IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE, Secret Science Club presents Biologist Daniel Kronauer on Tuesday, July 25 @ 8PM, FREE!

Wild and wonderful…

Secret Science Club BUGS OUT with Biologist DANIEL KRONAUER

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE on Tuesday, July 25, 8PM (Doors open at 7:30PM), Free!

We humans are a ubiquitous, abundant, and social species. But there is one animal that has us beat. Scientists estimate that there are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth, or about 2.5 million ants for every human. And they are extremely gregarious little beasties, with social lives oddly reminiscent of our own. Strange, intriguing, and wildly successful, ants have been known to raise livestock and crops, wage war, and design architecturally stunning homes. And they’re very chatty.

At the next Secret Science Club, award-winning biologist & ant whisperer Daniel Kronauer explores the sophisticated social lives of ants. He asks:

-- Why are some animals social and others are not? What are the pros and cons of being a social species?

-- How are pheromones used by ants to communicate? (Imagine if, instead of speaking, humans exuded nuanced scents: a sniff of violet for “danger” or a whiff of vanilla for “dinnertime.”)

-- How do sisters in a colony divide up work and take on new roles, so that one turns into a diminutive caregiver, another grows the huge mandibles of a soldier, and another becomes an enormous queen?

-- Are ants in a colony like neurons in one big brain? How do ants make collective decisions?

-- How are social rules enforced in the ant world? Can ant society tell us anything about the human condition?

DANIEL KRONAUER is Stanley S. and Sydney R. Shuman Associate Professor and head of the Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior at The Rockefeller University. He is the recipient of numerous research awards, and his insect photography was recognized in the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. He is the author of the book, Army Ants: Nature’s Ultimate Social Hunters. The Kronauer lab has been in the news several times over the past year for a slew of new findings, including discovering that ants secrete and share a form of “ant milk” and the creation of the world’s first transgenic ants (with neurons that flash fluorescent green). The lab—which has over 100,000 ants in all stages of development in different colonies—is highly interdisciplinary, combining research in ecology, ethology, genetics, epigenetics, and neurobiology.

Before & After
-- Raise your glass (and your antennae) to “the little things that run the world” with our cocktail of the night, the Love Bug!
--Groove to six-legged tunes
--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

This ultra-social edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, July 25, 8PM @ 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 to the performance space open at 7:30PM.

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

You can support Secret Science Club's programming by making a DONATION via:

Credit Card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay on Donorbox

Image credits: Daniel Kronauer: The Rockefeller University; Clonal raider ants tagged for individual behavioral tracking--the ants form a main "nest" cluster around larvae: (c) Daniel Kronauer

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

LIVE ONLINE: WEDNESDAY, July 12 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents “STARSTRUCK” with astrophysicist & author Sarafina El-Badry Nance in conversation with Moiya McTier, FREE!

Prepare to Embrace the Unknown!

Secret Science Club Online presents STARSTRUCK with astrophysicist & author Sarafina El-Badry Nance in conversation with Moiya McTier

Join us live via ZOOM on WEDNESDAY, July 12 @ 8PM (Eastern Time USA) "Doors" open at 7:30PM 

Shhh... everyone on our mailing list will be emailed the Zoom link the day before.  To join the Secret Science Club mailing list (or just request the Zoom link), send us an email (secretscienceclub@gmail.com)

Sarafina El-Badry Nance is an astrophysicist and analog astronaut. She studies exploding stars at Berkeley and recently flew to "Mars,” to live in a Red Planet simulation on Mauna Loa.

Her passion is investigating outer space—but personal challenges have meant diving deep into what she calls the universe within herself.

In her early 20s, she discovered she had the BRCA genetic mutation, which carries an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer. After researching her options, she made the decision to have a preventative double mastectomy.

While navigating the unknowns of outer space and her own inner universe, she has publicly shared her journey, becoming a powerful science communicator and women’s health advocate.

At the next Secret Science Club, Sarafina El-Badry Nance discusses her science-packed, inspirational new book, Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark with fellow astrophysicist Moiya McTier.

Sarafina El-Badry Nance is an Egyptian-American astrophysicist and author. She has been awarded fellowships by the National Science Foundation, and she and her work have been featured in the Discovery Channel’s How the Universe Works, National Geographic, San Francisco Chronicle, Refinery29, NPR’s Short Wave, and the BBC. She was named one of Forbes’ “30 Inspirational Women” and was on Forbes’ list of “30 Under 30” and the Arab American Foundation’s “40 Under 40.” She lives in Berkeley, California, with her partner and her dog, Comet.

Moiya McTier is an astrophysicist, folklorist, author, and science communicator. She is the author of The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy, and the host and producer of “Exolore,” a podcast that explores fictional world-building through the lens of science. Dr. McTier has consulted with companies like Disney and PBS on their fictional worlds, helped design exhibits for the New York Hall of Science, and given hundreds of talks about science around the globe (including features on MSNBC and NPR). When she's not researching space or imagining new worlds, she can likely be found at home in New York City, watching trashy reality TV with her cat, Kosmo.

Before & After
--Mix up our starry-eyed cocktail & mocktail, the "Sublime Universe"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to out-of-this-world tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A
--Snag a copy of Sarafina El-Badry Nance’s amazing new book Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark

This is a FREE event.

What's next at Secret Science Club?
We will be in-person at the Bell House in Brooklyn on Tuesday, July 25, with biologist Daniel Kronauer. Stay tuned for details!

You can support Secret Science Club's programming by making a DONATION via:

Credit Card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or Google Pay on Donorbox

Cash App: $SecretScienceClub

Zelle: scienceliveproductions@gmail.com

(Note: If you don't already have the Zoom meeting app on your computer or mobile device, you can download it for free at zoom.us)

Cocktail Recipe for the “Sublime Universe” (created by Joe Cacciola/Mixologist)
Ingredients: 3 oz White Wine (Pinot Grigio), ½ oz Simple Syrup**, ¼-inch Slice of a Peeled Cucumber, Juice of ½ Lime, 1 Mint Leaf, and a Sprig of Mint (for garnish)
- In a bar glass, add the slice of cucumber, mint leaf, and lime juice; then with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon, muddle well (until completely combined)
- Add the wine and stir well
- Double strain (to catch all the cucumber seeds) into a wine glass filled with ice
- Garnish with a sprig of mint
** Quick Simple Syrup Recipe
- Put 1 part water and 1 part sugar in a bar shaker, shake for one minute, let settle, and then shake again to a slow count of ten.
*** (For a mocktail version, substitute white grape juice for the wine and the simple syrup is optional.)

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.