Cal Day is back and better than ever this year. Faced with campus tension and strife amid crippling budget cuts, UC Berkeley is still committed to showcasing the best science on campus during their annual open house on Saturday, April 17th. Lectures, interactive events, tours, all of the campus museums are free. I highly recommend the incomparable Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, the library of dead animals.
This year's highlights feature hands on physics, discussions on energy & environmental issues, with the search for extra terrestrial life sprinkled in. For a complete listing of events, check out the Cal Day website.
Here are my picks:
QUEST@Cal Science Video Presentations. Check out your favorite QUEST videos followed by short talks and Q&As with the Cal scientists featured in the pieces. (Suitable for all ages)
When: 9 AM – 4 PM
Where: 2063 Valley Life Sciences Building
Details:
9 AM: Illuminating Northern Lights--John Bonnell
10 AM: Tracking Raindrops--Todd Dawson
11 AM: Dark Energy--Saul Perlmutter
12 PM: Better Bees--Claire Kremen
1 PM: Bio-Inspiration: Nature as Muse--Robert Full
2 PM: Disappearing Frogs--Tyrone Hayes
3 PM: Disappearing Plants--Scott Loarie
Planetary Science with a Handful of Atoms
When: 9-10 AM
Where: 141 McCone Hall
Who: Professor Burkhard Militzer
Details: Hear a lecture on Jupiter and its icy moons that includes demonstrations with liquid nitrogen, computer simulations, and discussion of NASA missions. And touch a meteorite!