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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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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
Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Airplane

Fri, Feb 7, 2003

Tom Crouch, expert on the Wright Brothers and senior curator at the National Air and Space Museum, discusses how Wilber and Orville Wright started revolutions in transportation, warfare, leisure, and communication, and changed how we all see our world: as a whole. Before the Wright Brothers took their historic flight in north Carolina almost 100 years ago, jetting off to Bermuda was about as realistic as vacationing on Mars.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Double Helix: Implications for Disease

Wed, Mar 19, 2003

This is the third in a four-part series of lectures celebrating the 50th anniversary of Watson and Crick's discovery of DNA. These lectures explore the impact this breakthrough is having on scientific discovery today. Part III: Weinberg and Daly discuss how scientists are using genetics to understand disease. Weinberg will present the ways that genetic research impacts our approach to studying and understanding cancer. Daly will discuss how new genomic technologies and computational analysis are aiding in the hunt for disease-causing genes.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Double Helix: Genomes to Biological Networks

Wed, Mar 5, 2003

This is the fourth in a four-part series of lectures celebrating the 50th anniversary of Watson and Crick's discovery of DNA in 1953. These lectures explore the impact this breakthrough is having on scientific discovery today. Part IV: The human genome project has provided researchers with a growing list of genes; but the key to understanding life, both in health and sickness, is the script that outlines how these cellular players interact with each other. Ideker discusses how researchers are using new approaches to biology to map out cell circuitry and illuminate the cause of disease.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Double Helix: The Script for Life

Wed, Mar 5, 2003

This is the first in a four-part series of lectures celebrating the 50th anniversary of Watson and Crick's discovery of DNA in 1953. These lectures explore the impact this breakthrough is having on scientific discovery today. Part I: The human genome project has provided researchers with a growing list of genes; but the key to understanding life, both in health and sickness, is the script that outlines how these cellular players interact with each other. Young discusses how researchers are using new approaches to biology to map out cell circuitry and illuminate the cause of disease.

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Museum of Science, Boston
Planets and the Search for New Earths

Wed, Oct 16, 2002

Wesley Traub describes how scientists have succeeded in their quest to find new planets, what they have seen so far, and how they will look for life on these new worlds. Less than a decade ago, the only planets known to exist were the nine of our solar system. Now astronomers have found more than 100 worlds around other Milky Way stars. Most are Jupiter-sized, but Earth-sized orbs may be hiding nearby.

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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
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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Museum of Science, Boston
Music on My Brain: A Conversation with Daniel J. Levitin and Rosanne Cash

Wed, Oct 21, 2009

Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin and artist Rosanne Cash have a musical conversation about music and the brain. How does music evoke our emotions? Is our response to music hard-wired or culturally-based? Why does music play such an important role in our lives? Levitin is a rock star of science who has worked with actual rock stars, including Sting and David Byrne. Cash, the daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash, underwent brain surgery in 2007 and brings a unique perspective to music on our minds.

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Museum of Science, Boston