Science Saturdays for Kids Begins Again October 8 at Yale

The highly successful and engaging Science Saturdays lecture series for school children will be held in Yale’s Davies Auditorium, 15 Prospect Street, from 10:30 to noon on four successive Saturdays beginning October 8.

The program, begun this spring, was created and hosted by Ainissa G. Ramirez, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Yale. She created the series to introduce children to scientists — who they are, and how and why they study what they study. It is designed to shatter stereotypes about scientists and to show the fun of science.

According to Ramirez, “Science is for everyone and those who do it come in all colors, shapes and sizes. I am committed to getting the word out so that more New Haven children can benefit from this program.” The dynamic scientists participating in the program are of various backgrounds, ages and disciplines.

Scheduled programs are designed for students in the 7th grade and up, and are free and open to the public.

October 8
The Evolution of Birds: Why Birds are Dinosaurs
by Richard Prum, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Recent discoveries in paleontology have simultaneously changed our definition of what it means to be a bird and revolutionized our concepts of what the dinosaur ancestors of birds were like. Examples will touch on the evolution of nesting and parental care, feathers, flight and other topics.

October 15
Mr. Feynman’s Quantum Mechanics: A Field Guide for Curious Characters
by Steven M. Girvin, Physics

Richard Feynman was a remarkable physicist who played bongo drums, cracked safes, and thought deeply about how subatomic particles “move.” Professor Girvin’s talk will explain Feynman’s ideas showing that quantum particles can travel on more than one path at the same time. Some simple experimental demonstrations with light will be used to illuminate the subject.

October 22
Science in the Swamps: What Frogs are Telling Us
by David Skelly, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Frogs have played an enormous role in the rise of modern biology, providing understanding of everything from the development of embryos to the ways that predators affect their prey. During the last decade, deformed frogs have been found in populations across the United States. Professor Skelly will describe what scientists have been finding, why deformities are important, and what his lab is doing to discover the cause.

October 29
How to See a Black Hole
by Charles Bailyn, Astronomy

The crucial characteristic of black holes is that they do not emit observable radiation of any kind. So it seems paradoxical that over the past fifteen years, astronomers have positively identified dozens of celestial objects as black holes. Professor Bailyn has been among the leaders of an international effort to find and study black holes in our galaxy. In this talk, he describes in simple terms what black holes are, and how they can be identified in space.

Ramirez, a black woman faculty member at Yale, who is a much honored material scientist, will be on leave of absence next spring. She decided that the program was too important to put off until she returned because of the great response from teachers, parents, children and even professors who have asked to be part of this program.

“Yale University and Professor Ramirez deserve our gratitude for helping our children understand the importance of science and the role it plays in our daily lives,” said New Haven Mayor John DeStephano, Jr. “As we make the teaching of math and science a top priority, programs like this one should serve as a model.”

This summer, Yale honored Ramirez and the Science Saturdays program with the Elm-Ivy Award. “I never expected all this when I put the program together,” she said. The little idea grew into something much bigger than originally imagined. With all the enthusiasm it has generated, the program is likely to flourish for some time and perhaps even branch out into new projects in the future.

“I am a bit humbled by how this program has been embraced by Yale and New Haven,” said Ramirez. “People stop me on the street to say that they enjoyed the program or that they saw me on CTV talking about it with my science demonstrations.”

The program is supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the Yale Faculty of Engineering, the National Society of Black Engineers, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Scienceworks. More information is available by contacting Ainissa Ramirez at ainissa.ramirez@yale.edu or online at: www.eng.yale.edu/science.