Events List Navigation
February 2020
Science Distilled STL: Spikes and Stripes—The Hidden World of Mosses and Bees
Registration not required. FREE. Open to the public. All ages welcome! Free parking Urban Chestnut east side lot, or street.
Two short talks on science, trivia in the middle, prizes at the end, and soft drinks, beer, and food available for purchase the whole time!
Featured Speakers and Topics:
Mossin’ Around: The Hidden Lives of Tiny Plants
Speaker: Adam Rembert, Restoration Ecology Assistant, Litzsinger Road Ecology Center of the Missouri Botanical Garden
Insect Apocalypse? How Citizens and Scientists are Uniting to Support Bees
Speaker: Nicole Miller-Struttmann, Ph.D., Laurance L. Browning, Jr. Assistant Professor, Biological Science Department, Webster University; 2019 Academy of Science – St. Louis Outstanding St. Louis Science Educator
The Land of Cinnamon and Gold: 500 Years of Amazon Science and Exploration
Featured Speaker: Thomas Lovejoy, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, United Nations Foundation; Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, College of Science, George Mason University
The Amazon is as big as the 48 contiguous United States and represents the greatest terrestrial repository of biodiversity on Earth. The Amazon river system contains 20 percent of all the world’s river water and more species of fish than any other river. It has been inhabited for millennia by very sophisticated indigenous tribes, some of which remain uncontacted. Not surprisingly, the Amazon has drawn the attention of scientists and explorers. Thomas Lovejoy presents the highlights of exploration and science from the 1539-1541 expedition of Francisco de Orellana up to the present day.
The Land of Cinnamon and Gold is a Conservation Conversation of The Academy of Science – St. Louis, the Saint Louis Zoo, and the Living Earth Collaborative Center for Biodiversity. Special thanks to co-sponsors the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of MIssouri-St. Louis, the American Association of University Women, and the Tuesday Women’s Association of The Ethical Society of St. Louis.
Teen Science Cafe: A CRISPR Way to Develop a Winter Crop for the Midwest
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Space is limited. FREE and OPEN to Junior Academy of Science members and all middle and high school students in grades 6-12 from throughout the region. PRE-REGISTRATION for Junior Academy members ONLY thru Friday, February 14. General registration opens Saturday, February 15. Click Find Out More to Register!
To join the Junior Academy of Science, or to find out more about the benefits of membership in the Junior Academy, click here.
Featured Cafe Presenter: Catherine Espinoza Patharkar, Ph.D., Senior Molecular Biology Scientist, CoverCress, Inc.
CoverCress is a startup company focused on developing a new cover cash crop for the American Midwest. Molecular Biologist, Catherine Espinoza Patharkar, discusses how CoverCress is using gene editing to rapidly domesticate pennycress into a crop that produces a high-quality biofuel and animal feed, while protecting the soil during the winter. In this interactive teen cafe, you’ll play the role of a gene detective and use bioinformatics tools to understand how gene editing technology, CRISPR, targets, deletes or repairs DNA and results in the CoverCress crop.
Can’t make the Academy’s A CRISPR Way teen cafe on Thursday, February 20? Register to attend A CRISPR Way teen cafe at the Saint Louis Science Center’s Taylor Community Resource Center on Wednesday, February 19.
Madagascar: From Crisis to Conservation Opportunity
Free and OPEN to ALL. Junior Academy members and middle and high school students are welcome and encouraged to attend. Reservations not required. Parking is free in the Zoo North lot or on the street in Forest Park.
Featured Speaker: Andrea Baden, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Hunter College, City University of New York
Primatologist and lemur specialist Andrea Baden describes her recent work with Madagascar’s critically endangered ruffed lemur (Genus Varecia), an important seed disperser and indicator of rainforest health, and shares how her results are being used to inform conservation practice in an effort to save this endemic island rainforest species.
How and Why Do Insects Sing with Vibrations?
FREE and OPEN to ALL. Junior Academy members, middle and high school students welcome and encouraged to attend. Space is limited. Registration required. Click Find Out More to Register!
Featured Speaker: Kasey Fowler-Finn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Saint Louis University
Most insects that sing produce songs that travel through plant stems as vibrations. Learn more about vibrational singing, including: which insects (and other animals!) do it, how they produce these sounds, and why they are singing at all. There is an entire world of insect song out there just waiting to be heard!
March 2020
Astronomy on Tap
Registration not required. FREE. Open to the public. All ages welcome! Free parking Urban Chestnut east side lot, or street.
Two short talks on science, trivia in the middle, prizes at the end, and soft drinks, beer, and food available for purchase the whole time!
Featured Topics and Speakers:
Black Holes and Disk Warps: Exploring Warped Accretion Disks with X-Ray Polarimetry
Featured Speaker: Quin Abarr, Graduate Student, Department of Physics, and McDonnell Center Graduate Fellow, McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis
Dark Side of the Universe: Black Holes and Dark Matter
Featured Speaker: James Buckley, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis; 2004 Outstanding St. Louis Scientist Innovation Award recipient, The Academy of Science – St. Louis
Science Open House is CANCELLED!
FREE and OPEN to ALL! Registration not required.
Go behind the science with Missouri Botanical Garden botanists at the Bayer Center (4500 Shaw Blvd.), and learn how they are working to conserve plants locally and around the world.
April 2020
Science Distilled STL: BAT NIGHT — Natural History. Seed Dispersal. Human Disease Connections.
A FREE, ON-LINE Socially Distant Science Happy Hour
Open to the public. All ages welcome! The fun starts 7PM, this Monday, April 13! CLICK Find Out More for the link to join us on Monday, April 13, 7PM, CST!
Are you confused by all the talk of bats and the novel coronavirus? Or more generally, are you a bat fan? Or maybe you just wish you could still attend a science happy hour in these strange times? Well we can help you out! We’re going on-line with our April event, so we can still have our science happy hour while hunkering down. Grab a drink and a bite to eat and settle in. We’ll be bringing you THREE speakers instead of the usual two, and things are going to get pretty batty!
The lineup!
Show Me Bats: A Day in the Life of Missouri Bats
Featured Speaker: Jenny Mullikin, Ph.D., student, Department of Biology, Saint Louis University
Too Much Sauce: When Spicy Fruit Defenses Repel Bat Seed Dispersers
Featured Speaker: Justin Baldwin, Ph.D., student, Department of Biology, Saint Louis University
Bats and Human Diseases: What’s the Relationship and How Does it Affect Us?
Featured Speaker: Juan Moreira-Hernandez, Ph.D., candidate, Department of Biology and Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri – St. Louis
CANCELLED! Science in STL Series April Seminar
FREE and OPEN to ALL. Junior Academy members, middle and high school students welcome and encouraged to attend. Space is limited.
Featured Speaker: Pablo Sobron, Ph.D., Research Scientist, SETI Institute & Impossible Sensing
We hope to reschedule! Stay tuned!
May 2020
Virtual STEAM Night for Teens: Technology
Teens explore an array of college majors and minors and opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics at Virtual STEAM Nights.
FREE and OPEN to ALL Teens Ages 13 – 18, Junior Academy of Science Members, and members of The Academy’s STEM Teens Youth Leadership Council.
Registration is required! Click the Event Information link below to register and meet your Technology Track Virtual STEAM Night featured speakers!
Astronomy on Tap
A FREE, ONLINE Socially Distant Astronomy Happy Hour
FREE. Open to the public. All ages welcome! Registration not required. CLICK the Event Information link below for the YouTube Live link to join us on May 11 at 7PM CST.
We’re going online with our May event, so we can still have our astronomy happy hour while hunkering down. Grab a drink and a bite to eat and settle in.
The Lineup!
Reading the Martian Rock Record: Stories from a Previously Habitable World
Featured Speaker: Kirsten L. Siebach, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Rice University
Back to the Surface: Scouting Lunar Landing Sites from Orbit
Featured Speaker: Ryan Watkins, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
Citizen Science Virtual Training Sessions for Shutterbee! Backyard Bee Photography to Improve Conservation Practices
Feeling shut in? Get out with Shutterbee!
Registration for training and participation in Shutterbee required! See below.
Enjoy some sunshine, learn about your backyard bees, and join a fantastic community of bee enthusiasts! We invite you to help us track bees throughout the St. Louis region by hanging out in your own backyard. The goals of this project are to understand how landscape features and land management decisions affect bee diversity and behavior. We need your help to figure it out! To maintain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, VIRTUAL training and support is provided as you learn to conduct these surveys.
Interested in joining the Shutterbee project? Click the Event Information link to fill out the Shutterbee Registration Survey and sign up for the first training session.
Wednesday May 20th: 4:30-5:30 PM
Thursday May 21st: 6:00-7:30 PM
Saturday May 23rd: 10:00-11:30 AM
Citizen Science Virtual Training Sessions for Shutterbee! Backyard Bee Photography to Improve Conservation Practices
Feeling shut in? Get out with Shutterbee!
Registration for training and participation in Shutterbee required! See below.
Enjoy some sunshine, learn about your backyard bees, and join a fantastic community of bee enthusiasts! We invite you to help us track bees throughout the St. Louis region by hanging out in your own backyard. The goals of this project are to understand how landscape features and land management decisions affect bee diversity and behavior. We need your help to figure it out! To maintain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, VIRTUAL training and support is provided as you learn to conduct these surveys.
Interested in joining the Shutterbee project? Click the Event Information link to fill out the Shutterbee Registration Survey and sign up for the first training session.
Wednesday May 20th: 4:30-5:30 PM
Thursday May 21st: 6:00-7:30 PM
Saturday May 23rd: 10:00-11:30 AM
Citizen Science Virtual Training Sessions for Shutterbee! Backyard Bee Photography to Improve Conservation Practices
Feeling shut in? Get out with Shutterbee!
Registration for training and participation in Shutterbee required! See below.
Enjoy some sunshine, learn about your backyard bees, and join a fantastic community of bee enthusiasts! We invite you to help us track bees throughout the St. Louis region by hanging out in your own backyard. The goals of this project are to understand how landscape features and land management decisions affect bee diversity and behavior. We need your help to figure it out! To maintain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, VIRTUAL training and support is provided as you learn to conduct these surveys.
Interested in joining the Shutterbee project? Click the Event Information link to fill out the Shutterbee Registration Survey and sign up for the first training session.
Wednesday May 20th: 4:30-5:30 PM
Thursday May 21st: 6:00-7:30 PM
Saturday May 23rd: 10:00-11:30 AM
Virtual STEAM Night for Teens: Engineering
Teens can explore an array of college majors and minors and opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics with university students at Virtual STEAM Nights.
FREE and OPEN to ALL Teens Ages 13 – 18, Junior Academy of Science Members, and members of The Academy’s STEM Teens Youth Leadership Council.
Registration is required! Click the Event Information link below to register and meet your Engineering Track Virtual STEAM Night featured speakers!
June 2020
Virtual STEAM Night for TEENS: Mathematics
Teens can explore an array of college majors and minors and opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics with university students at Virtual STEAM Nights.
FREE and OPEN to ALL Teens Ages 13 – 18, Junior Academy of Science Members, and members of The Academy’s STEM Teens Youth Leadership Council.
Registration is required! Click the Event Information link below to register and meet your Mathematics Track Virtual STEAM Night featured speakers!
Astronomy on Tap
A FREE, ONLINE Socially Distant Astronomy Sunday Fun Day!
FREE. Open to the public. All ages welcome! Registration not required. CLICK the Event Information link below for the YouTube Live link to join us on June 28 at 1PM CST.
We’re online with our June event. Avoid the midday heat and grab a drink and a bite to eat and settle in!
The Lineup!
Finding the Earliest Quasars
Featured Speaker: Sophie Reed, Ph.D., Associate Professional Specialist, Department of Astrophysical Science, Princeton University
Black Astronomy
Featured Speaker: Ashley Walker, Research Assistant, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Astrochemist, and Planetary Scientist, Chicago State University
July 2020
On Science Happy Hour: Mars and Martinis—A Tourist’s Guide to Mars
REGISTRATION FOR THIS EVENT IS NOW CLOSED! Stay tuned for more upcoming On Science Happy Hours shortly!
FREE and OPEN to ALL. Space is limited. Middle and high school students welcome. Zoom Happy Hour event link and password sent via email one hour prior to the event. Click the Event Link below to register.
Featured Speaker: Rich Heuermann, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador; retired Administrative Officer, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Outreach Program Coordinator, NASA Missouri Space Grant Consortium, Washington University in St. Louis
NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador, Rich Heuermann, introduces us to Mars—the planet, shares some of the science results and spectacular images produced by NASA orbiters and surface rovers, and wraps up with a look at possibilities for the first human bases and settlements.
September 2020
Astronomy on Tap
YouTube Live, St. Louis, MO United States
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNPkic4YrM8
A FREE, ONLINE Socially Distant Astronomy Monday Fun Day!
FREE. Open to the public. All ages welcome! Registration not required. Click the YouTube link above to join!
It’s a Monday Fun Day with Astronomy on Tap in Spanish at 7PM, CST, this Monday, September 28, via YouTube Live. Astronomy on tap STL celebrates Spanish Heritage Month with its first ever broadcast in Spanish. Our guests, Luz Maria Martinez with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Dr. Elena Manjavacas with the W. M. Keck Observatory, will talk to us about the study of radiation on Mars and the search for planets.
¡Acompáñennos en nuestro primer evento en español! ¡Abierto a todos! Haga clic en el enlace de YouTube de arriba para unirse.
Nuestras invitadas, Luz María Martinez (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) y la Dra. Elena Manjavacas (W. M. Keck Observatory), nos hablarán acerca del estudio de la radiación en Marte y de la búsqueda de planetas.
¡ADOLESCENTES! ¡Muchos maestros ofrecen crédito adicional por asistir a los eventos de la Academia! ¡Consulta con tu maestro hoy!
TEENS! Many teachers offer extra credit for attending Academy events! Check with your teacher today!
October 2020
Hubble Highlights: Three Decades of Discovery
St. Louis County Library Zoom
FREE and OPEN to ALL. Junior Academy members, middle and high school students welcome and encouraged to attend. Space is limited. Registration required. CLICK the Event Information link below to REGISTER! Registrants will receive Zoom information via email immediately after registering.
Featured Speaker: Rich Heuermann, NASA JPL Solar System Ambassador; retired Administrative Officer, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Outreach Program Coordinator, NASA Missouri Space Grant Consortium, Washington University in St. Louis
A look at Hubble’s launch, repair missions, and some of the major discoveries that have resulted from Hubble images of planets, star clusters, interstellar dust clouds, and galaxies.