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

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

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

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

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

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 . . .

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

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

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.