SPECIAL EVENT! SECRET SCIENCE CLUB IS HEADING TO THE THEATER, Saturday March 29 @ 2 PM

Secret Science Club is teaming up with Ensemble Studio Theatre on Saturday, March 29, for a special event! 

Join us for a new play about chimp researcher Jane Goodall + a science talkback with three amazing primatologists after the show + refreshments

Have You Met Jane Goodall and Her Mother? Saturday, March 29, 2PM at Ensemble Studio Theatre in Manhattan. General admission tickets $35, seniors and students $30. Reserve now!

The play dramatizes the early months of 26-year-old Jane Goodall’s first expedition to study chimpanzees in Africa, an expedition that changed how we view what makes us human. There was one condition Jane had to fulfill before heading out on her expedition though. The Tanzanian government would only allow her to study chimps in the wild if she brought a chaperone. So, Jane invited her mother.

On Saturday, March 29, following the 2 PM matinee performance of Have You Met Jane Goodall and Her Mother?, the world premiere of this new comedy by Michael Walek, everyone is encouraged to stay for a talkback discussion and Q&A with primatologists Zarin Machanda (Tufts University), Stephanie Poindexter (University of Buffalo), and Kris Sabbi (Harvard University). They’ll share their thoughts on the scientific background of the play and discuss their own field research on bonobos, chimpanzees, slow lorises, and other primates.

Have You Met Jane Goodall and Her Mother?, written by Michael Walek and directed by Linsay Firman, is the Spring 2025 mainstage production of the EST/Sloan Project, EST’s partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop new plays “exploring the world of science and technology,” an initiative now in its 25th year.

About the Panelists

Zarin Machanda is the Usen Family Career Development Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Biology at Tufts University. She is currently the Co-Director of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project, an almost 40-year study of the behavior, physiology, and ecology of wild chimpanzees living in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Her main research questions center around the form, function, and development of social relationships, but she also dabbles in research on communication and cooperation. Her research currently focuses on understanding the social determinants of healthy aging in wild chimpanzees.

Stephanie Poindexter is currently an Assistant Professor in the departments of Anthropology and Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo. Her research focuses on nocturnal primate behavior and evolution and addresses two overarching questions: 1) How do primates engage with their environment and other organisms? 2) How did adaptive behaviors and morphologies evolve to facilitate successful behavioral ecology. She conducts research on these topics at the Sakaerat Slow Loris Project in Thailand and has studied wild and captive primates in Indonesia, Vietnam, the UK and the US.

About the Moderator

Kris Sabbi is a College Fellow in the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and a member of the Pan Lab. Her work centers on questions of how young apes — especially chimpanzees and bonobos — learn to navigate their social worlds as they develop between infancy and adulthood. At Harvard, she teaches courses in human life history evolution, hormones and behavior, and research techniques in primate behavior and ecology.

Secret Science Club is thrilled to partner with EST for this special program!

Ensemble Studio Theatre is located at 545 West 52nd Street, 2nd floor (between 10th & 11th Avenues) in Manhattan. Get your tickets today!

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

SECRET SCIENCE CLUB @ THE DISCOVERY TANK ON PIER 57, Thursday, February 6 @ 6:30 PM, $10

THE INVISIBLE REVEALED! Secret Science Club teams up with Hudson River Park's "Ask a Scientist" in Manhattan to present the hidden world of microbes

Thursday, February 6 @ 6:30PM, $10. (Reserve your tickets.)

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park's “Discovery Tank” on gorgeous Pier 57 to explore little-known microscopic organisms and their outsized impact on our city, waterways, and world.

While it may seem too early for spring in NYC, one of the first signs of the season is the late-winter “plankton bloom” in the Hudson River. As more sunlight reaches the water, photosynthesizing microorganisms—such as diatoms and dinoflagellates—begin to “blossom,” forming the base of the aquatic food chain and turning the river just a bit green.

On a global scale, phytoplankton produce half the world’s oxygen—and blooms can get so large that they can be seen from space. Of course, sometimes there’s too much of a good thing, and harmful plankton blooms can overwhelm local ecosystems or even be dangerous to people. Environmental scientists closely monitor how these mighty microorganisms interact with changing conditions.

Join us with Brooklyn College’s Theodore Muth and Joaquim Goes from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory as we explore the wild world of microbes—in our estuary and around the globe!

Before & After the Talks
--Check out the cool microscopes and interactive exhibits at the Discovery Tank

--Stop by the pier’s exceptional food court “Market 57” with vendors curated by the James Beard Foundation

--Groove to sweet and salty tunes in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”

--Imbibe tasty beers & soft drinks

--Ask a scientist (or two!) about our local microbiome, DNA barcoding, the “FlowCam,” what we can do to protect our waterways, and more!

Get $10 tickets here (drinks included!)

Joaquim Goes is a Lamont Research Professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. His research focuses on the physiology and productivity of marine phytoplankton, carbon cycling in the sea, how ocean ecosystems and plankton are responding to climate change, and microplastics in aquatic ecosystems. He works with NASA’s PACE satellite which is deployed to study ocean health and identify types of phytoplankton blooming in the world’s oceans. Dr. Goes works to “sea truth” the satellite’s findings by conducting research cruises and deploying new technologies in waters from the Bay of Bengal to Long Island Sound.

Theodore Muth is a biologist and professor at CUNY’s Brooklyn College, where he researches urban microbes and microbiomes in our soils, waterways and even on subways. He and his lab are currently diving deep into the waters of the lower Hudson River estuary, unlocking the hidden stories of its bacterial communities. By sequencing these microbial populations, they are not only tracking water quality but also uncovering a fascinating connection between microplastics and the spread of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs). Their research sheds light on the unseen impacts of pollution and offers crucial insights into the health of our waterways.

This program meets Thursday, February 6, 6:30PM at the Discovery Tank on Hudson River Park’s Pier 57. (The entrance to the pier is at the intersection of W. 15th St and 11th Ave in Manhattan.) Subway: A, C, E, L to 14th St/8th Ave; 1, 2, 3 to 14th St

Tickets are $10. Click here to reserve your spot!

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, January 22 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents Social Psychologist & Author Kurt Gray on "OUTRAGED”

Secret Science Club Online presents Social Psychologist & Author Kurt Gray on polarization, outrage, and the science of finding common ground, FREE!

Join us live via ZOOM on WEDNESDAY, January 22 @ 8PM (Eastern Time USA) "Doors" open at 7:30PM 

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

These are polarizing times, and it’s easy to assume that people with different beliefs and political leanings have different moral foundations.

However, in his timely new book—Outraged, Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground—social psychologist Kurt Gray argues that, when it comes to the brain, we all have the same moral minds. Our positions on big issues may be radically opposed, but our moral judgments stem from the same instinct, a desire to protect ourselves and those we care about from harm.

So why can’t we all just get along? Conflict and outrage arise when we have different perceptions about who needs to be protected (i.e. who the “real” victim is), whether we’re talking about political issues, fights with our in-laws, or arguments on the playground.

In this fascinating and insightful tour of our moral minds, Kurt Gray unpacks strategies for bridging social and personal divides, understanding how social media is fueling the era of outrage, and dealing with stress in these polarizing times.

Before & After
-- Mix up our cocktail & mocktail of the evening, the "Group Hug"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to synapse-stimulating tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A
--Snag a copy of Kurt Gray's critically acclaimed new book, Outraged: Why We Fight About Morality and Politics and How to Find Common Ground

KURT GRAY is a Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the Deepest Beliefs Lab and the Center for the Science of Moral Understanding. With over 120 published scientific papers, he explores the psychology of morality, politics, religion and AI. Gray is the recipient of numerous early-career and best paper awards, and his findings have been featured in the New Yorker, New York Times, Economist, Scientific American, Wired, and Hidden Brain.

This is a FREE event.

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 “Group Hug” (created by the Secret Science Club Experimental Mixology Lab)
Ingredients: 1 cup Whole Milk, 2 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 1 tbsp Sugar (or more to taste), 2 oz Baileys Irish Cream
- Pour milk into a small saucepan on stovetop over low-to-medium heat
- Whisk in cocoa powder and sugar, and continue whisking until hot (but don’t let it boil)
- Pour hot chocolate into a mug and add Bailey’s
** (For a mocktail version, just skip the Irish cream.)

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

Happy New Year from Secret Science Club!  

Thank you for being part of our wonderful science-loving community! 

As we blast off into 2025, please join us in celebrating science as a vital part of our culture and public life. We look forward to seeing you at our events and programs in the coming year. Cheers to all! 

Let's keep orbiting + exploring + discussing + discovering!

LIVE ONLINE! TUESDAY, October 22 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents Astrophysicist Carl Rodriguez, FREE!

Secret Science Club Online presents Astrophysicist Carl Rodriguez on Our Strange, Unquiet & Breathtaking Cosmos, FREE!

Join us live via ZOOM on TUESDAY, October 22 @ 8PM (Eastern Time USA) "Doors" open at 7:30PM 

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

With every new discovery, our Universe grows vaster, stranger, and more exciting than most of us ever thought possible.

Join us at the next Secret Science Club Online with Carl Rodriguez as we rocket into space to learn about gravitational waves, neutron stars, black holes, and “cosmic alchemy”—how the very elements of our existence are forged in the stars.

Carl Rodriguez is an astrophysicist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he directs the stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, black holes, and gravitational waves group. He studies how stars live, move, and die and how star clusters create some of the most powerful explosions in the Universe. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the New Investigator Award from the Kaufman Foundation, a 2022 Sloan Fellowship, a 2022 Packard Fellowship, the 2023 Vera Rubin Early Career Prize, and the 2024 Helen B. Warner Prize from the American Astronomical Society. His research has appeared in the Atlantic, Quanta Magazine, Wired, and New Scientist.

Before & After
-- Mix up our cosmic cocktail & mocktail of the evening, the "Fall Fireball"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to out-of-this-world tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A

This is a FREE event.

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 “Fall Fireball” (created by the Secret Science Club Experimental Mixology Lab)
Ingredients: 2 oz Bourbon, 2 oz Fresh Apple Cider, ½ oz Cinnamon Simple Syrup*; 1 tsp Fresh-squeezed Lemon Juice; Ice Cubes; plus a twist of Orange Peel for garnish
- Combine bourbon, cider, cinnamon syrup, lemon juice, and ice in a cocktail shaker, and shake
- Strain the mixture into an old-fashioned glass with a few ice cubes
- Garnish with orange peel
*Cinnamon Simple Syrup Recipe:
- Mix 1 cup water with 1 cup brown sugar in a pot, and add 2 sticks cinnamon. Simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool.
**(For a mocktail version, skip the bourbon, double the cider, and add a splash of ginger beer or club soda to your glass.)

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

SECRET SCIENCE CLUB @ THE DISCOVERY TANK ON PIER 57, Thursday, October 3 @ 6:30 PM, $10

A SHELL OF A NIGHT! Secret Science Club teams up with Hudson River Park's "Ask a Scientist" to present a sea-salty evening in Lower Manhattan

Thursday, October 3 @ 6:30PM, $10. (Reserve your tickets.)

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park's “Discovery Tank” on gorgeous Pier 57 to explore the hidden lives of NYC’s wild oysters.

In 19th-century New York, oysters were so plentiful in our waters that they were eaten every day, in every way (raw, fricasseed, fried, and stewed). It was estimated that half the world’s oyster population lived along our shores. But over time, the expanding city and resultant pollution made life in the harbor inhospitable for shellfish, causing the oysters—a keystone species in our estuary ecosystem—to go functionally extinct. All may not be lost though: In recent years, the environment in the harbor has been on the upswing. Now, biologists and conservationists are working to bring back the beloved bivalves.

Join us with CUNY’s Phillip Staniczenko and Shinara Sunderlal from the Billion Oyster Project for a night of environmental science on the half shell!

Before & After the Talks
--Check out the cool interactive exhibits and microscopes at the Discovery Tank

--Stop by the pier’s exceptional food court “Market 57” with vendors curated by the James Beard Foundation

--Groove to sweet and salty tunes in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”

--Imbibe tasty beers & soft drinks

Get $10 tickets here (drinks included!)

Phillip P.A. Staniczenko is a Research Professor in the Biology Department at Brooklyn College, City University of New York (CUNY), studying the resilience of complex social-ecological systems to environmental change. He serves on the advisory committee of the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior subprogram at CUNY Graduate Center and is affiliated faculty at the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay. He has held research positions at the University of Oxford, University College London, University of Chicago, University of Maryland College Park, and the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles in academic journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications, Nature Ecology & Evolution, and Ecology Letters. He is currently Chair of the Theoretical Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America and Subject-Matter Editor at Ecological Monographs, one of the oldest and most respected academic journals on ecology.

Shinara Sunderlal is the Education Outreach Manager at Billion Oyster Project. Shinara is an environmental educator and considers herself a global citizen. She grew up in New Delhi, India, and has spent the last 10 years living and learning in England, Costa Rica, California, and New York. Her passion for exploring the environment started in her suburban backyard and led her to experiences with Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. She quickly realized that her impact on creating a more sustainable tomorrow would be minimal if she didn't combine her curiosity for the natural world with her passion for working with children, to educate the next generation of stewards. This led her to pursue a MA at the New York University and continue working to protect the local landscape through building communities around ecological solutions that oysters bring. Shinara is also an avid birder, Indian classical singer, and a budding photographer.

This program meets Thursday, October 3, 6:30PM at the Discovery Tank on Hudson River Park’s Pier 57. (The entrance to the pier is at the intersection of W. 15th St and 11th Ave in Manhattan.) Subway: A, C, E, L to 14th St/8th Ave; 1, 2, 3 to 14th St

Tickets are $10. Click here to reserve your spot!

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 24 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents DANCE, MOVEMENT, AND THE BRAIN featuring Neuroscientist & Dancer CONSTANTINA THEOFANOPOULOU, Free!

Secret Science Club presents an encore edition of the “Dana Foundation Neuroscience & Society Talk Series” on DANCE, MOVEMENT AND THE BRAIN featuring Neuroscientist & Dancer CONSTANTINA THEOFANOPOULOU

Join us live via ZOOM on Wednesday, July 24 @ 8PM (Eastern Time USA) "Doors" open at 7:30PM, FREE!

Here's how to sign up: Everyone on our mailing list will be emailed the Zoom link the night before. To join the Secret Science Club mailing list (or just request the Zoom link), send us an email (secretscienceclub@gmail.com)

Dance is a universal part of our culture—whether you’re doing ballet, ballroom, the latest TikTok dance craze, or just freestyling on the dance floor with friends. And guess what?

It turns out this urge to express ourselves through movement has some fantastic side benefits. A growing body of research is revealing that dancing can be therapeutic, emotionally uplifting, and healthy for our brains.

Join us at the next Secret Science Club Online with neuroscientist & dancer Constantina Theofanopoulou as we explore how dance, rhythm, and movement affect our minds, our moods, and our well-being.

CONSTANTINA THEOFANOPOULOU is a neuroscientist and an award-winning flamenco dancer. She is the Herbert and Nell Singer Research Assistant Professor at Rockefeller University, a Visiting Scholar at New York University, and a Research Associate at Emory University and the US Department of Veteran Affairs. She’s using her experience in dance to inform research on the connections between dance and speech—and the possibility that dance therapy might improve deficits in speech, particularly among people coping with Parkinson’s Disease.

Before & After
--Mix up our cocktail & mocktail of the night, the Sip & Twirl (recipe below!)

--Shimmy to synapse-soothing grooves

--Bring your questions for the live Q&A

This encore edition of Secret Science Club - the “Dana Foundation Neuroscience & Society Talk Series” - is supported by the Dana Foundation as part of its Dana Education program. The Foundation’s mission is to advance neuroscience that benefits society and reflects the aspirations of all people.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT.

(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 “Sip & Twirl” (created by the Secret Science Club Experimental Mixology Lab)
Ingredients: 3 oz Red Wine, 3 oz San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa (blood orange soda), 1 Lemon Slice, 1 Slice of Ripe Peach, 3 Ice Cubes
- Pour red wine and soda into a large wine glass
- Add ice cubes
- Top off with a slice of lemon and slice of peach
** (For a mocktail version, substitute cranberry juice for the wine.)

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! TUESDAY, July 9 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents Award-winning Science Writer Ferris Jabr on BECOMING EARTH, Free!

Secret Science Club Online presents Award-winning Science Writer Ferris Jabr on Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life, FREE!

Join us live via ZOOM on TUESDAY, July 9 @ 8PM (Eastern Time USA) "Doors" open at 7:30PM 

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

The notion of a living world is one of humanity’s oldest beliefs. Though once scorned by some scientists, the concept of Earth as a vast interconnected living system has gained acceptance in recent decades. A relatively young field called Earth system science now studies the living and nonliving components of the planet as an integrated whole.

We, and all living things, are more than inhabitants of Earth—we are an outgrowth of Earth’s structure and an engine of its evolution. Life and its environment have coevolved for billions of years, transforming a lump of orbiting rock into a cosmic oasis—a planet that breathes, metabolizes, and regulates its climate.

At the next Secret Science Club Online, Ferris Jabr—the author of Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life—discusses this radical new view of our planet, where lush forests spew water, pollen, and bacteria to summon rain; giant animals engineer the very landscapes they roam; microbes chew rock to shape continents; and microscopic plankton remake the air and sea.

Humans are one of the most extreme examples of life transforming Earth. Through fossil fuel use, agriculture, and pollution, we have altered more layers of the planet in less time than any other species, pushing Earth into a crisis. But we are also uniquely able to understand and protect the planet’s wondrous ecology and self-stabilizing processes. How well we play our part will determine what kind of Earth our descendants inherit for millennia to come.

Before & After
-- Mix up our eco-cocktail & mocktail of the evening, the "Pale Blue Dot"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to wild & wonderful tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A
--Snag a copy of Ferris Jabr’s critically acclaimed new book, Becoming Earth: How Our Planet Came to Life

Ferris Jabr is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and Scientific American. He has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, National Geographic, Wired, Outside, Lapham’s Quarterly, McSweeney’s, and The Los Angeles Review of Books, among other publications. He is the recipient of a Whiting Foundation Creative Nonfiction Grant, as well as fellowships from UC Berkeley and the MIT Knight Science Journalism Program. His work has been anthologized in several editions of The Best American Science and Nature Writing series.

This is a FREE event.

What's next at Secret Science Club?
On Wednesday July 24, we’ll be back on Zoom with an encore edition of the "Dana Foundation Neuroscience and Society Talk Series" on "Art & the Brain" with brain scientist & dancer Constantina Theofanopoulou. 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 “Pale Blue Dot” (created by the Secret Science Club Experimental Mixology Lab)
Ingredients: 5 Mint Leaves; 8 Fresh Blueberries; ½ oz Simple Syrup*; 1 oz Fresh-squeezed Lime Juice; 2 oz White Rum; Ice Cubes; Sparkling Water (to top off); plus a Mint Sprig, Slice of Lime, and a few more Blueberries for garnish
- Combine mint leaves, lime juice, blueberries, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker, and gently muddle
- After muddling, add the rum and a handful of ice, then shake until chilled
- Strain the mixture into a highball glass filled with ice cubes and top off with sparkling water
- Garnish with the mint sprig, lime slice, and blueberries
*Simple Syrup Recipe:
- Mix 1 part water and 1 part sugar in a pot. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Let cool.
**(For a mocktail version, skip the rum and substitute lemon-lime soda or ginger ale for the sparkling water.)

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