March 12, 2014

Calling All Creatures . . . The Secret Science Club presents the "Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest," Sunday, April 6, 7:30 PM @ the Bell House, $12

The Secret Science Club presents the 7th (sorta-, kinda-, not-exactly-annual) "Carnivorous Nights TAXIDERMY CONTEST" @ the Bell House, Sunday, April 6, 7:30 pm. $12 advance, $15 at the door

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. 

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

Eligible to enter: taxidermy (bought, found, homemade), biological specimens, articulated skeletons and skulls, jarred specimens--and beyond (way beyond). 

Entrants: Contact secretscienceclub@gmail.com to register. 

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

Tickets: Advance tickets are available for purchase here

Hosted by: Dorian Devins & Margaret Mittelbach of the Secret Science Club 

Judging by: Robert Marbury of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermy, Tony Rodgers of the Metropolitan Museum of Art & Joanna Ebenstein of the Morbid Anatomy Library and Museum 

Kicked Off by: Our patron beast,the illustrious Rump Ape, wrangled by first-ever Carnivorous Nights grand master Andrew Templar 


Plus! 
--Groove to ferocious tunes 
--Imbibe savage specialty drinks 
--Get lucky and take away furry-and-fanged door prizes

This special edition of the Secret Science Club meets Sunday, April 6 at 7:30 pm @ the Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 9th St. Doors open at 7 pm. Please bring ID: 21+ . $12 adv, $15 door.

March 6, 2014

Tuesday, March 11, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Cognitive Scientist and Author Paul Bloom on the Origins of Good and Evil

Are we blank slates at birth when it comes to right and wrong, or is there some innate system of guidance baked into our very beings? Can we instinctively separate heroes from villains? Do we have a tendency toward compassion? How about hard-wiring for revenge? Developmental psychologist Paul Bloom demonstrates that human beings are born with a moral compassit's just not perfectly calibrated. 

In his latest book, Just Babies: The Origins of Good and Evil, Dr. Bloom examines the morality of infants, chimps, and psychopaths, drawing on insights from psychology, behavioral economics, and evolutionary biology (as well as observations from Darwin and Louis C.K.) 

Professor of psychology and cognitive science at Yale, Paul Bloom researches how children and adults understand the physical and social world, with a special focus on morality, religion, fiction, and art. The author of over 100 scientific papers and numerous books, Dr. Bloom writes for the New Yorker, New York Times, Atlantic, and Slate

Before & After
--Try our morally compromised cocktail of the night, the "Right Amount of Wrong" 
--Sway to seemingly altruistic grooves 
--Stick around for the uninhibited Q&A
--Snag a signed copy of Paul Bloom's wickedly good new book!

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, March 11, 8 pm @ the Bell House149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues) in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Subway: F or G to 4th Ave; R to 4th Ave/9th St.

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