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

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!

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.