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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

David Charbonneau: Oddballs in the Cosmos

Wed, Apr 13, 2005

David Charbonneau, the Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University, takes time to discuss the possibility that, in the great cosmos, our solar system could be the exception to the cosmic rule, and not the standard model. The diversity of planets detected around our neighboring stars has taken astronomers completely by surprise. Recent unprecedented glimpses into distant worlds and their atmospheres have astronomers pondering exactly how these oddball planets came to be, and whether, after all, our own solar system might be the cosmic rarity.

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Extreme Makeover: Mural Edition

Wed, Jan 11, 2006

Gianfranco Pocobono and Richard Wolbers discuss how science and art merged to conserve the John La Farge murals at Trinity Church Boston, and what happens when the conservation choices are not clear cut and the world is watching. Art and science have continually flirted over the centuries. Both investigate. Both involve theories and transforming information into something else. This lecture is a part of a Museum of Science series "When Science Meets Art", which examines the mysterious symbiosis of science with art through the ingenuity of those shattering the boundaries between the two fields.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Long and Wide: Far-Reaching Earthquakes

Fri, Feb 4, 2005

Seismologist Susan Hough lectures on far-reaching earthquakes and their impact on our planet and on the science world. In 1992, the Landers earthquake struck north of Palm Springs with a magnitude of 7.3. It shook up not only the state of California, but scientists' long-held beliefs about the reach of earthquakes. Hear how the discovery of remotely trigged earthquakes radically altered the way scientists view the impact of earthquakes on the surrounding region and on the planet as a whole.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Life of a Drug: Clinical Trials and Tribulations

Fri, Jan 21, 2005

Timothy Maher follows the lifespan of a new chemical entity from initial discovery, through synthesis, preclinical and clinical testing, to approval, launch and post-marketing surveillance. Maher charts the ups and downs along the way from before a drug is approved, through marketing, and use and beyond; and he answers questions like: What is a "black-box" warning? Who's looking out for your well-being? Should "Fen-Phen" have ever happened? What about Vioxx? This project is supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health. It does not necessarily represent the official views of NCRR or NIH.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Improbable Research and the IgNobel Prizes

Fri, Apr 1, 2005

Join the IgNobel Prizes founder and host Marc Abrahams for a look at some of the most mind-popping IgNobel Prize winners. The IgNobel Prizes, awarded annually at a ceremony at Harvard University, honor things that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The awards are designed to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative, and spur people's interest in science, medicine and technology.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Unicorn in Captivity: Science Helping Art

Wed, Jan 18, 2006

Brothers David and Gregory Chudnovsky discuss their contribution to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Unicorn Tapestries project. To create an exact visual reproduction of one of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Unicorn Tapestries, digital cameras photographed every inch. When the hundreds of digital photographic files didn't fit smoothly together, the Chudnovsky brothers, co-directors of the Institute for Mathematics and Advanced Supercomputing, were brought in to solve the mystery. Art and science have continually flirted over the centuries. Both investigate. Both involve theories and transforming information into something else. This lecture is a part of a Museum of Science series "When Science Meets Art", which examines the mysterious symbiosis of science with art through the ingenuity of those shattering the boundaries between the two fields.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Secret Hunt for North American Diamonds

Fri, Nov 7, 2003

Award-winning journalist Kevin Krajick tells the amazing story of modern day prospectors in Canada's frozen North who did the impossible: found diamonds in North America. Hear about the technological tools these two men used, the geology that provides conditions where diamonds are formed, and the fortune found and claimed right under the noses of large multinational companies.

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Museum of Science, Boston
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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Museum of Science, Boston
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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Museum of Science, Boston
Media and Women's Health: Sorting Fact from Fiction

Fri, May 6, 2005

Judy Norsigian, an expert in women's health issues and founder of the landmark book, *Our Bodies, Ourselves*, examines the media's increasing impact on women's medical decisions and public perception of illnesses such as breast cancer, depression, and addiction. Recorded for the 2005 National Women's Health Week. (Photo: "[Messalina by Eugène Cyrille Brunet](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Messalina_by_Eug%C3%A8ne_Cyrille_Brunet.JPG#/media/File:Messalina_by_Eug%C3%A8ne_Cyrille_Brunet.JPG "")" by Caroline Léna Becker - Self-photographed. Licensed under CC)

Mental Health Month

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Museum of Science, Boston