TUESDAY, January 9, 8PM @ the Bell House, FREE! Secret Science Club presents Biologist, Snake-ologist, and Explorer Frank T. Burbrink

Frank T. Burbrink has traveled the world, researching snakes and discovering new species. On the island of Madagascar, he and his colleagues have studied an astonishing array of snakes, occupying every ecological niche, from freshwater to treetops. And these snakes have a variety of beautiful forms: A few have noses shaped like leaves. Others have skin the color of bumblebees. Still others are dusty red and cat-eyed.

Around the globe, snakes exhibit mind-boggling variation, from garter snakes to reticulated pythons. Some live off little termites. Others can kill and devour an antelope. Dr. Burbrink asks: How does an animal with a seemingly simple head-and-tube body have so many different forms? What exactly are “species” and how do they diversify? And what threats—even existential ones—are facing snakes in the wild?

Frank T. Burbrink is associate curator in the Division of Vertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History, principal investigator at the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics, and associate professor at the Richard Gilder Graduate School. The author of over 100 research papers, he has conducted fieldwork in Madagascar, Brazil, Panama, Japan, and the United States. He studies the evolutionary history of reptiles and amphibians, their ecology, and genetics. His research has been featured in the New York Times, Gizmodo, BBC News, and on The Limit Does Not Exist podcast.

Before & After

--Try our exploratory cocktail of the night, the Sidewinder

--Twist & slink to serpentine tunes

--Stick around for the sssssscintillating Q&A

The next biodiverse edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, January 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 Street.

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