Event Calendar

Join us as we livestream “A Universe of Surprises”, a free lecture and visual presentation by Dr. Laura Trouille and Dr. Chris Lintott. We will be livestreaming the presentation from the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and will be one of 30 planetariums around the world taking part.

//About the lecture: Our Universe is full of surprises, from ghost remnants of black hole jets to exotic planets around distant stars to Boyajian’s star, the most mysterious star in our galaxy. Drs. Chris Lintott and Laura Trouille will use these unexpected discoveries to explore what we know—and what we don’t—about our dynamic Universe. They’ll examine how scientists cope with surprises, reveal what it’s like to think you might have found aliens, and explain how you too might make a remarkable discovery from the comfort of your home. With future telescopes, scanning the sky night after night, set to provide astronomers with a dynamic view of the Universe for the first time, there’s never been a better time to look up at the night sky—and be surprised!

//The Speakers: Chris Lintott is a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford. He is involved in a number of popular science projects aimed at bringing astronomy to a wider audience, including as main presenter of the BBC TV series, The Sky At Night. Laura Trouille is Vice President of Citizen Science at the Adler Planetarium and a Research Associate at Northwestern University. Together, Chris and Laura lead Zooniverse, the largest online citizen science platform, with 1.8 million participants worldwide.

Doors: 5:00pm. We ask that you arrive by 5:15pm to claim your seat. Any unclaimed seats will be given to walk-ins after 5:15pm.

FREE ADMISSION Reserve your seat on Eventbrite.

https://www.facebook.com/events/370160460554630/

Yeast are humans’ oldest domesticated microorganism, and for thousands of years we have used them to produce many useful, and often delicious, products. But did you know yeast do more than just make your bread rise?

As yeast grow, they convert sugars primarily into carbon dioxide and alcohol, but through this process they also produce a huge variety of aromatic compounds. Some of these aromatics are fruity, and can also be found in apples, bananas, and berries. Other compounds may smell like cloves, herbs, or vegetables. And they can also make weird smells that you’d never associate with baking or brewing: from nail polish, to baby vomit, even the buttery smell of microwavable popcorn! Balancing all of these flavours is critical, and learning more about how and why yeast make them will help us breed better yeast strains for the breads and beers of tomorrow.

Dr. Karissa Milbury (@Point_Mutation) researches the complex aromas that are produced by Baker’s yeast (A.K.A.Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or brewer’s yeast) during fermentation, through her role as a Mitacs Postdoctoral Fellow at UBC and Renaissance BioScience Corp.

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum is on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. We thank the Musqueam for their ongoing partnership with the museum in furthering our understanding of culturally diverse ways of knowing our world. You can explore the perspectives of six First Nations communities on biodiversity in our exhibition, Culture at the Centre.

ACCESSIBILITY SUMMARY: There are no lips or stairs to enter the museum. Flooring is concrete or tile. Our main entrance is equipped with door-opening buttons. Access to the lower level containing the museum collections is via a ramp with a fitted handrail.

There is an elevator in the Biodiversity Research Centre, adjacent to the museum, which can offer access to the collections floor. This elevator requires key-carrying museum staff or volunteers; please ask at the admission desk.

There are accessible, single stall, gender neutral washrooms on the gift shop level, and on the collections level. Both are equipped with door opening buttons and handrails.

For information and to book the UBC Accessibility Shuttle, visit the UBC website. Shuttle stop 12 (Earth Sciences) is located just opposite the museum. Service animals are welcome at the museum, but other animals are not permitted, due to the nature of our collections.

Our collections area is a dimly lit space to protect museum specimens. Given the nature of the museum’s work, and the materials used in preserving and maintaining our specimens for visitors to explore and learn from, we regret that we are unable to offer a scent-reduced space.

Everyone is welcome to the museum and its events; oppressive attitudes and behaviour of any kind, towards staff, volunteers or visitors, will not be accepted.

https://www.facebook.com/events/412223605976984/

Can (and should?) biotechnology reverse extinction? Could extinct species, like mammoths and passenger pigeons, be brought back to life? Is it possible to clone extinct species using the same or similar technologies that created Dolly the sheep in the 1990s? What are the chances that the science fiction of “Jurassic Park” will someday become science fact?

In this lecture, Beth Shapiro, ancient DNA scientist and author of How to Clone a Mammoth, will discuss the real science behind the emerging idea known as “de-extinction.” From deciding which species should be restored, to sequencing and editing their genomes, to anticipating how revived populations might be overseen in the wild, she will walk through the process of resurrecting extinct species, considering the technical, ethical and ecological challenges of de-extinction as well as its potential benefits.

While she argues that it may never be possible to bring back an identical copy of a species that has gone extinct, de-extinction technology is likely to provide a new solutions to revitalize and stabilize contemporary ecosystems, with benefits to the preservation of existing biodiversity.

Beth Shapiro is an evolutionary biologist who specializes in the genetics of ice age animals and plants. As Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz and HHMI Investigator, Beth uses DNA recovered from bones and other remains to study how species evolved through time and how human activities have affected and continue to affect this dynamic process.

Her work focuses on organisms ranging from influenza to mammoths, asking questions about domestication, admixture, speciation, and pathogen evolution. Her current work develops techniques to recover increasingly trace amounts of DNA such as from environmental and forensic samples.

A 2009 MacArthur Fellow, Beth is also an award-winning popular science author and communicator who uses her research as a platform to explore the potential of genomic technologies for conservation and medicine.

This is a FREE event and it’s part of the Biodiversity Lecture Series, organized jointly by the Biodiversity Research Centre and the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Eventbrite RSVP required.

The event will be held in the Jack Poole Hall at the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre. More information here: http://beatymuseum.ubc.ca/events/event/biodiversity-lecture-series-with-beth-shapiro/

The University of British Columbia is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. We thank the Musqueam for their ongoing partnership with the Beaty Museum in furthering our understanding of culturally diverse ways of knowing our world.

ACCESSIBILITY SUMMARY: The Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre has the following accessibility features: Three accessible doors on the main level One accessible washroom on the main level that includes a children’s change table Two elevators An accessibility ramp to the main doors One accessible parking space is available immediately next to the building. The parking space is complimentary, but the vehicle must have a valid accessibility parking permit.

https://www.facebook.com/events/3013676498648762/

Picture this - a world where AI invades human creativity, bacteria invade our brains, and invisible technological signals penetrate all natural environments. Where invasive species from plants to humans transform spaces where they don't belong, technology infiltrates every aspect of our daily lives, and the waste of human inventions ravages our natural environments.

That world is here, and the time is now. Can we recognize, understand and prevent these invasive systems from transforming our world beyond recognition? Through visual art, multimedia installations, and interactive experiences, join artists and scientists at "Collisions Festival: Invasive Systems" to explore the delicate and complicated nature of how both living and inanimate things redefine our environments.

This weekend festival includes an art-science exhibition, a hands-on workshop (Sat, separate registration required https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/64220318702), and guided discussions and tours by the curator (Sat/Sun). It will showcase collaborative works by three artist/scientist pairs, and independent works by six artists. Opening reception will be on Friday, November 8 starting at 7pm.

Artist/Scientist Collabs: Laara Cerman & Scott Pownall, Dzee Louise & Linda Horianopoulos, Kathryn Wadel & Garth Covernton

Participating Artists: Christian Dahlberg, Chris Dunnett, Edzi’u, Tywla Exner, Joanne Hastie, Katrina Wong.

For more information about the festival, including artist/scientist biographies, visit the festival website: http://bit.ly/collisionsfestival2019

We acknowledge that Collisions Festival and its events take place on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations. We are grateful for the opportunity to live and work on this land.

https://www.facebook.com/events/510913169691745/

Picture this - a world where AI invades human creativity, bacteria invade our brains, and invisible technological signals penetrate all natural environments. Where invasive species from plants to humans transform spaces where they don't belong, technology infiltrates every aspect of our daily lives, and the waste of human inventions ravages our natural environments.

That world is here, and the time is now. Can we recognize, understand and prevent these invasive systems from transforming our world beyond recognition? Through visual art, multimedia installations, and interactive experiences, join artists and scientists at "Collisions Festival: Invasive Systems" to explore the delicate and complicated nature of how both living and inanimate things redefine our environments.

This weekend festival includes an art-science exhibition, a hands-on workshop (Sat, separate registration required https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/64220318702), and guided discussions and tours by the curator (Sat/Sun). It will showcase collaborative works by three artist/scientist pairs, and independent works by six artists. Opening reception will be on Friday, November 8 starting at 7pm.

Artist/Scientist Collabs: Laara Cerman & Scott Pownall, Dzee Louise & Linda Horianopoulos, Kathryn Wadel & Garth Covernton

Participating Artists: Christian Dahlberg, Chris Dunnett, Edzi’u, Tywla Exner, Joanne Hastie, Katrina Wong.

For more information about the festival, including artist/scientist biographies, visit the festival website: http://bit.ly/collisionsfestival2019

We acknowledge that Collisions Festival and its events take place on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations. We are grateful for the opportunity to live and work on this land.

https://www.facebook.com/events/510913169691745/

Join us on Thursday, November 14 at Science World at TELUS World of Science for the inaugural Uncorked: A Celebration of the Science of Wine. Mingle with winemakers, viticulturists and chefs as you taste a number of hard-to-find, award-winning wines from five Iconic Wineries. Enjoy the ambiance of a sparkling wine lounge. Sample wine pairings with culinary delights prepared by the Okanagan’s finest chefs. Participate in fun, hands-on activities developed by the Science World team along with winemakers and viticulturists as we uncork the science behind the incredible wines we all enjoy.

Your admission to Uncorked includes tastings of a wide variety of hard-to-find, award-winning wines from five Iconic Wineries and a sparkling wine lounge. You’ll also enjoy food stations for wine pairings, featuring culinary delights from the chefs of Terrace Restaurant at Mission Hill Family Estate and Home Block at CedarCreek Estate Winery. Wine plus science-focused, hands-on experiences, demonstrations, programming and a silent auction will ensure this is an unforgettable evening.

Uncorked is presented by Iconic Wineries of British Columbia in partnership with Science World. Uncorked will support Science World's On The Road program, which last year brought live science performances to 41,500 students who might not otherwise have had a chance to visit Science World at TELUS World of Science.

https://www.facebook.com/events/741101009671673/

Join us as Indigenous storyteller Dallas Yellowfly (3 Crows Productions) brings the scary story of “Qwalena: The Wild Woman That Steals Children” to life in the planetarium star theatre.

In this unique theatrical performance Yellowfly blends Oral Tradition, multimedia and a bit of humour to explore the intergenerational impact of Indian residential schools, and to create a better understanding of the Indian Act.

Dallas Yellowfly is a member of the Siksika First Nation, who was born and raised on Sto:lo territory practicing coastal cultures. After completing a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology/Anthropology, he pursued both stand up comedy and music professionally. Dallas blends his experience in stand up comedy, music, and film making to create engaging multimedia storytelling performances.

Recommended for ages 13+. This performance contains some coarse language and mature subject matter.

Tickets available online through Eventbrite until 12:00pm on November 14th.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2289671811160380/