You don’t have to come to Washington for a science festival in the U.S. this spring. I mentioned a few of them yesterday, but Scientific American (as you might expect) is more on the ball. Those outside of the Northeast, however, will need to travel if they wish to take advantage of the opportunities coming up.
Already underway is the International Dark Sky Week, which is part of Global Astronomy Month. Check with your local university or astronomy club to see if they have activities scheduled.
April 20 marks the start of both the Cambridge Science Festival and the Philadelphia Science Festival. I’d recommend the alternative science histories program and the Ig Nobel Prize readings for those headed to Cambridge. In the City of Brotherly Love (the festival there is in its second edition, much like the USA Science and Engineering Festival), I think it would be great to catch the film festival, as well as the re-enactment of the Lincoln assassination (with emphasis on the forensics).
The USA Science and Engineering Festival will close on April 28 and 29, as will the Cambridge and Philadelphia festivals. The World Science Festival in New York City won’t start until May 30. You can’t even see the full schedule until April 23, probably as a means to control registration for specific events. As the festival describes it:
“The 2012 roster includes Nobel Laureates Bill Phillips and Harold Varmus, renowned scientists and best-selling authors Oliver Sacks and E.O. Wilson, leading researchers Mary-Claire King and Eric Lander, Pulitzer-Prize winners Siddhartha Mukherjee and Richard Rhodes, President Obama’s chief science adviser John Holdren and EPA administrator Lisa P. Jackson, influential artists Lynette Wallworth and Tomas Saraceno, famed violinist Joshua Bell, and many more.”
Do note that some events at these festivals may require tickets (with or without a fee). Plan ahead and have fun!
Pasco Phronesis 