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Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

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Museum of Science, Boston

One of the world's largest science centers, the Museum of Science, Boston attracts 1.6 million visitors a year through vibrant programs and over 550 interactive exhibits. Its mission is to stimulate interest in and further understanding of science and technology and their importance for individuals and society. Other features include the Thomson Theater of Electricity; Current Science & Technology Center; Charles Hayden Planetarium; Gilliland Observatory; and Mugar Omni Theater. The Museum's exhibit plan, Science Is an Activity, has been awarded several National Science Foundation grants and profoundly influenced exhibit development at other major science centers.

http://www.mos.org

  • NASA's Vision for Human Space Exploration

    Wed, Apr 19, 2006
    Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium, and Jonathan McDowell, astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center, discuss NASA's Vision, the benefits and disadvantages of manned versus robotic missions, and whether we should be spending money on space-related projects instead of addressing needs here on earth.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Art of Living a Second Life

    Wed, Apr 25, 2007
    Eric Gordon moderates a panel discussion about art practice in *Second Life*, an 3-D online world where real business is conducted using virtual dollars that can then be traded in the real world. Called "the biggest digital art installation in the world" by Warren Ellis, *Second Life* is a highly imaginative, online, 3-D rendered environment populated with avatars (graphic representations of people). In *Second Life* you can teleport, fly, do not age, live in a house, go to clubs, take classes, make and view art, or just "hang out." Spanning more than 42,000 acres in real-world scale, *Second Life* is second home to over 2 million "residents," many of whom collaboratively create its content. This lecture is a part of the 2007 Boston Cyberarts Festival and produced in partnership with Emerson College and Turbulence.org's "OurFloatingPoints 4: Participatory Media" series.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Unexpected Interface: Proteins and Evolutionary Change

    Tue, Mar 20, 2007
    Susan Lindquist describes protein folding, and how this phenomenon allows orgnisms to evolve rapidly in response to new environmental conditions. All proteins start out as long strings of amino acids. Before a protein can function, it must fold into an extremely precise, highly complex structure. This is a difficult feat in the highly concentrated environment of the cell. Protein folding is facilitated by helper proteins called molecular chaperones. Lindquist's recent work suggests that the forces that govern protein folding exert a profound effect in determining how the genes encoded by an organism's DNA are translated into phenotypic traits. The folding mechanisms of molecular chaperone proteins can allow organisms to reveal accumulated-but-hidden genetic variation in times of stress.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Wild Trees: Uncharted Canopy Biosphere of Redwoods

    Wed, May 09, 2007
    Richard Preston, author of *The Hot Zone*, tells the story of Steve Sillett and Marie Antoine and a group of botanists and amateur naturalists who discovered a mysterious world hidden above California. *The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring* is the tale of their adventures exploring the uncharted canopy biosphere of the largest and tallest organisms the world has ever sustained, the coast redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens).
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World

    Fri, Dec 01, 2006
    Andrew Revkin details his fascinating adventure to the icy outer limits of earth with a team of scientists whose task was to determine the natural and man-made causes of dramatic climate changes in the Arctic. The award-winning *New York Times* journalist discusses his new book, *The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World*. Revkin's talk is moderated by Christopher Lydon of *Open Source*, and produced in association with the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • A Sustainable Transportation Vision for New England

    Sun, Sep 17, 2006
    Chella Rajan moderates a panel discussion on the important stakes that cities, states, employers, the environment, and the public have in future patterns and costs of transportation. Ideas contributing to a sustainable transportation vision in New England are considered, including new technology, smart land use, mixed-use land development, access to appropriate transport services, thoughtful urban design, and personal behavior.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Soft Car: Human-Friendly Car Design

    Sun, Sep 17, 2006
    Mitchell Joachim shares some of his 'out of this world' thinking regarding the future of automobile design. Joachim's work is to rethink car design based upon more humanistic principles. From the history of alternative urban design to his own work with Frank Gehry on a Soft Car with omnidirectional wheels and human friendly design, Joachim peers into a future very different from today's SUV-filled one.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
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    Sustaining Life: Biodiversity and Human Health

    Fri, Oct 03, 2008
    Eric Chivian and Noel Michele Holbrook discuss why we can no longer see ourselves as separate from the natural world, nor assume that we will be unharmed by its alteration. The Earth's biodiversity, the rich variety of life on our planet, is disappearing at an alarming rate. And while human health depends, to a larger extent than we might imagine, on biodiversity, this essential relationship is rarely addressed.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
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    Solving the Stradivarius Secret

    Wed, Mar 25, 2009
    Physicist William F. "Jack" Fry and violinist Rose Mary Harbison rediscover the legendary sound of the Stradivarius violin. Since the early 1700s, "Golden Age" Italian violins have been revered for their superior tone. Scores of scientists, artisans, and musicians have sought answers to the mystery of their sound, but none has been able to duplicate the magic created by these coveted instruments. Characterizing varnish, wood, and geography as secondary factors, William Fry has revived the 17th century science of levers, focusing on the violin's inner graduations.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • David Grann: Lost City of Z

    Sat, Jun 06, 2009
    *New Yorker* writer David Grann talks about his adventure into the hazardous Amazon jungle to retrace the footsteps of the great Colonel Percy Fawcett, who ventured there in 1925 in search of the fabled ancient kingdom of El Dorado, which he dubbed "Z." Hoping to answer decades-long questions about Fawcett's fate, as well as the existence of this "Lost City," Grann's search for the truth lead to some remarkable discoveries.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
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