclear—hold back the carbon tide? Why are the exhaled breaths of the growing human population not net additions to atmospheric CO2? How much carbon can the world’s oceans and forests hold? What facts should every Earth citizen know about the carbon cycle?

Before and After
--Try our fiery cocktail of the night, the Hunk of Burning Love (it will sizzle your swizzle . . .)

--Groove to sultry sounds and too-hot-to-handle global video

--Stick around for the blistering Q&A, and pick up a signed copy of Dr. Volk’s new book: CO2 Rising—it's hot off the presses.

The “Secret Science Club” meets November 5th at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave.

FREE! Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30 PM. 21+

Union Hall’s “Secret Science Club” is teaming up with the Imagine Science Film Festival for a night of science-lovin’ films! Wed, Oct 22 at 7 PM FREE!

2008-10-03T16:10:00.036-04:00

Calling All Brainiacs . . . and Cine-maniacs

Comedy. Techno thriller. Documentary. Science Noir. On Wednesday, October 22 at 7 PM, we’ll be showing a selection of short films that are in competition for big prizes sponsored by Nature magazine and the Imagine Science Film Festival. You get to contribute to the judging—AND meet some of the filmmakers. The first-ever Imagine Science Film Festival is the brainchild of SSC resident scientist/filmmaker, Alexis Gambis—he’ll be on-hand to answer your brainiest questions and oversee the mixing of the cocktail of the night: the Lab Rat.

But wait, there’s even more filmic fun to be had . . . The Imagine Science Film Festival runs from October 16 to 25 at a whole host of venues around town. Don’t miss the festival’s opening night kickoff party at the New York Academy of Sciences on Thursday, October 16 at 7 pm—which is sponsored by our pals at Science & the City. For $25 ($15 for students), you get:

--a panel discussion on science, film and fiction, moderated by Science Friday’s Ira Flatow, featuring: Darcy Kelley, neuroscience professor, Columbia University, and scientific advisor, Tribeca Film Festival; Sidney Perkowitz, physics professor, Emory University, and author of Hollywood Science; Billy Shebar, screenwriter, Dark Matter; and Ari Handel, neuroscientist, screenwriter of The Fountain, and president of Protozoa Pictures

--a taste of some of the film festival’s best offerings on screen

--an awesome view of the city from the Academy’s 40th-floor perch

--And did we mention the wine & cheese at the reception? (Yum!)

For tickets to the film festival’s kickoff party, go to www.nyas.org/filmfest and click on “Register now.” Visit imaginesciencefilms.com for a list of all Imagine Science Film Festival events.

Now, back to the film screenings on October 22 @ 7 pm at Union Hall . . . Here's the lineup:

Conservation
Dir: Ian Harnarine. USA. 2008.
In this “science noir,” a desperate professor of physics decides that murder may be the most elegant solution . .

13 Ways to Die at Home
Dir: Lee Lanier. USA. 2007.
The cheery homes, kitchens, and laundry rooms of vintage 1950s instructional films are invaded by a host of diabolical threats. So many ways to die!

Séance of Maths
Dir: Andrew Gori & Jackie Goss. USA. 2007.
Two short-distance time travelers meet in a cheap hotel room to probe the past—and to raise the dead. If you crossed David Lynch with a geometry teacher, this could be the result.

Teratoma
Dir: Rupert Glasson. Australia. 2003.
A pipedream goes bad in this high-end horror flick about a doctor’s fatal flirtation with Lady Tobacco. With smokin’ 3-D animation . . .

Senate Hearing on Coral Bleaching
Dir: Randy Olson. USA. 2008.
The Groundlings Improv Comedy Group offers a hilarious look at a bleak subject, the reluctance of politicians to address the warming of oceans. Watch as a global warming scientist matches wits with some witless senators. . .

Chip Kick
Dir: Volker Han. Germany. 2008.
Dieter, a German scientist, and his robot Max explain to soccer fans the most mathematically efficient way to do “the wave.”

A Fruit Fly in New York
Dir: Alexis Gambis. USA/France. 2007.
The humble fruit fly gets its props! A scientist’s love affair with Drosophila takes him to the streets of Gotham.

See you at the movies . . .

FREE. JUST BRING YOUR SMART SELF.

LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE!!! 21+

The Secret Science Club Has Got Your Number @ the Bell House on Wednesday, October 1st at 8 PM with Cosmologist and Math Lover Tony Rothman!

2008-09-16T12:34:00.013-04:00

Secret Science Alert: This month, we will be meeting at the Bell House, an all-new all-awesome venue in Gowanus, Brooklyn, created by the owners of Union Hall (our lovely hosts).

Move over Sudoku! Cosmologist Tony Rothman of Princeton University lectures on SACRED MATHEMATICS!!!!

At work, Tony Rothman studies the Big Bang and the early Universe. He also researches black holes on the verge of becoming naked singularities. But what does he do for fun? He does sangaku—clever math puzzles that decorated Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines in 17th-century Japan. Wha—?? He even wrote a book about it: Sacred Mathematics: Japanese Temple Geometry. It all adds up! Don't forget to bring your slide rules and pocket protectors!!

Before and After
--Groove to an ever-multiplying collection of science-loving tunes and videos

--Stick around for the calculating Q&A and to get a signed copy of Dr. Rothman's new book!

--Sample our cocktail of the night, the Bamboozler. (It’s a conundrum . . . try saying that 3 times fast after you’ve had a few.)

The “Secret Science Club” meets October 1st at 8 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn, p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave.

FREE!

Just bring your smart self. Doors open at 7:30 PM. 21+

The Secret Science Club presents Neuroscientist (and Smell-ologist) Leslie Vosshall of Rockefeller University on Wednesday, September 3 @ 8 PM

2008-08-20T17:02:00.004-04:00

Smell is the most primitive of senses. The world is filled with scents that suggest danger, the presence of food—and mating opportunities. Humans can detect about 10,000 different odors—while insects can perceive only those that are essential for their survival.

Dr. Leslie Vosshall, head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at Rockefeller University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, probes the brains and neural networks of creatures from fruit flies to Homo sapiens. She asks: Is love in the eye of the beholder—or in the schnoz? How do different animals detect smell? How do sweet and stinky scents influence behavior? And why does camembert cheese smell like heaven to some people and offal to others?

Some of Vosshall’s current investigations include:

Sexual attraction. Are ovulating women drawn to (or repulsed by) androstenon, a possible pheromone produced by men’s sweat glands?

Global health. Could millions of lives be saved by scent research? Malaria-carrying mosquitoes use their sniffers to hone in on human blood meals. But what if they couldn’t smell their victims—and therefore didn’t bite them? Vosshall’s lab is investigating how to “blind” the mosquito nose.

It would stink to miss this odiferous lecture . . .

Before and After

--Groove to sweet-smelling tunes & video in Union Hall’s subterranean grotto

--Stick around for the scent-illating Q&A

--Want to get stinko? Try our cocktail of the night, the Schnoz-mopolitan!!

The “Secret Science Club” meets September 3 at 8 p.m. in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30 PM. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

Calling All Filmmakers . . . Send in Your Science-Loving Film Now!!

2008-08-14T13:33:00.008-04:00

The first-ever Imagine Science Film Festival runs from October 16 to October 25 in NYC. And the deadline for submitting original films---Tuesday, August 26---is fast approaching.

Drama. Comedy. Techno thriller. Animation. Music video . . . As long as your theme is science-oriented, your film is eligible. Click here for a complete set of festival submission guidelines, and submit your film today to: Imagine Science Films Corp., 1230 York Avenue, Box #252, New York, NY 10021

Once entered, your film is up for 2 awards, both sponsored by the science journal, Nature. The $2,500 Nature Scientific Merit Award will go to the film that most accurately portrays science. The $2,500 Nature People’s Choice Award will go to the film voted the best by audience members.

For updates on the Imagine Science Film Festival, click here. And stay tuned . . .

The Secret Science Club Presents Award-winning Cancer Researcher Scott Lowe of Cold Spring Harbor Lab on Wednesday, August 6 at 8:30 pm

2008-08-04T14:55:00.014-04:00

Hold onto your wigs and key, ladies and gents, Dr. Scott Lowe is taking the Secret Science Club on a fantastic voyage through inner space to explore the microscopic machinery of the cell…

Scott Lowe explores “apoptosis”—the programmed death of damaged cells—a process necessary for organisms to properly develop and survive. He asks: How do cancer cells thwart the apoptotic machinery, enabling them to proliferate uncontrollably? What mutations may affect tumor development and responses to cancer therapies? If cancer genes are “switched off,” can cancer be cured?

Deputy Director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Scott Lowe has developed mouse models and genomic technologies to study the complexities of tumor evolution and resistance to chemotherapy. He is also involved in the search for the human cancer genome—“a comprehensive collection of the genetic alterations responsible for major cancers.”

The recipient of the Sydney Kimmel Foundation Scholar Award, a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award, the AACR Outstanding Investigator Award, the AACR-NFCR Professorship in Basic Cancer Research, the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, and the AAAS Fellow Award, Dr. Lowe is working to apply findings to developing improved cancer treatment and methods of overcoming drug resistance.

BEFORE & AFTER
--Groove to genetically altered tunes and stick around for the scintillating Q&A

--Try our cocktail of the night: the Lab Rat . . . it's one experiment, you won't want to miss!

--Check out the physics experiments at 6:30 pm in Brooklyn Bridge Park (see previous post)

The “Secret Science Club” meets August 6 at 8:30 pm in the subterranean grotto @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 8 pm. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

PLEASE BRING ID: 21+. Pocket protectors suggested.

Union Hall & the Secret Science Club perform Mind-Bending Experiments on Wed., Aug. 6 @ Brooklyn Bridge Park

2008-07-22T16:07:00.020-04:00

All awesome—all FREE. Science. Live Bands. Comedy.

The Secret Science Club opens Union Hall’s “Music at the Bridge” show with experimenter extraordinaire David Maiullo and his hair-raising “traveling physics road show.” Maiullo and his liquid nitrogen will shatter all your expectations…

Plus three live bands—the French Kicks, Tiny Masters of Today, and Headlights—with comedian Dave Hill!!

WHERE: Under the tent in the historic Tobacco Warehouse @ Brooklyn Bridge Park

SPECS: Gates open at 6 pm. Rain or Shine.

HOW DO YOU GET TO THE SHOW? It’s easy! Click here for directions to Brooklyn Bridge Park.

CAN’T GET ENOUGH SCIENCE? Head over to Park Slope’s Union Hall (702 Union St. @ 5th Ave.) for a secret science lecture the very same evening. The doors of Union Hall's subterranean grotto will open at 8 pm. Pocket protectors suggested.

BONES! Join paleoanthropologist William Jungers at the Secret Science Club on Wednesday, July 2 @ 8 pm

2008-06-23T14:27:00.013-04:00

Set the dial on the "Wayback Machine," Sherman. We’re heading for the Paleolithic—and beyond.

One of the world’s most eminent evolutionary morphologists, Dr. William Jungers asks: How have hominids changed over the last 6 million years? What do we know about the behavior of our human ancestors? When (and why) did some primates start walking upright? Are the little people of Flores (Homo floresiensis)—whose 18,000-year-old Hobbit-like bones were discovered in Indonesia in 2004—really a new species of early human? And what happened to the giant lemurs of Madagascar?

Chair of the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University’s School of Medicine, Dr. Jungers investigates the function and structure of living and fossil primates. His research focuses on the evolution of human locomotion, body size, and biomechanical scaling, as well as vertebrate paleontology. The former editor of the Journal of Human Evolution, Dr. Jungers has authored more than 100 scientific articles and edited/co-authored several books. He recently received two major grants for his research on evolution—from the Leakey Foundation and the National Geographic Society.

Dr. Jungers is also part of the international team involved in the analysis of the controversial Homo floresiensis bones.

Before and After
--Groove to bone-jangling tunes and video in Union Hall’s subterranean grotto

--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

--Try our cocktail of the night, the Naked Ape. (It’ll strip you bare . . . )

The “Secret Science Club” meets July 2 at 8 p.m. in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

PLEASE BRING ID: 21+. Pocket protectors suggested.

The Secret Science Club Presents Genomics Expert Rob DeSalle on Wednesday, June 4 @ 8 pm

2008-05-28T22:03:00.005-04:00

At the molecular level, Homo sapiens shares a common genetic heritage with all animals. Even a fly has more than one-third the same genes as a human being. Want to know more? Step into our miraculous shrinking machine and explore inner space as micronaut and genetic sleuth Rob DeSalle lectures on the incredible diversity of life, what molecular evolution tells us about disease, and how DNA research is helping save endangered species.

Curator at the American Museum of Natural History and research scientist at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, Dr. DeSalle leads an international group of scientists working on molecular systematics, molecular evolution, population and conservation genetics, and evolutionary genomics of a wide array of life forms ranging from viruses, bacteria, corals, and plants to insects, reptiles, and mammals.

PLUS!
--Don’t miss our special screening of Dr. Funque and His Petri Dish, directed by scientist/filmmaker Alexis Gambis of IMAGINAL DISC (Science and Film Productions) and the Imagine Science Film Festival

--Stick around for the Q&A

--Sample the genetically altered cocktail of the night, the Gene Fizz!

--Groove to self-replicating tunes beneath the taxidermy in Union Hall's mysterious, subterranean grotto

The “Secret Science Club” meets June 4 at 8 pm in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

PLEASE BRING ID: 21+. Pocket protectors suggested.

The Secret Science Club Presents "IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE!" on Wednesday, May 7 @ 8 pm

2008-04-28T22:11:00.010-04:00

One of the most important contributors to our understanding of climate change, Earth scientist Wallace Broecker lectures on our increasingly hot planet—and what we can do about it.

“The Earth’s climate system is an angry beast,” says Dr. Broecker. “And we’re poking it by adding greenhouse gases.” Every day, 60 to 70 million metric tons of carbon dioxide are dumped into the atmosphere. And even if a well-meaning fairy godmother were to turn all the world’s citizens into energy-saving paragons overnight, the resulting reduction in CO2 emissions could not stop the great warming tide headed our way.

The Newberry Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, a longtime researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and author of the just-released book Fixing Climate: What Past Climate Change Reveals about the Current Threat—And How to Counter It, Dr. Broecker has been investigating the link between ocean chemistry and global warming for more than 40 years.

So how can—and should—we deal with the high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere? Dr. Broecker proposes some radical technological solutions. . . .

Before and After
--Pick up a signed(!!) copy of Dr. Broecker's new book: Fixing Climate. It's HOT off the presses.

--Groove to sultry sounds and too-hot-to-handle video

--Sample the eco-cocktail of the night, the fiery Heat Miser. (It will sizzle your swizzle . . .)

The “Secret Science Club” meets May 7 at 8 pm in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Web: unionhallny.com Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

The Secret Science Club Presents Astrophysicist Ben Oppenheimer and His Quest for New Worlds on Wednesday, April 2 @ 8 pm

2008-03-29T15:43:00.004-04:00

Fuel up your flying saucer . . . the Secret Science Club is blasting off with astrophysicist Ben Oppenheimer, the principal investigator of the Lyot Project, an ambitious mission to discover and record images of planets outside our solar system. He’ll discuss the challenges scientists face in probing for exoplanets and reveal some of the Lyot team’s latest results.

An astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History, Ben Oppenheimer was the subject of a recent New York Times article “Star’s Dust May Hold Clue to New Planet,” documenting the observation that a gap in dust circling a young star in the constellation Auriga may be a planet in the making.

Dr. Oppenheimer also studies brown dwarfs, white dwarfs and galactic structure. He served on NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Finder Science and Technology Definition Team, and has been appointed to several National Research Council Panels, as well as numerous NASA and NSF committees.

Before and After
--Groove to space-age tunes and video in Union Hall's subterranean grotto
--Stick around for the Q&A
--Try our cosmic new cocktail: the George Jetson

The "Secret Science Club" meets April 2 at 8 p.m. in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Web: unionhallny.com Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

PLEASE BRING ID: 21 and over only.

The Secret Science Club recommends . . .

2008-03-10T14:58:00.003-04:00

Check out this cerebral event: The Neuroscience of the Groove!

Neuroscientists Dave Sulzer (a.k.a. composer Dave Soldier) and John Krakauer discuss the brain activity that makes us groove to music. Krakauer co-directs Columbia University's Motor Performance Laboratory and Sulzer/Soldier investigates synaptic connections that underlie memory, learning, and behavior. This event features the premiere of Soldier's "Quartet for percussion and brain waves," a live performance/experiment with drummers and electroencephalographs. (And its sponsored by our pals at CUNY’s Science & the Arts program.)

When: Monday, March 24 at 6:30 pm

Where: CUNY Grad Center, 365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street), NYC

FREE!

Pre-registering holds your seat until 15 minutes before curtain; then seating is first come, first served. Pre-register by phone or email: 212-817-8215 or continuinged@gc.cuny.edu

March Madness! Union Hall's "Secret Science Club" Presents TWO Extraordinary Events

2008-02-15T14:47:00.019-05:00

Nobel Prize-Winning Biologist Paul Nurse lectures on Wednesday, March 5 @ 8 pm.

British biochemist Paul Nurse has it ALL going on.
--Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his service to humanity
--Co-host of the science series on PBS’s Charlie Rose Show
-- Winner of the Nobel Prize for illuminating the process by which cells copy themselves—and furthering our understanding of growth, development, and cancer.
-- And to top everything off, Sir Paul is now officially a New Yorker! (He’s president of NYC’s prestigious Rockefeller University.)

Break out your test tubes and get ready to bust out of the winter doldrums, as Paul Nurse takes us on a whirlwind tour of life’s most basic unit: the cell.

Before and After
--Screen the special bio-video by scientist/film-maker Alexis Gambis: A Fruit Fly in New York
--Groove to science-inspired tunes
--Stick around for the Q&A
--Sample the cocktail of the night—the Night Nurse. It will fluff your pillow!

The “Secret Science Club” meets @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400. Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE. PLEASE BRING ID: 21 and over only. Pocket protectors suggested.

Then . . .

Your Brain on Music at BAM on Saturday, March 8 @ 6:30 pm

A mind-blowing performance of John Adams’ 21st-century masterpiece, Dharma at Big Sur, is launched in BAM’s mothership of an opera house by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The Secret Science Club is onboard with a pre-concert soirée, featuring free brew and a chance to “Ask the Neuroscientist.”

Pre-concert cerebral soirée at 6:30 pm, sponsored by The Onion and Peak Organic Brewing Company
Grab yourself a complimentary pale ale, and ask our resident neuroscientist “Why does music influence our emotions? and “Can harmony transform my brain chemistry?” Free drinks! Door prizes!

Alter Your Perceptions at 7:30 pm with the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Prepare to be saturated by pleasurable neurotransmitters as John Adams’ concerto for electric violin—Dharma at Big Sur—fills the opera house. Also on the bill: Musicians seated throughout the auditorium perform Toro Takemitsu’s Signals from Heaven and create a sound sensation that will rewire your temporal lobe. Plus Takemitsu’s Three Film Scores and Béla Bartók’s Divertimento.

Price: $25 includes a ticket to the concert in the opera house’s best available seats, entrance to the pre-concert soiree with FREE libations, and the opportunity to display your “geek chic” badge of honor. LIMITED AVAILABILITY.

How to get tickets: Just call the BP Patrons Services line at (718) 488-5913 and identify yourself as a Secret Science Club party creature!

Where: This special edition of the Secret Science Club meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Natman Room—BAM’s private lounge—in the Peter J. Sharp Building, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Howard Gilman Opera House in the Peter J. Sharp Building.

Getting to BAM: Via subway: 2,3,4,5, B, D, M, N, R, Q to Atlantic/Pacific; or the G to Fulton. Click here for a neighborhood map and driving directions

The Secret Science Club Presents "GO CELLULAR!" on Wednesday, February 6 @ 8 PM

2008-01-21T18:51:00.000-05:00

DNA Sleuth Bruce Stillman Lectures on the Future of Molecular Medicine @ 8 pm

President of New York’s prestigious Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dr. Bruce Stillman take us to the frontlines of cancer and disease research.

Get ready to go cellular as Dr. Stillman asks: Where will the latest discoveries in genetics take us? Will it be possible to live with cancer one day? What are the most promising new technologies for biomedical researchers? How can we employ the latest breakthroughs in science to benefit public health?

A recipient of the Curtin Medal for Excellence in Medical Research, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Stillman focuses his research on DNA replication. In addition to serving as Cold Spring Harbor's president, he is the director of the laboratory's cancer center.

BEFORE AND AFTER
--Groove to science-inspired tunes and self-replicating bio-video

--stick around for the Q&A

--sample the cocktail of the night—the Double (Make That a Triple) Helix.

The “Secret Science Club” meets February 6 at 8 p.m. in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Web: unionhallny.com Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic Ave.

No cover charge. Just bring your smart self.

Doors open at 7:30. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE.

Special Event on Tuesday, January 15: Public Discussion on Global Warming

2008-01-15T16:15:00.000-05:00

Hear ye! Hear ye! Yo! Yo! Union Hall’s Secret Science Club is partnering with Public Agenda to confront the problem of global warming. And we’re having a town meeting—with a twist (of lime). You must RSVP for this special event!

When: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 7 pm
What: A Public Dialogue on the Challenges of Climate Change
Where: Union Hall’s subterranean grotto, 702 Union St., Brooklyn, NY

We all know global warming is real. But what are we doing about it? Come meet your neighbors. We’ll work in groups to share ideas and brainstorm—and then get together to raise the roof.

Special guests! Radley Horton, climatologist at Columbia University’s Center for Climate Systems Research and NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies + Ben Jervey, author of The Big Green Apple: Your Guide to Eco-Friendly Living in New York City will be on hand to answer your questions.

What impact will global warming have on New York City and the world? How should we deal with it? You be the judge!

Plus!
--Groove to low-impact tunes
--Sample the Eco-Cocktail of the Night: the Climate Cooler.
--Enjoy Earthy snacks gratis!

Please RSVP to secure your spot—only 50 seats are available! No cover change.

This special event meets Tuesday, January 15th at 7 p.m. in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic

For more information or to RSVP, contact secretscienceclub@gmail.com

The Union Hall Secret Science Club is a free event and lecture series, dedicated to exploring scientific discoveries and the public understanding of science.

Public Agenda is a New York City-based nonpartisan opinion research and civic engagement organization that has been working to help Americans explore and understand critical issues since 1975.