IN-PERSON @ THE WETLAB ON PIER 40, Secret Science Club joins forces with Hudson River Park, Thursday, May 28 @ 6:30 PM, $10

Science After Dark! Secret Science Club is heading to the “Wetlab” in Lower Manhattan

Thursday, May 28 @ 6:30PM, $10. (Reserve your tickets.)

Secret Science Club is teaming up with Hudson River Park on Manhattan’s Pier 40 to explore astonishing whale species and megafauna that inhabit the waters off NYC’s shores. Plus, we’ll be discussing the challenges of building and maintaining urban infrastructure in a megalopolis built on islands and surrounded by water.

Join us with environmental researchers Siddhartha Hayes and Christopher St Lawrence and urban planners Ben Engle and Thomas Donahue as we dig into some (secret) Science After Dark.

Before & After the Talks
--Get up close and personal with wildlife from NYC’s liquid wilderness. Check out the cool marine creatures in the Wetlab’s seasonal aquariums
--Imbibe tasty beers & soft drinks in our “Ebb Tide Lounge”
--Groove to sea-salty tunes

Get $10 tickets here (drinks included)!

Siddhartha Hayes (he/him) is an aquatic ecologist, aquarist, etymology enthusiast, and fish whisperer. As Senior Research Manager at Hudson River Park, he conducts and oversees the Park’s ongoing monitoring projects, from year-round fish trapping and river condition monitoring to surveys of surface water pathogens, shoreline plastics, oysters, and more. He also manages the Pier 40 River Project Wetlab, a flow-through aquarium of native Hudson River organisms that serves as one of the park’s primary education sites.

Chris St Lawrence is a New York-based naturalist using film production, environmental science, photography, and creative and critical writing to shine a science-based spotlight on the wild world hidden on the outskirts of our urban community. As communication and outreach director for Gotham Whale, he has spent hundreds of days on our coastal waters—observing and documenting local whales, dolphins, seals, and birds—and inspiring real-world change through storytelling, outreach, and education.

Benjamin Engle is an urban planner and public administrator who focuses on ensuring that over 200,000 people can cross the Hudson River by rail every workday. For over a decade he has worked on the Gateway Program, a strategic rail initiative to improve and increase capacity along the Northeast Corridor, the nation’s most traveled rail line. He is currently the Senior Program Manager for Program Planning for the Gateway Development Commission, a public bi-state (New York and New Jersey) authority and a single purpose entity focused solely on implementing the Hudson Tunnel Project.

Thomas S. Donohue is a Senior Program Manager with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, where he has spent his career working on major infrastructure and construction projects. He has worked extensively at JFK International Airport and in Lower Manhattan. On September 11, 2001, he responded to the attack on the World Trade Center and participated in the rescue and recovery efforts, and later contributed to the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. He currently serves on the Hudson River Ground Stabilization project, a key component of the Gateway/Hudson Tunnel Program.

This program meets Thursday, May 28, 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.

IN-PERSON at THE DISCOVERY TANK ON PIER 57, Secret Science Club joins forces with Hudson River Park, Thursday, March 19 @ 6:30 PM, $10

Science After Dark! Secret Science Club teams up with Hudson River Park in Manhattan

Thursday, March 19 @ 6:30PM, $10. (Reserve your tickets.)

Secret Science Club flows into Hudson River Park's “Discovery Tank” on beautiful Pier 57 to contemplate the cosmos on the night of the dark moon.

Join us with Ana Gonzalez-Nayeck and Moiya McTier as we explore the connections between Mars and the Hudson River, investigate the moon’s impact on tides, and dive into astrobiology & lunar folklore!

Dr. Ana Gonzalez-Nayeck is an assistant professor of Environmental Science in the Natural Sciences Department at Baruch College, City University of New York. Her research involves understanding how the products of photosynthesis move through ecosystems, including in environments as far away as the surface of Mars and as close by as a reconstructed oyster habitat in the Hudson River.

Dr. Moiya McTier is an astrophysicist, folklorist, and author based in NYC. Since graduating from Harvard and Columbia, Dr. Moiya has given hundreds of talks around the world, helped design museum exhibits, and consulted with Disney. She shares her love of the universe through her podcast, Pale Blue Pod. Her sophomore book, Mothers of Invention: a History of Creativity from the Greek Muses, comes out this August.

Get $10 tickets here (drinks included!)

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

--Bring your questions for the out-of-this-world Q&A

This program meets Thursday, March 19, 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: Tuesday, February 3 @ 8PM, Secret Science Club & the Lasker Foundation present the “2026 Lasker Public Lecture” with Lasker Award Winner Michael J. Welsh, FREE!

Secret Science Club & the Lasker Foundation present the 2026 Lasker Public Lecture with Trailblazing Biomedical Researcher Michael J. Welsh

Join us live via Zoom on TUESDAY, February 3 @ 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 for this program), send us an email (secretscienceclub@gmail.com)

Join us as we celebrate curiosity, scientific endeavor, and transformational discoveries with Michael J. Welsh, winner of the 2025 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award.

For nearly 45 years, Dr. Welsh has worked to transform cystic fibrosis from a terminal illness into a highly treatable condition for most patients.

As a medical student, he encountered a young girl suffering from cystic fibrosis—struggling for every breath and unlikely to survive beyond her teens. Ever since, he’s been motivated to find ways to improve and extend the lives of children and adults with cystic fibrosis.

By uncovering the cellular and molecular causes of the disease, Dr. Welsh’s research helped pave the way for new therapies that allow people with cystic fibrosis to breathe easier, live longer, and enjoy a better quality of life. At his lab, Dr. Welsh continues to seek improved treatments and better outcomes for all CF patients.

MICHAEL J. WELSH is professor of internal medicine, molecular physiology and biophysics, neurology, and neurosurgery at the University of Iowa, as well as director of the Pappajohn Medical Institute at Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine. He served as president of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and president of the Association of American Physicians, and has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. For his groundbreaking research leading to life-saving treatments for cystic fibrosis, he has been awarded numerous prestigious prizes, including the 2025 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, 2025 Yergin-New International Prize for Biomedical Research, 2025 Canada Gairdner International Award, 2023 Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences, and the 2022 Shaw Prize in Life Sciences and Medicine.

Before & After
--Mix up our cocktail & mocktail of the night, the "Breathe Easy"… (recipe below!)
--Groove to our highly therapeutic playlist
--Zoom in for a chance to win cool prizes!
--Bring your questions for the live audience Q&A

This edition of the Secret Science Club, the 2026 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.

(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 “Breathe Easy” (created by the Secret Science Club Experimental Mixology Lab)
Ingredients: 1 English Breakfast Teabag, 4 oz Boiling Water, ½ oz Fresh-squeezed Lemon Juice, 2 Teaspoons Honey, 2 dashes Angostura bitters, 2 oz Dark Rum, 1 Dried Orange Slice
- Place the teabag in a mug and pour in boiling water. Let steep for 4 minutes.
- Remove the teabag, then add lemon juice, bitters, and honey. Stir slowly with a spoon.
- Pour in the rum, stir again, and top off with an orange slice.
**(For a mocktail version, skip the rum and bitters, and add 2 oz hot cider with a cinnamon stick or 3 oz hot Twinings chai tea.)

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