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.

IN-PERSON @ THE WETLAB ON PIER 40, Secret Science Club joins forces with Hudson River Park, Thursday, June 13 @ 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, June 13 @ 6:30PM, $10. (Reserve your tickets.)

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park's Wetlab on beautiful Pier 40 to explore the amazing creatures living in our waters (sharks! seahorses!), how they are cared for at the city’s aquariums, and how they are studied in the wild.

Join us with biologists Hans Walters and Siddhartha Hayes for this special Ask a Scientist event.

Before & After the Talks
--Get up close and personal with wildlife from NYC’s liquid wilderness. Check out the exhibits & aquariums in the Wetlab, filled with inconspicuous marine animals that live right under our noses alongside Wall Street, the West Village, and Chelsea
--Groove to sea-salty tunes in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”
--Imbibe thirst-quenching beers & soft drinks
--Ask a scientist (or two!) about what it’s like to work with and care for animals at an aquarium, how they feel about swimming with sharks, and what we can all do to protect the wildlife in and around New York City

Get $10 tickets here!

Hans Walters is a marine biologist and curator at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium—where he oversees the “Ocean Wonders: Sharks!” exhibit, which features a dozen species of sharks and six species of skates and rays. He is also a field scientist with the WCS’s New York Seascape Program—and studies the movements of sand tiger, mako, and blue sharks that live in the waters around the New York Bight. Hans holds a Bachelor’s in Biology from the University of Miami and a Master’s in Marine Biology from Hofstra University. He’s also the former lead singer of the hard rock band—Z Toyz.

Siddhartha Hayes (he/him) is a field scientist, aquarist, etymology enthusiast, and unconfirmed fish whisperer. As Manager of Research & Aquaria at Hudson River Park, he conducts various projects from ongoing fish and river condition sampling, to pathogens, plastics, and more. He also oversees the Pier 40 Wetlab, a flow-through aquarium of native Hudson River organisms that serves as a primary education site. He works to facilitate research that answers important questions about the river and its denizens and spark a sense of wonder by connecting people with their aquatic neighbors. Siddhartha has a Bachelor’s in Biology and Greek & Roman Studies from Vassar College.

This program meets Thursday, June 13, 6:30PM at the Wetlab on Hudson River Park’s Pier 40. (The entrance to the pier is at the intersection of W. Houston St and West St in Manhattan.) Subway: 1 to Houston St; C or E to Spring 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, June 5 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club & the Lasker Foundation present the “Spring 2024 Lasker Public Lecture” with Nobel Prize Winner & Author Tom Cech, FREE!

Secret Science Club & the Lasker Foundation present the Spring 2024 Lasker Public Lecture with Nobel Prize Winner Tom Cech on the The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets

Join us live via Zoom on WEDNESDAY, June 5 @ 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)

Since the double helix was first unraveled, DNA has dominated science and the popular imagination as the “secret of life.” But over the last half century, a quiet revolution has taken place. In a series of groundbreaking discoveries, biochemists including Tom Cech have revealed that RNA—long overlooked as a passive agent of DNA—sits at the center of biology’s greatest mysteries: What makes us human? How did life begin on Earth? Why do we get sick, and why do we grow old?

At this special edition of the Secret Science Club, Nobel Prize winner Tom Cech explores how RNA holds the key to the intricate machinery of our cells. And he gives us a thrilling glimpse into RNA-powered therapies—from CRISPR (the revolutionary gene-editing tool that offers the hitherto unthinkable power to rewrite the code of life) to the groundbreaking mRNA vaccines that have saved millions during the pandemic.

As we dive further into the age of RNA, we have only begun to unlock the true potential of this powerhouse molecule. What cures and treatments might future research bring?

THOMAS R. CECH is a distinguished professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research scientist. His many honors include the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the National Medal of Science, and the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award. His paradigm-shifting discovery of self-splicing RNA and the catalytic properties of RNA opened the door to further groundbreaking findings, including his lab’s discovery of TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), a major cancer-causing gene. His new popular science book, The Catalyst, has been dubbed “a masterful account of the RNA revolution in biology and medicine by one of its brilliant pioneers” and an “expert update on the hottest topics in biology.”

Before & After
--Mix up our cocktail & mocktail of the night, the "Good Chemistry"… (recipe is below!)
--Groove to our synergizing playlist
--Zoom in for a chance to win cool prizes!
--Bring your questions for the live audience Q&A
--Snag a copy of Tom Cech’s brand-new book, The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets

This edition of the Secret Science Club, the Spring 2024 Lasker Public Lecture in honor of Al Sommer, is sponsored by the Lasker Foundation. The Foundation works to foster the prevention and treatment of disease and disabilities by honoring excellence in basic and clinical science, educating the public, and advocating for support of medical research.

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

(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 “Good Chemistry” (created by the Secret Science Club Experimental Mixology Lab)
Ingredients: 5 Sliced Strawberries, 1 oz Simple Syrup*, Juice from ½ Lime, 2 oz Vodka, 3 oz Ginger Beer, Ice Cubes, Fresh Mint for garnish
- Combine strawberries, simple syrup, and lime juice in a highball glass—and muddle
- Add ice cubes, vodka, then ginger beer—and slowly stir
- Top off with mint—and enjoy!
*Simple Syrup Recipe:
- Mix 1 part water and 1 part sugar in a pot. Simmer until sugar dissolves. Let cool.
**(For a mocktail version, use an old-fashioned glass and skip the vodka.)

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, May 28 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club presents Astrophysicist & Author Lisa Kaltenegger, FREE!

Secret Science Club Online presents Astrophysicist & Author Lisa Kaltenegger on ALIEN EARTHS

Join us live via ZOOM on TUESDAY, May 28 @ 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)

For thousands of years, humans have wondered whether we are alone in the cosmos. Finally, we have the technology to investigate, to peer deeper into space than ever before. But would we recognize signs of life on other worlds if we detected them? Astrophysicist Lisa Kaltenegger wants to make sure we do.

The director of Cornell University's Carl Sagan Institute and the author of ALIEN EARTHS: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos, Lisa Kaltenegger is leading a team of astronomers, biologists, geologists, and atmospheric scientists in developing tools to spot extraterrestrial life in images & data captured by deep space observatories.

At the next Secret Science Club, Lisa Kaltenegger explores recently discovered exoplanets that have altered our cosmic view – planets covered in oceans of lava, lonely wanderers lost in space, and planets with more than one sun. She also looks at the imagined worlds of science fiction and how close they may come to predicting extraterrestrial reality. What forms might life take on faraway moons and planets?

Before & After
-- Mix up our cosmic cocktail of the evening, the "Deep Space Explorer"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to out-of-this-world tunes
--Bring your questions for the live Q&A
--Snag a copy of Lisa Kaltenegger’s stellar new book, Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos

Lisa Kaltenegger has spent the last decade finding new ways to spot life in the cosmos. The Director of the Carl Sagan Institute and Associate Professor in Astronomy at Cornell University, she is a Science Team Member of NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) Mission, as well as the NIRISS instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope. The author of over 100 scientific papers, Dr. Kaltenegger and her research have been featured in the New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, Guardian, and Scientific American and on BBC Radio 4 and NPR’s Morning Edition.

This is a FREE event.

What's next at Secret Science Club?
On Wednesday, June 5, we will be back on Zoom with the Spring 2024 Lasker Lecture, featuring Nobel Prize winner Thomas Cech on The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets. 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 “Deep Space Explorer” (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, 5 blueberries, 3 Ice Cubes
- Pour red wine and soda into a large wine glass
- Add ice cubes
- Top off with a slice of lemon and blueberries
** (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.

Secret Science Club presents Physicist & Author Sean Carroll, Wednesday, May 15, 7:30PM @ the Bell House, $29

SPECIAL EVENT! Secret Science Club presents Theoretical Physicist & Best-selling Author Sean Carroll with THE BIGGEST IDEAS IN THE UNIVERSE: Quanta & Fields

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE on Wednesday, May 15, 7:30PM (Doors open at 7PM), $29 (includes book) (Reserve your tickets.)

Physicist, bestselling author & host of the acclaimed Mindscape podcast, Sean Carroll takes us on a dazzling tour of the biggest, most mysterious ideas in the Universe!

In Quanta and Fields, the second book in an already internationally acclaimed series, Carroll dives into the baffling & beautiful world of quantum mechanics.

From Schrödinger to Feynman, Carroll explores the quantum revolution with the greatest minds of the 20th century, explaining how several decades of research overturned centuries of convention.

At this special edition of the Secret Science Club, we discover why matter is solid, why there is antimatter, where the sizes of atoms come from, and why the predictions of quantum field theory are so spectacularly successful.

Beyond Newton, beyond Einstein... join us as Sean Carroll opens a window into the raw & infinitely fascinating reality of the quantum realm!

Before & After
--Sample our quantum cocktail of the night, the Uncertainty Principle!

--Groove to subatomic tunes

--Bring your questions for the cosmic Q&A

--Hot off the presses! A copy of Sean Carroll’s awesome new book, THE BIGGEST IDEAS IN THE UNIVERSE: Quanta and Fields is included with each ticket. Thank you to our bookseller, Greenlight Bookstore!

GET TICKETS HERE!

SEAN CARROLL is Homewood Professor of Natural Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University, and Fractal Faculty at the Santa Fe Institute. He is host of the MINDSCAPE podcast, and author of The Particle at the End of the Universe, The Big Picture, Something Deeply Hidden, and The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time and Motion. He has been awarded prizes and fellowships by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the American Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of London, and many others.

This special edition of the Secret Science Club meets in-person Wednesday, May 15, 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.

Tickets are $29, including Sean Carroll’s new book. Click here to reserve your spot!

Under 18 with a parent and legal guardian

**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.

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE, Secret Science Club presents Biochemist Antonio Cerullo on Tuesday, April 23 @ 7:30PM, FREE!

Secret Science Club slips & slides into one of the most fascinating substances on Earth with BIOCHEMIST ANTONIO CERULLO!

IN-PERSON @ THE BELL HOUSE

Tuesday, April 23, 7:30PM (Doors open at 7PM), Free!

We’re not going to sugarcoat it: Mucus is miraculous.

Every day, humans produce at least a quart of this sticky, slimy, slippery stuff. We need it for everything from blinking our eyelids to digesting food to protecting our bodies against pathogens.

Creatures throughout the animal kingdom use mucus in astonishing ways, too. Hagfish pump out thick mucus to gum up the gills of sharks. Parrotfish blow mucous bubbles and use them as sleeping bags. Hippos secrete red mucus that serves as both an antibiotic and sunscreen for their skin.

At the next Secret Science Club, biochemist Antonio Cerullo is here to tell us that mucus is beautiful: “a choreographed chaos” of complex components “coming together to do wondrous things.” 

Dr. Cerullo has been collecting slime specimens—from snails, jellyfish, and even oysters—to study their wide-ranging and seemingly magical properties. Could these strange secretions hold the secrets to new cures and therapies?

Don’t miss a nanosecond of this ooey-gooey evening!

Before & After
-- Try our curious cocktail of the night, the Viscosity! It'll keep you lubricated....

--Groove to smoooth tunes

--Stick around for the scintillating Q&A

ANTONIO CERULLO is a biochemist, slime scientist, and editor at Nature Communications. While working on his PhD at the City University of New York’s Graduate Center, he investigated the compositions and properties of mucus from the world's most exotic animals, including hagfish, salamanders, jellyfish, frogs, and snails. He and his research on these secretions have been featured on NPR’s Short Wave, National Geographic, and Scientific American.

This edition of the Secret Science Club meets Tuesday, April 23, 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!

What's next at Secret Science Club?
We’ll be back at the Bell House on Wednesday, May 15, with Theoretical Physicist Sean Carroll!

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

IN-PERSON @ THE DISCOVERY TANK ON PIER 57, Secret Science Club joins forces with Hudson River Park, Thursday, April 11 @ 6:30 PM, $10

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

Thursday, April 11 @ 6:30PM, $10. (Reserve your tickets.)

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park's “Discovery Tank” on beautiful Pier 57 to explore NYC’s old-growth forests—both living and historic.

Join us for a fascinating night as ecologists Eric Sanderson and Caroline Leland uncover ancient woodlands in some very unusual places.

Eric Sanderson is a landscape ecologist, vice president of urban conservation at the New York Botanical Garden, Guggenheim Fellow, and author of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City. He is director of the Welikia Project, which focuses on the historical and contemporary ecology of the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the waters in-between. His research and writing have been featured in the New York Times, Scientific American, National Geographic, and numerous other outlets.

Caroline Leland is a dendrochronologist, postdoctoral researcher at William Paterson University, and affiliate of the Tree-ring Laboratory at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. She studies the physiology, morphology, and growth histories of long-lived trees and uses tree rings to understand past environmental conditions. She also works to salvage and study timbers used in the construction of noteworthy historical buildings—the goal is to use the tree rings in these rare artifacts to learn about past climate events and how our climate is changing.

Get $10 tickets here (drinks included!)

Before & After the Talks
--Check out the cool interactive exhibits and the new "super scope" at the Discovery Tank

--Groove to spring-inspired tunes in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”

--Imbibe sprightly beers & soft drinks

--Ask a scientist (or two!) about tree rings, woodland creatures, forest “bathing,” what we can do to protect our urban forests, and more!

This program meets Thursday, April 11, 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.