Science doesn’t stop in Maine. Our partners have a number of public science events this February. See what’s happening near you and remember that #scienceiseverywhere.
See you March 16th-19th at the 3rd Annual Maine Science Festival!
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Regular public programs are available on Friday evenings at 7pm (Stars) Sunday afternoons at 2pm (The Little Star That Could). More information https://astro.umaine.edu/events/
February 2nd, 2017, 7:00pm: Science Lecture Series, How molecular motors work – insights from the machinist’s toolbox. Dr. Dean Austumian will share tremendous potential of molecular machines to revolutionize technologies we use in our everyday lives. Using the dome we will explore these molecular motors in a unique way. This program is a partnership with the Maine Science Festival.
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, University of Maine, Orono
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February 3rd, 2017, 10:00am – 5:00pm: Grand Opening of “Sea What Grows Aquafarm” exhibit! Visit our new exhibit space “Sea What Grows Aquafarms”. Harvest play kelp, experiment with interactive harvesting of oysters and mussels, visit the virtual Salmon pen. Virtual reality viewing times for children 8 and older and adults scheduled throughout the day – check at the Admission desk for times.
February 9th, 2017, 5:30pm – 7:0pm: *Curiosity Studies: Fur.
February 23rd, 2017, 5:30pm – 7:00pm: *Curiosity Studies: Shells.
Do you need time to create? Feeling frustrated with the same still life arrangement? Come be inspired by our most amazing specimens—this month, it’s fur and shells! You are invited to view our reserve collections for artistic motivation. Bring your own supplies—paint, sewing needles, charcoal, pencils and we provide the inspiration.
*No admission charge for Curiosity Studies; please bring your own art supplies; ages 16+
Maine Discovery Museum, Main Street Gallery, 74 Main Street, Bangor
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February 10th, 2017, 7:00pm – 8:00pm: ‘Water Froze on the Nightstand Overnight’ – The History of Being Cold in Maine, presented by COA professor Todd Little-Siebold. Little-Sielbold will present on the historical lifestyle changes experienced on the coast of Maine from the colonial past to the modern day with a focus on the last century. He will discuss how people’s expectations have changed as technology, their work lives, and convenience have shifted what we have come to understand as being comfortable. This cultural shift, particularly in the twentieth century, has radically changed how people live their lives, the economic position of families and even people’s perceptions of themselves.
February 11th, 2017, 7:00pm – 8:00pm: Down East Maine’s Ice Age Trail. Schoodic Institute invites you to join Dr. Hal Borns as he presents the history of the melting of an ice sheet that extended from across northern Canada to the coast of Maine at the end of the last ice age is recorded by wonderfully exposed glacial and glacial-marine land forms in your back yard or, maybe, along your commute to work. Dr. Borns will explain how this event has not only shaped our coastal landscape, but also documents a major, hemispheric-wide change in climate.
February 12th, 2017, 1:00pm – 2:00pm: Salmon in the Rivers of Downeast Maine Schoodic Institute invites the public to attend an afternoon lecture by the Downeast Salmon Federation. Come hear from DSF staff about their work with winter fisheries, learn how to get involved with monitoring, and taste locally harvested smoked fish.The rivers of Downeast Maine play an important role in feeding the region’s human and natural communities. Months before ‘ice out’, schools of tomcod and smelt spawn in frozen estuaries. The Downeast Salmon Federation works to monitor, protect, and restore these species and their role in the seasonal cycle of anadromous fish and the fisheries they support.
February 16th, 2017, 12:00pm – 1:00pm Brown Bag – Thoreau’s Journeys in The Maine Woods. The Thoreau-Wabanaki Trail consists of traditional Wabanaki canoe routes and portages in Maine’s Kennebec and Penobscot River drainages over which Henry David Thoreau traveled in his three excursions into the Maine Woods, his last two with Penobscot Indian guides. Join us for our February Brown Bag as Paul Johnson highlights the places where Thoreau traveled, and some of the plants and animals that he observed, many of which can be seen today just as Thoreau saw them more than 150 years ago. Paul Johnson is a member of Maine Woods Forever, an all volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the legacy of Maine’s forests and woodlands.
9 Atterbury Circle, Winter Harbor.
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February 13th, 2017, 3:00pm – 4:00pm: Let’s get emotional about wildlife conservation! Humans are the underlying factor in conflicts concerning how wildlife should be managed. For management planning to be effective, government agencies require an understanding of how different human populations interact, value, and are affected by and affect wildlife populations. The management of a species, such as black bear, can cause different interest groups to disagree about appropriate management protocols. Conflicting values concerning wildlife management can also be highly emotional due to more commonly researched cognitions and experiences. However, a relatively new area of study is that of emotions as they relate to human-wildlife interactions. Emotions have been stated as the heart of human attraction to, and conflict over, wildlife and the findings in this area of research are fragmented and limited at best. Carly Sponarski will discuss these areas of research.
February 27th, 2017, 3:00pm – 4:00pm: Crafting Sustainable Well-Being: An Investigation of the Beer Industry in Maine. Well-being in Maine remains below the United States average with key indicators, such as poverty and health status, among the worst in the nation. The craft beer industry has been one of the few stand out contributors to economic growth across the state. Is it a possible solution to sustainable well-being in Maine? Andrew Crawley, Assistant Professor of Regional Economic Development and Angela Daley, Assistant Professor of Health Economics and Policy, consider this issue in exploring the symbiotic relationship between sustainability and human health, well-being.
107 Norman Smith Hall, Mitchell Center – University of Maine, Orono
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February 20th – 24th, 2017, 8:00am-4:00pm: February Vacation Camp. Five 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/february-camp/.
$50/day
Challenger Learning Center of Maine, 30 Venture Way, Bangor
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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.