Wonderfest science festival Nov. 4, 5 |
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01 November 2006 ATTENTION: Science & health reporters, editors |
Contact:
Robert Sanders, Media Relations
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WHAT
Wonderfest 2006, a free, public, two-day science festival at the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University, featuring local scientists discussing topics ranging from string theory and black holes to biodiversity and whether or not we can stop aging.
WHEN
1 p.m. though evening, Saturday, Nov. 4, at Stanford University
10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 5, at UC Berkeley
WHERE
Hewlett Teaching Center, Stanford University; and Andersen Auditorium, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley
WHO
Scientists from UC Berkeley, Stanford University, UC San Francisco, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Santa Cruz and NASA-Ames Research Center.
DETAILS
The Bay Area Festival of Science, or Wonderfest, has been held each year since 1998 to bring the excitement of science to the public and particularly to high school students. It is dedicated to the memory of Carl Sagan. This year, Wonderfest speakers will address such questions as: Do we understand love? Can we arrest human aging? Is the world made of strings?
In addition to interesting dialogues between world-class scientists, the SImps (Stanford's improvisational comedy troupe) will demonstrate their scientific prowess in comedic performances at both Stanford and UC Berkeley.
On Saturday, Nov. 4, the BASIC WonderCup Challenge Championship will take place at 5 p.m. at Stanford. The Bay Area's two top high school science quiz teams will face off in a game show-style challenge. Afterward, the WonderCup champs will match wits against professors in The Mind Duel.
Wonderfest is produced as a public service by The Branson School, an independent high school in Marin County that co-sponsors the event along with the Stanford Chemistry Department, UC Berkeley Department of Physics, and The Planetary Society. Wonderfest is funded by Affymetrix Corp., Annual Reviews, Bay Area Science and Innovation Consortium (BASIC), Stanford Center on Longevity, and Wind River Systems.
For more information, visit http://www.wonderfest.org or contact Wonderfest director Tucker Hiatt at (415) 577-1126 or tucker@wonderfest.org.