Science doesn’t stop in Maine. Our partners have a number of public science events coming up in December. See what’s happening near you and remember that #scienceiseverywhere.
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Friday, December 9, 2016, 9:00am-2:30pm:Educate Maine’s Education Symposium & Leadership Luncheon.
Join us for a day dedicated to the vital subject of education and the economy in Maine, from early childhood through postsecondary. Hear the latest thought-provoking ideas at plenary sessions, get engaged at workshops led by Maine business and education leaders, and celebrate the students and teachers who will lead our State into the future. This year’s keynote speakers include Deanna Sherman, President & CEO, Dead River Company; and Nicholas C. Donohue, President & CEO, Nellie Mae Education Foundation
At the Annual Education Symposium you will have the opportunity: -To attend engaging workshops that address a range of current issues concerning education and economy in Maine -Network with other education and business leaders in the state -Hear from recognized leaders in the field -Honor and celebrate this year’s education leaders
Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland
88 Spring St, Portland
Registration fees between $50-$70
Register here. Registration closes Friday, December 2nd; there are only a few spots left.
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December 10th, 9:30am – 3:30pm: State Championship! The top teams from the regional competitions last month will be competing in the Championship. The event is free and open to the public to come and watch. In addition to the FIRST Lego League we will have be having the Maine Digital Festival and STEM Career Showcase upstairs, representative teams and their robots from the FRC, the Great Ball Contraption on the main floor, and much more!For more information about the State Championship go to http://www.mainerobotics.org/first-lego-league.html
Augusta Civic Center, 76 Community Drive, Augusta
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December 10th, 10:00am – 1:30pm: Maine Digital Festival, an MSF Pop-Up event with our Partners Project>Login. A fun free day of activities related to computer science, robotics, games, apps and more, for ages K-12! Free, but pre-registration is encouraged online at eventbrite: https://goo.gl/OOoAQ0.
Augusta Civic Center, 76 Community Drive, Augusta
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December 15th, 6:30pm – 7:30pm: Curiosity Studies. Do you need time to create? Feeling frustrated with the same still life arrangement? Come be inspired by our most amazing specimens—delicate eggs, creature skulls, fantastic furs and much more! You are invited to view our reserve collections for artistic motivation! Bring your own supplies—paint, sewing needles, charcoal, pencils and we will provide different collections—some large and some microscopic! This month’s specimens will be eggs!
*No admission charge; please bring your own art supplies.
Maine Discovery Museum, Main Street Gallery, 74 Main Street, Bangor
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Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions
December 5th, 3:00pm-4:00pm: Damned If You Do, Dammed If You Don’t: The Evolution of Pro-Active Dam Removal over the Last Quarter Century Laura Wildman, Director, New England Regional Office, Princeton Hydro, will provide a presentation that documents the evolution of the pro-active dam removal efforts in the US based on firsthand experience of dam removal efforts over the last 25+ years, and through interviews with 25 experts similarly involved in dam removal and research. These experts include scientists, engineers, managers, environmental activists, researchers, and regulators form the private, academic, non-profit, state and federal sectors. By documenting this living record of events and the regulations that proceeded those events, we offer a provisional interpretation and initiate construction of a template that may be used in other regions where the cascading impacts of river fragmentation are ubiquitous and yet removing dams to restore rivers is still considered a “taboo” subject.
107 Norman Smith Hall, Mitchell Center – University of Maine, Orono
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Thursday, December 1st, 7:00pm: The Emera Astronomy Center’s Science Lecture Series, in partnership with the Maine Science Festival, features Dr. Paul Mayewski who will discuss Journey into Climate. During this presentation he will share how ice cores from a variety of locations around the globe help us understand our global climate and how it is changing. We will travel to the Himalayas, the Andes, Antarctica and seeing how climate science is conducted and hearing it implications for our modern life. Tickets are available at https://goo.gl/AQ06Bb.
Regular public programs are available on Friday evenings at 7pm (Mystery of the Christmas Star) Sunday afternoons at 2pm (Legends of the Night Sky: Orion). More information https://astro.umaine.edu/events/
Tickets for planetarium programs are $6 for Adults, $5 for UMaine Students/Veterans/Senior Citizens, and $4 for children under 12.
Emera Astronomy Center, 167 Rangeley Road, Orono
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December 6th, 11:00am – 12:30pm: Seminar Presentation – Off the Menu? Mussel Byssal Attachment in a Warmer, High CO2 Ocean. Emily Carrington is a professor of Biology at the University of Washington and a National Science Foundation program director. Carrington’s research program, in its broadest sense, investigates the physiological ecology of marine organisms. She is particularly interested in the functional design of organisms that inhabit physically demanding environments, such as wave-swept rocky shores, where thermal, osmotic, and hydrodynamic conditions can be extreme. Her research involves both plants and animals and spans many levels of biological organization, from the mechanics of biological materials, to the persistence of populations, to the characterization of the physical environment and how it influences biological processes.
107 Norman Smith Hall, George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions – University of Maine, Orono
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December 15th, Noon – 1:00pm: Brown Bag Lunch Series. For the past 50 plus consecutive years, Volunteer Count Compiler, Bill Townsend, has faithfully organized the Christmas Bird Count at Schoodic Point. On Thursday, December 15, 2016 at noon, Bill will present “The History of Local Christmas Bird Counts”. He has personally organized and compiled the Schoodic Point CBC since 1959, never missing a year! This informative talk will provide an overview of birdlife in our region in early winter, with insights into population changes over time.
Bring your lunch and join us during this free program. Registration is not required. Follow signs on the Schoodic Institute campus, Winter Harbor
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December 27-30, 8:00am-4:00pm: December Vacation Camp. Four different days of science fun, for grades K-5. More details about each day can be found at https://www.astronaut.org/parents-public/camps/december-camp/
$50/day
Challenger Learning Center of Maine, 30 Venture Way, Bangor
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December (runs until April 2017): Dinosaurs Unearthed. Be transported to an era 65 million years ago – an era when dinosaurs walked the earth. IN THIS EXTRAORDINARY EXHIBIT Dinosaurs Unearthed shows far more than just fossils. State of the art technology and research has allowed for visitors to see how dinosaurs looked, moved and sounded when they roamed the planet. With more than a dozen animatronic dinosaurs that roar and rouse, there is plenty of action at every turn. The exhibition also features full-sized skeletons, fossils, an excavation site, and plenty of interactive activities that will unleash every visitor’s inner paleontologist.
Prices: Adults ($19.50), 65+/College/Military ($17.50), Child 3-12 ($14.50), Children under 3 (Free)
Ages: Great for all ages, but focused on K-8 students
Times: 7 days per week. Entry times are Mon – Thurs 10am to 6pm, Fri & Sat 10am to 7pm, Sun 11am to 6pm. Exhibit closes 1-hour after last entry.
Portland Science Center, 68 Commercial Street, Portland. 1 pier over from Casco Bay Lines.