Come "hangout" with three scientists from the California Academy of Sciences tomorrow, Thursday June 6 from 4-5pm. This is the Cal Academy's first Google+ Hangout, held in conjunction with the Google Science Fair 2013. You will get to see a live video stream of three of our researchers talking about their work and discoveries. And you…
Category: Science
“Built for Speed” Exhibit at the Cal Academy Opens Tomorrow!
What marine animals swim the fastest? How many bones does an orca have? What does a squid and an F-16 plane have in common? Find out at the new "Built for Speed" exhibit at the Cal Academy! Today is the member's preview of the new "Built for Speed" exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences. I…
Cal Academy Teens Launch Environmental Social Media Campaign: “Put A Cap on Plastic Use”
I'm happy to share the news that yesterday a group of teens, as a result of their participation in a California Academy of Sciences program, launched a social media campaign to educate the public about plastic waste. Called "Put a Cap on Plastic Use," their campaign focuses on three social media tools: An Instagram Photo Challenge…
First Impressions of the New Exploratorium: Bigger, Brighter, Geekier
Today I got my first chance to check out the new Exploratorium museum located on Pier 15 on the Embarcadero. I was there for a digital learning symposium with fifty other researchers, developers and educators in the field. We were lucky enough to get a guided tour of the new Exploratorium facilities, barely open for…
Cal Academy Welcomes a New Penguin Chick: Help Name Him!
The California Academy of Sciences welcomed today a new penguin chick to our African Penguin tank in the Tusher African Hall. Scores of visitors young and old were on hand to witness the two-month old baby penguin splash around in the water, get feed and preen himself with his proud daddy. This is the…
What I Did Over Spring Break: 3D Marine Animal Design Camp at the Cal Academy
I worked with ten awesome middle schoolers at the California Academy of Sciences who made their own models of marine animals like this one. More soon…
If You’re a Single Lady Octopus, Put Your Tentacle Up
On Wednesday, the California Academy of Sciences put on publc display for the first time a little-known encephalopod (thanks, Laura!) called the "Larger Pacific Striped Octopus." This little lady has been barely studied at all — it doesn't even have a scientific name! One of the Academy's biologists, Rich Ross, specializes in octopi, personally raising…
“Maelstrom II”: An Independent Scifi Film Project Based on Real Science (video)
Yesterday, a group of our science teens at the Cal Academy of Sciences got to talk with Jeroen Lapre, senior technical leader in the Morrison Planetarium here. Before Jeroen came to the Academy, he spent many years working in digital effects for the film industry, specifically Industrial Light and Magic. He worked on such tiny,…
J-P Metsävainio’s Astronomical Animated GIFs to End All GIFs
J-P Metsävainio is an astronomical photographer who has done something so simple and yet so compelling: combining two images of interstellar objects and animating them gives them a depth and a richness they didn’t have before. They are the most stunning animated GIFs ever. Check out his gallery of nebula here.
Celebrating Year One at the Cal Academy of Sciences!
Twelve months ago, I started working at the world's only "natural history museum, planetarium and aquarium — all under one living room," the California Academy of Sciences. It's been an incredible first year, literally a dream come true. Some highlights from my work so far as the Programs Manager in the Digital Learning Department: Worked…