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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

Acadia to Zion: Understanding Our National Parks

Fri, Dec 5, 2003

Gillian Bowser, former assistant to the Director of the National Park Service and chief scientist in many NPS research efforts, talks about the what, why and who of the National Park System. The United States National Park System (NPS) is made up by sites as diverse in use and nature as this nation's states and territories are themselves, such as Acadia, the Grand Canyon, and the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Today it is comprised of 384 designated areas, and attracts over 421 million visits each year. The NPS is dedicated to preserving the natural and cultural heritage of this country, but what does that mean? While the NPS has always been at the forefront of discussing the relationship between America's varied and vast environment and the society that has developed within it, what this means in California and in Connecticut can be vastly different.

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Exploring Mars: Landscapes and the History of Water

Fri, Jan 2, 2004

Maria Zuber of MIT discusses her experiences working with the Mars Exploration Rover 'Spirit', and the discoveries it made. Taking advantage of Earth's proximity to Mars, astronomers and scientists are launching several missions to Mars to find out more about our red neighbor. On January 4, 2004, a Mars Exploration Rover called 'Spirit' landed inside a Martian crater with the assistance of Maria Zuber. Zuber monitored the radio tracking of the entry, decent and landing out at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California; however, before she went, she shared with us some of the reasons scientists want to study Mars in the first place. What are we looking for? How similar are these two planets? And is there life on Mars?

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Aerodynamics of Sports: High-Performance Equipment

Mon, Feb 16, 2004

**Dr. Kim Blair** shares how he and his students turn work into play and influence world class sports from bicycling to mountain climbing. Blair describes what the New England Patriots, Lance Armstrong, and Tiger Woods all have in common. In addition to being champions and having large salaries, all of their performance has benefited from sports engineering. From safer helmets to faster bikes, aeronautics and computer modeling have helped to improve the performance of a world of sports equipment and those that use it.

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Next Generation Communication Technologies

Wed, Jan 14, 2004

This discussion looks at the current and potential uses of communications technologies and what the implications may be for today and tomorrow. From the invention of the telegraph in 1837 to modern day digital cell phones and GPS navigation systems, communication technologies have come a long way in a short time. Communication devices now serve a broad range of uses, from controlling satellites more than a billion miles from Earth to communicating with tiny networks of devices inside the human body.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Out of Hibernation: Exposing the Secret Lives of Bears

Mon, Mar 1, 2004

John Foster introduces us to black bears, the often misunderstood bear species that is making a population comeback all over New England. Foster, the founder of the New England Naturalist Training Center, has spent a lifetime with these furry creatures, and shares his insight and photographs.

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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.

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Einstein's Unfinished Symphony

Wed, Mar 10, 2004

Marcia Bartusiak discusses new observatories that allow astronomers to place their hands upon the fabric of space-time and feel the very rhythms of the universe. These vibrations in space-time, called gravity waves, are the last prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity yet to be observed directly; and the first new astronomy of the 21st century.

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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.

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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.

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Nanotechnology: The Next Small Thing?

Wed, Jan 21, 2004

Nancy A. Burnham, W. Grant McGimpsey, and William Durgin discuss consumer products that take advantage of the possibilities of nanotechnology, and what we can expect to see on the market in the near future. The computer industry is continually working to make transistors smaller, cheaper, and faster. As systems become tinier, they behave in ways that are fundamentally different from those made on a macroscopic scale. Because of this great difference, nanotechnology presents new opportunities and possibilities.

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