March 6, 2024

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE on Tuesday, March 12 @ 7:30PM, "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, OUR BRAINS & OUR BODIES" with De-Shaine Murray & Matthew Liao, FREE!


Secret Science Club presents a “Dana Foundation Neuroscience & Society Talk” on “ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, OUR BRAINS & OUR BODIES” featuring Neuroscientist DE-SHAINE MURRAY and Bioethicist MATTHEW LIAO (in honor of Brain Awareness Week)

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE IN BROOKLYN on Tuesday, March 12, 7:30PM (Doors open at 7PM), Free!

At the next Secret Science Club, neuroscientist De-Shaine Murray and bioethicist Matthew Liao explore the rapidly transforming world of neuro-engineering and artificial intelligence.

New brain-computer interfaces hold the promise of treating a plethora of ailments—from brain trauma & depression to paralysis & locked-in syndrome. But they also present new challenges and risks.

What are the pros and cons of hacking our brains?

DE-SHAINE MURRAY is a neuroscientist and bioengineer at Yale’s Wu Tsai Institute and the Yale Neuroscience Analytics Group, where he works on the development of multimodal monitoring tools for the brain. He is the co-founder of Black in Neuro, a nonprofit organization that celebrates and empowers Black scholars in neuroscience-related fields. Dr. Murray and his work have been featured in the Journal of Neuroscience, STAT News, and on NPR.


S. MATTHEW LIAO is the director of the Center for Bioethics at NYU. He uses the tools of philosophy to study the ramifications of novel biomedical innovations. He is the editor and author of several books, including Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Moral Brains, Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights, and The Right to Be Loved. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Atlantic, Guardian, and numerous other outlets.

BEFORE & AFTER
--Try our wet-wired cocktail of the night, the Neuromancer

--Shimmy to synapse-soothing grooves

--Bring your questions for the scintillating Q&A

--Learn how you can participate in Brain Awareness Week, the global campaign to foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science

This mind-expanding edition of Secret Science Club - the “Dana Foundation Neuroscience & Society Talk” series presented in honor of Brain Awareness Week - is supported by the Dana Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to advance neuroscience that benefits society and reflects the aspirations of all people.

Secret Science Club meets in-person on Tuesday, March 12, 7:30PM @ 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 7PM.

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

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

February 14, 2024

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE, Secret Science Club presents Astrophysicist Jared Goldberg on Tuesday, February 20 @ 7:30PM, FREE!

We’re going SUPERNOVA!

Secret Science Club explores the Universe, massive stars, and explosions in space with ASTROPHYSICIST JARED GOLDBERG

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE on Tuesday, February 20, 7:30PM (Doors open at 7PM), Free!

Dying stars do not go gentle into that good night. They go out with a bang—or let’s call it a blazing shockwave—more powerful than almost anything in the Universe. In the wake of these glorious explosions, they leave behind black holes or dense neutron stars.

At the next Secret Science Club, astrophysicist Jared Goldberg gets into supernovae, the strange behavior of the beloved red supergiant Betelgeuse, and what happens when these unstable giants of the Universe finally “burn and rave at close of day.”

JARED GOLDBERG is an astrophysicist and research fellow at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Astrophysics. He uses simulations to understand the structure and evolution of massive stars and supernovae, along with the observable emissions produced during their dynamic lives and explosive deaths. Originally from starry Southern California, Dr. Goldberg currently lives in Manhattan, where he builds stars on his computer for want of stars visible in the night sky.

Before & After
-- Try our intergalactic cocktail of the night, the Star Power!
--Groove to out-of-this-world tunes
--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

This starry-eyed edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, February 20, 7:30PM @ 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 7PM.

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

To support Secret Science Club, make a DONATION to our annual pledge drive!

Visit our secure pledge page and get cool pledge rewards like T-shirts, tote bags, lab notebooks, and other secret swag. Don't want pledge rewards?  Click here for faster check out.

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

February 2, 2024

IN-PERSON @ THE DISCOVERY TANK ON PIER 57, Secret Science Club joins forces with Hudson River Park, Thursday, February 8 @ 6:30 PM, $10

SPECIAL EVENT! Secret Science Club teams up with Hudson River Park's "Ask a Scientist" to present an all-wild evening in Lower Manhattan

Thursday, February 8 @ 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 migrating animals wintering in Gotham

Biologists Shannon Curley, Maxine Montello and Jill Pryor all work hands-on with New York wildlife—and winter here can be an unexpectedly dynamic season. Whether they are rescuing sea turtles suffering from hypothermia or observing migrating birds that fly to NYC for the winter, these scientists are making surprising discoveries about wildlife populations in our not-so-concrete jungle.

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

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

--Groove to sweet, salty & seasonal tunes tunes in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”

--Imbibe cozy cocktails & mocktails

--Ask a scientist (or two! or three!) about what it takes to care for cold-stunned sea turtles, the amazing migrations of birds in the Atlantic flyway, how we can help protect migrating species coming through our area, and more!

Get $10 tickets here!

Shannon Curley
is an ecologist and postdoctoral fellow at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where she researches bird migration using weather radar to understand how migration patterns change over time and differ between seasons. She works with the lab’s BirdCast team, which studies the mass night-time migrations of birds across North America—and makes the data available to the public via stunning visualizations, presenting live and historic bird movements, as well as the birds likely to be found in your area. Previously she has researched the wildlife species returning to Fresh Kills Park (once the city’s premier garbage dump) as it’s been reconstructed as a green space, as well as the heron species that secretively nest on islands around New York Harbor. She and her work have been featured in the Associated Press and on CNN.

Maxine Montello
is the Rescue Program Director at the New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead, NY, where she leads rescue missions and the rehabilitation of sick and injured seals, dolphins, and sea turtles. At the rescue center, she has helped develop critical care methods for sea turtles that are found stranded and cold-stunned throughout the region. She has also developed the Center’s research program, which documents cases involving human interaction and tracks rehabbed and released animals via satellite. She received her masters from Pace University in Wildlife Ecology/Environmental Science where her thesis focused on the ecology and distribution of nesting sea turtles on the island of Barbuda. Her work has been featured in the New York Times and numerous other publications and outlets.

Jill Pryor is a senior biologist at the New York Marine Rescue Center where she provides clinical care to sick and injured seals and sea turtles. As a New York native, her passion for marine life and wildlife rehabilitation started at a young age exploring the coastal beaches of Long Island. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Ocean Science from the University of San Diego. Previously, she has worked as a marine mammal trainer with both the Long Island Aquarium and National Marine Mammal Foundation. She also has experience in veterinary medicine, working as a veterinary technician assistant in emergency and specialty vet hospitals in Hawaii and San Diego.

This program meets Thursday, February 8, 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!

What's next at Secret Science Club?
We will be in-person at the Bell House in Brooklyn on February 20. Stay tuned for details!

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

January 25, 2024

LIVE ONLINE: WEDNESDAY, January 31 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club & the Dana Foundation present an ENCORE PRESENTATION ON “ART & THE BRAIN” with Art Therapy Researcher GIRIJA KAIMA, Free!

Secret Science Club presents an ENCORE EDITION of the “Dana Foundation Neuroscience & Society Talk Series” on “ART & THE BRAIN” featuring Art Therapist & Researcher GIRIJA KAIMAL

Join us live via Zoom on Wednesday, January 31 @ 8PM (Eastern Time USA) "Doors" open at 7:30PM 

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)

So much about the human brain is still a mystery, and one of its greatest mysteries is the urge for self-expression through art—whether it be visual art, movement, music, literature, design, theater, or something else. Whatever drives us to create art, a growing body of research is revealing that making art (or even just experiencing it) can be therapeutic, soothing, and empowering.

At the next Secret Science Club Online, art therapy researacher Girija Kaimal explores how art-making affects our brains, our moods, and our mental health.

GIRIJA KAIMAL is a professor in the department of Creative Arts Therapies at Drexel University and directs the Health, Arts, Learning and Evaluation (HALE) lab, where she researches how visual art-making affects our physiological and psychological well-being. She is the current president of the American Art Therapy Association and her most recent book is The Expressive Instinct: How Imagination and Creative Works Help Us Survive and Thrive. In her own art practice, she explores identity and representation of emotion. As an art therapist and mental health researcher, areas of focus include traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and chronic stress among cancer patients and caregivers.

Before & After
--Mix up our cocktail & mocktail of the night, the Artist's Palette (recipe below!)

--Shimmy to synapse-soothing grooves

--Bring your questions for the live Q&A (and pen and paper for doodling)!

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.

What’s next at Secret Science Club?
--On Thursday, February 8, we’ll be at the Hudson River Park Discovery Tank on Pier 57 in Manhattan with sea turtle scientists Maxine Montello & Jill Pryor and bird migration researcher Shannon Curley.
-On Tuesday, February 20, we’ll be back at the Bell House in Brooklyn. Stay tuned for details!

(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 “Artist’s Palette” (created by the Secret Science Club experimental mixology lab)
Ingredients: 2 oz Tequila; 4 oz Orange Juice; 2 oz Fever-Tree Lime & Yuzu soda; ½ oz Grenadine; 1 or 2 Luxardo (or Amarena) Cherries
- Pour the tequila, then the orange juice, then the soda into a large highball glass filled with ice
- Over the back of a spoon, very slowly pour in the grenadine, letting it trickle down the side of the glass (to create a layered effect)
- Garnish with the candied cherries
For a mocktail version: Skip the tequila and add 4 oz of soda instead of 2 oz. Enjoy!

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

December 18, 2023

Rocket into 2024 with Secret Science Club!

Please join us
in celebrating science as a vital part of culture and public life this holiday season.

Donate to our annual pledge drive and help launch Secret Science Club into 2024. (And get some cool pledge rewards, too!)

Thanks to all the amazing scientists who presented (both in-person and online) at Secret Science Club in 2023, and to our fabulous partners, volunteers, and supporters. And thanks to YOU – our wonderful, ever-curious audience members.

To make a donation and support Secret Science Club 2024 and an all-new season of free and low-cost public science events), visit our secure pledge page. You can get fun pledge prizes, too (SSC T-shirts, tote bags, lab notebooks, secret swag, and more!). For those of you who don't want pledge rewards, click here for faster check out.

Happy New Year, everyone! 

Secret Science Club is a program of Science Live Productions, Inc, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and your donations are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law.

For more information, contact secretscienceclub[at]gmail.com

November 22, 2023

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE on Tuesday, December 5 @ 7:30PM, Secret Science Club & the Dana Foundation present ART & THE BRAIN, with Girija Kaimal & Constantina Theofanopoulou, FREE!

Secret Science Club presents the “Dana Foundation Neuroscience & Society Talk Series” on “ART & THE BRAIN” featuring Artist, Art Therapist & Researcher GIRIJA KAIMAL & Neuroscientist & Dancer CONSTANTINA THEOFANOPOULOU

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE IN BROOKLYN on Tuesday, December 5, 7:30PM (Doors open at 7PM), Free!

So much about the human brain is still a mystery, and one of its greatest mysteries is the urge for self-expression through art—whether it be visual art, movement, music, literature, acting, design, theater, or something else. Whatever drives us to create art, a growing body of research is revealing that making art (or even just experiencing it) can be therapeutic, soothing, and empowering.

At this edition of Secret Science Club, art therapist Girija Kaimal and neuroscientist Constantina Theofanopoulou explore how art-making affects our brain chemistry, our moods, and our mental health.

Join us in celebrating both science and art at this special end-of-year program!

GIRIJA KAIMAL is a professor in the department of Creative Arts Therapies at Drexel University and directs the Health, Arts, Learning and Evaluation (HALE) lab, where she researches how visual art-making affects our physiological and psychological well-being. She is the current president of the American Art Therapy Association and her most recent book is The Expressive Instinct: How Imagination and Creative Works Help Us Survive and Thrive. In her own art practice, she explores identity and representation of emotion. As an art therapist and mental health researcher, areas of focus include traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and chronic stress among cancer patients and caregivers.

CONSTANTINA THEOFANOPOULOU is a neuroscientist and an award-winning flamenco dancer. She is director of the Neurobiology of Social Communication Lab at Rockefeller University and Visiting Scholar at New York University. 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 and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Before & After
--Try our arty cocktail of the night, the Creative Juices

--Shimmy to synapse-soothing grooves

-- Draw, sketch & color in our Art Lounge

--Bring your questions for the scintillating Q&A

This mind-blowing 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 to spark interest in and support education around neuroscience and the many ways it interfaces with our everyday lives. This is one of the Foundation’s three programs working to advance neuroscience that benefits society and reflects the aspirations of all people.

Secret Science Club meets in-person on Tuesday, December 5, 7:30PM @ 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 7PM.

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

*This event will be mixed seated/standing. Arrive early for best seat selection.*

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

November 21, 2023

IN-PERSON @ THE DISCOVERY TANK ON PIER 57, Secret Science Club joins forces with Hudson River Park, Thursday, November 30 @ 6:30 PM, $10

SPECIAL EVENT! Secret Science Club teams up with Hudson River Park's "Ask a Scientist" to present an all-aquatic evening in Lower Manhattan

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

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park's “Discovery Tank” on beautiful Pier 57 to explore what happens when “Urban Meets Wild”

Environmental scientists Dianne Greenfield and Chester Zarnoch plunge into the wild waters of the Hudson River Estuary to investigate how the health & diversity of NYC’s biggest ecosystem is impacted (in both good ways and bad) by human activities. And they look at how some of the smallest & most unsung species can turn estuaries into some of the wildest ecosystems on the planet.

Before & After the Talks
--Check out the cool interactive exhibits on Hudson River wildlife

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

--Groove to wet & wild tunes in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”

--Imbibe thirst-quenching cocktails & mocktails

--Ask a scientist (or two!) about Manhattan’s newsworthy new beach (and less-well-known new wetlands), how the city’s antiquated sewage/rainwater system affects aquatic species, whether newly planted wetlands are helping to clean up pollution, and what we can all do to protect NYC’s estuary and its wildlife

Get $10 tickets here!

Dianne Greenfield
is an associate professor at the Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, CUNY. As a visiting researcher at Hudson River Park, she is studying how wet weather (rainfall, storms) combined with sewer overflow discharge (eek) influences the diversity & ecological function of the Lower Hudson River Estuary.

Chester Zarnoch
is a professor in the Department of Natural Sciences at Baruch College, CUNY, where he runs the Benthic Ecology Lab. He is also a visiting researcher at Hudson River Park. He studies restored marshlands in urban environments (such as NYC's Hudson River Estuary) and measures their ability to remove nitrogen (a pollutant from human activities) and sequester carbon.

This program meets Thursday, November 30, 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!

What's next at Secret Science Club?
We will be in-person at the Bell House in Brooklyn on December 5. Stay tuned for details!

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

November 8, 2023

LIVE ONLINE: WEDNESDAY, November 15 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents Extreme Animal Researcher Kenneth Catania, FREE!

Biological Wonders!

Secret Science Club presents Biological Detective, Neuro-ecologist & Author Kenneth Catania on Amazing Animal Abilities

Join us live via Zoom on Wednesday, November 15 @ 8PM (Eastern Time USA) "Doors" open at 7:30PM 

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)

Biological detective Kenneth Catania unlocks the secrets behind some of the world’s strangest & most intriguing animals.

Join us as we explore animal brains, senses, and abilities that are far outside the realm of human experience. Such animal superpowers include: detecting & producing electrical fields, “sniffing in stereo,” feeling microscopic textures, “speed eating,” and (yes) turning other creatures into zombies.

The award-winning author of Great Adaptations, Dr. Catania studies wunderkinds of evolution, such as electric eels, naked mole rats, jeweled wasps, tentacled snakes, and star-nosed moles. He shows not only how studying these unusual, extreme animals & uncovering their hidden abilities can provide deep insights into how life evolved, but also how scientific discovery can be filled with adventure and fun.

Before & After

-- Mix up our cocktail of the evening, the "Choose Your Own Superpower"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to wild & wonderful tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A
--Snag a copy of Kenneth Catania’s engrossing, critically acclaimed book, Great Adaptations

Kenneth Catania is Stevenson Professor of Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. He is a MacArthur Genius Grant winner, Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of the National Academy of Science’s Pradel Research Award. He studies sensory systems, brain evolution, predator-prey interactions, and the behavior of “outlier” animals. He, his research, and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, and Atlantic, as well as on NPR and the BBC.

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 “Choose Your Own Superpower” (created by the Secret Science Club experimental mixology lab)
Ingredients: 1½ oz Vodka, Tequila, or Gin (you choose); 2½ oz Chilled Cranberry Juice; 2½ oz Chilled Grapefruit Juice; 1 Lime; Pomegranate Seeds; Fresh Sprigs of Rosemary
- Pour your choice of spirits plus the two chilled juices into a highball glass filled with ice, and stir with a bar spoon
- Garnish with a wheel of lime, pomegranate seeds, and/or rosemary
For a mocktail version:
Ingredients: 5 oz of Chilled Cranberry, Grapefruit, Pomegranate, Orange, or Unfiltered Apple Juice (or any combination thereof!); 1½ oz Sparkling Apple Cider, Lemon-Lime Soda, or Seltzer (you pick); 1 Lime; Pomegranate Seeds; Fresh Sprigs of Rosemary
- Pour your choice of juices into a highball glass filled with ice, and gently stir with a bar spoon
- Slowly pour in your choice of carbonated beverage and stir again
- Garnish with a wheel of lime, pomegranate seeds, and/or rosemary

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

October 4, 2023

LIVE ONLINE: Tuesday, October 10 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents Naturalist & Author Adam Welz on “The End of Eden,” FREE!

Secret Science Club presents Conservationist, Author, and Photographer Adam Welz on The End of Eden

Join us live via ZOOM on TUESDAY, October 10 @ 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)

When it comes to climate change, human beings tend to focus on how it affects us. But how is global warming impacting the wild world? At the next Secret Science Club, Adam Welz jumps off from his new book, The End of Eden, to examine the unexpected stories of animals across the globe and the ways they are coping—or not—with the “climate breakdown” and “global weirding.”

Combining firsthand reportage and insights from cutting-edge research, Adam Welz takes us from the Mojave Desert in California to the kelp forests of the Australian coastline… and brings us up close to creatures like parrots in Puerto Rico, cheetahs in Namibia, and moose in Maine as they struggle to survive changes to the environments in which they have evolved.

Before & After
--Mix up our Shock-tober cocktail & mocktail of the night, the "Creature Feature"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to wild & wonderful tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A
--Snag a copy of Adam Welz’s exquisitely written new book, The End of Eden: Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown

Adam Welz is a naturalist, conservation consultant, writer, photographer, and filmmaker whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The Atlantic, Yale Environment 360, Time, and many other publications. He's a recipient of a Middlebury Fellowship in Environmental Journalism and currently lives in Cape Town with his wife, Sarah, and triplet daughters.

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 “Creature Feature” (created by the Secret Science Club experimental mixology lab)
Ingredients: 3 oz Apple Cider, 1½ - 2 oz Dark Rum, 2 oz Ginger Beer, 1 Slice Apple, 1 Cinnamon Stick
- Combine the apple cider and rum in a highball glass filled with ice cubes; stir
- Slowly add the ginger beer; stir again gently
- Garnish with a crisp, tart slice of apple and top off with a cinnamon stick
For a mocktail version: Skip the rum and change the measurements, using 4 oz of apple cider and 4 oz of ginger beer.

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

September 12, 2023

IN-PERSON @ THE DISCOVERY TANK ON PIER 57, Secret Science Club joins forces with Hudson River Park, Thursday, September 21 @ 6:30 PM, $10

We’re taking the plunge & heading into Manhattan!

SPECIAL EVENT! Secret Science Club teams up with Hudson River Park's "Ask a Scientist" to present an evening of hot-and-cold science

Thursday, September 21 @ 6:30PM, $10. (Reserve your tickets.)

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park's brand-new Discovery Tank on beautiful Pier 57 for Climate Week NYC.

Atmospheric scientists Róisín Commane and Lauren Smalls-Mantey explore the strange weather & climate events we’ve been experiencing, how they are affecting NYC, as well as what we can do to protect ourselves, our urban environment, and our planet.

Before & After the Talks
--Check out the cool interactive exhibits & microscopes at the Discovery Tank!
--Stop by the pier’s blazin’ new food court “Market 57” with vendors curated by the James Beard Foundation!
--Groove to red-hot tunes in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”
--Imbibe thirst-quenching cocktails & mocktails
--Ask a scientist (or two!) about urban heat islands, wildfire smoke, intense rains & flooding, rising temperatures, the impact of green spaces and more!

Get $10 tickets here!

Róisín Commane is an assistant professor in the department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. She’s currently measuring greenhouse gases around New York City (and the Arctic) to understand more about the sources of emissions and their effect on air quality. Her most recent research explored how the city’s trees and greenery absorb a portion of NYC’s carbon emissions. Dr. Commane and her work have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Scientific American, and on the Weather Channel.

Lauren Smalls-Mantey is a senior environmental systems scientist for the Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy at NYC’s Department of Health, where she studies extreme heat and works on urban climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that connect equity, green infrastructure, and human health. Previously Dr. Smalls-Mantey was the Urban Heat Resilience Project Manager for the NYC Parks Department’s “Cool Neighborhoods Initiative.” She and her work have been featured in the New York Times and Amsterdam News.

This program meets Thursday, September 21, 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!

NYC skyline image: NASA/Emma Howells

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

July 17, 2023

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.

July 3, 2023

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.

June 7, 2023

LIVE ONLINE: Tuesday, June 13 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents Biologist & Author Danna Staaf on “Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals & the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World,” FREE!

Oh, baby! Secret Science Club Online presents Danna Staaf & Nursery Earth

Join us live via Zoom on Tuesday, June 13 @ 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)

Puppies, kittens, chicks—they’re frankly irresistible. But baby animals can be bizarre too. Some developing creatures go through radical metamorphoses on the way to adulthood. A few baby species are comparatively huge, much larger than their adult selves. Other babies are carnivorous, yet become vegetarians as grown-ups.

At the next Secret Science Club, biologist Danna Staaf jumps off from her new book Nursery Earth to explore the myriad, mysterious, and fascinating ways young animals survive and develop. From cygnet to swan, puggle to platypus, caterpillar to moth, tadpole to frog—she celebrates the strange, wondrous world of baby animals.

Before & After
--Mix up our honking-good cocktail & mocktail of the night, the "Gosling"… (recipe is below!)
--Groove to wild tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A
--Snag a copy of Danna Staaf’s awesome new book, Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals & the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World

Danna Staaf earned a PhD in invertebrate biology from Stanford University and has been studying marine animals for decades. Her first book, Monarchs of the Sea: The Extraordinary 500-Million-Year History of Cephalopods, was named one of the best science books of 2017 by NPR’s Science Friday. Her writing has been featured in Science, Atlas Obscura, and Nautilus, and her research has appeared in the Journal of Experimental Biology, Aquaculture, as well as in numerous textbooks. She lives with her family in Northern California.

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 “Gosling” (created by the Secret Science Club experimental mixology lab)
Ingredients: 4 oz Ginger Beer, 2 oz Dark Rum, Juice of ½ Lime, 3 Dashes of Angostura Bitters, Slice of Candied Ginger, and Luxardo Cherry
- Pour the ginger beer into a highball glass filled with ice cubes
- Slowly add the rum, followed by a good squeeze of lime and the bitters
- Stir gently and top off with a slice of candied ginger and a Luxardo cherry
For a mocktail version: Replace the rum with pineapple or passion fruit juice and skip the bitters.

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