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Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:
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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

  • Genes and Jazz: Harold and Jacob Varmus

    Wed, Nov 4, 2009
    Harold Varmus, Nobel Prize-winning cancer researcher and science advisor to President Obama, teams up with his son, jazz trumpeter and composer, Jacob Varmus, to explore the ways that genes and notes affect complex organisms and compelling music. This father-son duo compares cell biology to the development of musical ideas through a multi-media experience featuring performances by The Jacob Varmus Quintet.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Amir Aczel: Uranium Wars

    Sun, Sep 27, 2009
    Amir Aczel discusses his new book, *Uranium Wars*, a provocative history of the scientists who discovered atomic energy. Aczel weaves a suspenseful story about the brilliant men and women who raced to harness the mysteries of radioactivity, set against the darkening shadow of World War II.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
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    Tuneful Treatments: Musical Therapy

    Fri, Oct 2, 2009
    Music therapist Suzanne Hanser shares examples of how the neurobiological foundations of music are leading to exciting new treatments for a variety of health problems. Music not only energizes us and calms us; research shows that it has powerful healing properties. Music can ease pain, lower blood pressure, and relieve anxiety and depression. It can even alleviate the symptoms of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, mitigate the side effects of cancer, and help women in childbirth.
    Forum Network
    Mental Health Month
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Ken Burns on National Parks

    Thu, Sep 10, 2009
    Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan their six-part PBS documentary series *The National Parks: America's Best Idea*. Set against breathtaking backdrops, the film is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical -- that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. Burns and series writer/co-producer Duncan discuss highlights from the 12-hour series. Included are scenes from Denali National Park that feature photographs by Brad Washburn, renowned explorer and founding director of the Museum, as well as interviews with Brad and Barbara Washburn.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
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    Over My Dead Body

    Fri, Sep 29, 2006
    A panel discusses the fate of Mattatuck Museum's skeleton, Larry, and tries to resolve issues surrounding what happens to our bodies after we die, and who decides what is okay. Where is the line between respect for the human body after death, and the use of human remains for display and education? Where do museums fit in? For decades, Connecticut's Mattatuck Museum has grappled with difficult issues in relation to one of their most iconic artifacts, a skeleton known as Larry. Research recently revealed that the skeleton belonged to an enslaved man named Fortune, whose owner, a doctor, had preserved the bones upon Fortune's death. This program is part panel discussion and part forum conversation.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
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    Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness

    Wed, Oct 4, 2006
    Tal Ben-Shahar discusses current research on the science of happiness and introduces ideas and tools that can actually make a difference in one's life. break The study of happiness or of enhancing the quality of our lives, has been dominated by pop-psychology (much charisma, but relatively little substance) and academia (much substance, but isolated from most people's everyday lives). Positive Psychology, the scientific study of optimal human functioning, creates a bridge between the Ivory Tower and Main Street, making rigorous academic ideas accessible to all. Tal Ben-Shahar, instructor of the most popular course at Harvard University, discusses the findings of current research on the science of happiness and introduces ideas and tools that can actually make a difference in one's life.
    Forum Network
    Mental Health Month
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Hydrogen Based Economy: Just A Dream?

    Wed, Jan 28, 2004
    This panel presentation reviews the current status of reasons and technologies for hydrogen production in our quest for economical, reliable, environmentally sound energy. It also provides an introduction to proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, how they function, and a discussion of the technological challenges overcome in recent years and those that still exist in developing and commercializing fuel cells. Panelists are from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and include professors Yi H. (Ed) Ma and Ravindra Datta, James P. Dunn, President of Tech Commercialization, and William Durgin, Vice President of Research. As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brother's flight, we look toward the future of aviation technology - fuel cell powered electric aircraft. At just 346 pounds, the all carbon DynAero Lafayette III soon will take a critical step toward becoming the first piloted plane to be powered by fuel cells.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Transit of Venus: Passing the Sun

    Wed, Apr 7, 2004
    David A. Aguilar and Jay M. Pasachoff discuss June 8th, 2004, when we on Earth will witness Venus passing in front of the Sun for the first time in 122 years. This phenomenon, known as the transit of Venus, is one of the rarest of planetary alignments. The transit lasts about 6 hours and is visible from most of Europe, Africa, and Asia though, similar to an eclipse, it cannot be witnessed without a sun filter. Observations of the transit were used in the 18th and 19th centuries to determine the size of the solar system. That method has since been dismissed for its impracticality, but the transit will provide much opportunity to develop and test new techniques for the study of planets outside our solar system.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Exploring Saturn and Its Titan Moon

    Wed, Apr 14, 2004
    David A. Aguilar and Carolyn C. Porco explain that, while aspects of Saturn are still mysteries, scientists hope that the Cassini-Huyguns Space Craft (due to approach Saturn's orbit in July of 2004) will answer many questions. Saturn, the second largest planet in our solar system, is a gaseous giant encircled by 31 moons and, of course, its brilliant rings. The Cassini Orbitor will circle the planet and its moons, while the Huyguns Probe will land on the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston

  • Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps

    Wed, Mar 3, 2004
    Peter Galison introduces us to the world that Einstein grew up in, and subsequently changed forever, with the release of his earth shattering theory of special relativity.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Museum of Science, Boston
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