Science Lectures

Pacific Science Center is committed to advancing the public’s understanding of science and contributing to the development of a scientifically literate society. As part of that commitment, our Science and Society initiative, we support and sponsor a number of lectures in the Seattle area. Some are held at our facility, others are conducted at various locations.

Here's what's coming up...

Michael Hanlon: Science's Unanswered Questions
Monday, February 22, 2010 | 7:30 - 9 p.m.
Location: Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street
If you've always struggled with the mystery of the missing laundry-day sock, you are not alone: There are some questions even science can't answer. Granted, they're a little more profound: How did life begin? Why are there two sexes? Michael Hanlon, science editor of The Daily Mail and author of 10 Questions Science Can't Answer (Yet), explains how these mysteries have persisted, and why they will remain unsolved for years to come. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or 800/838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

Stephen S. Hall: 'Wisdom'
Monday, March 15, 2010 | 7:30 - 9 p.m.
Location: Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
We all recognize wisdom, but defining it is more elusive. (Possessing it? Harder still...) Writer Stephen S. Hall, author of Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience, explores the science of wisdom, from its earliest consideration in the fifth century B.C. to its modern manifestations in education, politics, and the workplace. And while work in the last 50 years has begun to shed light on the biology of cognitive traits associated with wisdom and how we might cultivate it, Hall discovers that despite our best efforts, this essential human capacity continues to defy easy understanding. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

Paul Davies: Extraterrestrial Communication
Monday, April 19, 2010 | 7:30 - 9 p.m.
Location: Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Judging from the popularity of District 9 and V, and countless books and blogs that chronicle our quest for alien communication, it appears we are a species craving contact. Why haven't we gotten a response? Professor Paul Davies, Chairman of the SETI Post-Detection Taskgroup, says we've spent a lot of time and money searching for E.T.s, but we're doing it all wrong. Last appearing at Town Hall to discuss 2007's Cosmic Jackpot, his latest work, The Eerie Silence, asserts that we need to break from the old "radio message for mankind" concept and enlarge our search for signs of alien civilizations. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

Bill McKibben: Life on a Tough New Planet
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 | 7:30 - 9 p.m.
Location: Town Hall Seattle Great Hall, enter on 8th Avenue
Our good old globe is no longer so familiar, says environmentalist Bill McKibben. It's melting, drying, acidifying, flooding, and burning in ways that no human has ever seen. Such a new, fundamentally different planet, so suddenly and violently out of balance, that McKibben renames it Eaarth. McKibben, author of Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, argues that our hope depends on scaling back on building societies and economies that can concentrate on essentials and create the type of community that will allow us to weather trouble on an unprecedented scale. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

Terry McDermott: A Quest for Memory
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 | 7:30 - 9 p.m.
Location: Downstairs at Town Hall; enter on Seneca Street.
Award-winning journalist Terry McDermott (formerly a Seattle Times columnist) spent nearly two years observing Gary Lynch and his team in their race to discover one of the hidden treasures of neuroscience - the physical makeup of memory. The resulting book, called 101 Theory Drive, offers an account of daily life in Lynch's lab, explanations of the cutting-edge science that enabled him to reveal the inner workings of the molecular machine that manufactures memory, and the search for drugs that could fix that machine when it breaks. Presented as part of Seattle Science Lectures, with Pacific Science Center and University Book Store. Series sponsored by Microsoft. Tickets are $5 at www.brownpapertickets.com or (800) 838-3006, and at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Town Hall members receive priority seating.