AMNH Announces January 2012 Public Programs

AMNH has announced the following upcoming events.

Mystery at the Museum: An Accomplice Adventure

Select Saturdays and Sundays

Families with children ages 10 and up

$40

Embark on an exciting adventure through the Museum! Meet characters, follow clues, and solve puzzles as you unravel a tale that takes you to iconic Museum locations and behind-the-scenes areas. Part game, part theater, and part walking tour, Mystery at the Museum is an experience you won’t soon forget.

 

SciCafe: Adventures in Superstring Theory

January 4 at 7 pm

Wallach Orientation Center, fourth floor 

Free admission

21+ with ID

Food and beverage available for purchase

Enjoy cocktails, cutting-edge science, and conversation at this popular after-hours series, which takes place on the first Wednesday of every month.

Theoretical physicist S. James Gates, Jr. uses mathematics to understand string theory and superstring theory, candidates for a single, unified theory of the universe. At January’s SciCafe, Gates will talk about the discovery of computer codes like those used in web browsers embedded in the equations of superstring theory, and in particular, the codes found in Adinkra symbols, which are graphical representations of the theory. 

Dr. Gates is the John S. Toll Professor of Physics and director of the Center for String and Particle Theory at the University of Maryland-College Park. He serves on President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and is known for his work on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory. 

Proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.

 

Monthly Family Series: Live Wolf Encounter

January 7 at 11 am, 12:15 pm, 1:30 pm

Linder Theater

$12

Meet Atka, an Arctic gray wolf from the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York. Learn about the highly endangered gray wolf and the vital role wolves play in sustaining a healthy ecosystem. WCC staff will also discuss the organization’s participation in the program to reintroduce wolves into their traditional ranges in the western United States. 

This event is part of the Monthly at the Museum series, which combines the best of family public programs throughout the year for families with children 4 to 11 years of age.

 

Beyond Planet Earth Events: SpaceFest!

January 15, 2012 from 11 am - 5 pm

Cullman Hall of the Universe

Free with Museum Admission

Celebrate the legacy of space exploration and the special exhibition Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration at the Rose Center for Earth and Space with a day of space-related activities, performances, and games for all ages.

Special guests include Story Pirates with a performance of “Rocket Fuel” and NASA Solar System Ambassador Laura Venner with the latest space mission news. Carter Emmart, the Museum’s Director of Astrovisualization, will guide you through space in the Hayden Planetarium with Soaring Over the Moon and Mars, and astronomer TEd Williams will show you the winter sky in our portable planetarium, StarLab. Join members of the Amateur Astronomers Association outside for telescope observations on the Arthur Ross Terrace.

 

Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org), in collaboration with MadaTech: The Israel National Museum of Science, Technology & Space, Haifa, Israel.

 

Beyond Planet Earth is made possible through the sponsorship of LockheEd Martin Corporation.

And is proudly supported by Con Edison.

 

Major funding has been provided by The Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund.

 

Additional support is generously provided by Marshall P. and Rachael C. Levine, Drs. Harlan B. and Natasha Levine, and Mary and David Solomon.

 

Presented with special thanks to NASA.

 

Museum Lectures: A Universe from Nothing with Lawrence Krauss

January 23 at 7:30 pm

Hayden Planetarium Space Theater

$15; $13.50 Members, students, seniors
Exciting scientific advances are providing new insight into how something can arise from nothing. Join physicist Lawrence Krauss for a mind-bending trip back to the beginning of the beginning and forward to the end of the end. Learn how remarkable developments in cosmology and particle physics over the past 20 years have revolutionized our picture of the origin of the universe and its future.

 

Adventures in Science: Twinkling Stars: Gods and Heroes

January 23 and 30 at 4:30–6 pm

For grades 1 and 2, each child with one adult

$60 for two classes

This introduction to the night sky was developed for budding astronomers. Classroom activities and observations in the Hayden Planetarium Space Theater reveal the stars above and the ancient stories and traditions that have followed them through the ages.

 

Adventures in the Global Kitchen: Tonics and Tinctures: Historic Remedies for Your Expanding Waistline

January 24 at 6:30 pm

Wallach Orientation Center, fourth floor

$30 

Millions of Americans will promise to lose a few pounds in 2012. But when did Americans start worrying about their waistlines? Join historic gastronomist Sarah Lohman, author of the blog Four Pounds Flour, for a look at how Americans traditionally tried to shed a few extra pounds. From William Banting’s “Letter on Corpulence” to “Fletcherizing” with John Harvey Kellogg, explore and taste some of the best (and worst) historic diet trends in America.

The Presenting Sponsor of the Museum’s cultural public programming is MetLife Foundation.

 

Beyond Planet Earth Events: Cosmic Cocktails and Space Arcade

January 26 from 6:30 pm–8:30 pm

Rose Center for Earth and Space

$75 (includes 2 hours of open bar, appetizers, and admission to exhibition) 
21+ with ID 
Party in the Rose Center for Earth and Space after hours with open bar, indie video games, live music, and exclusive access to the new space exhibition. Play custom arcade games provided by Babycastles, Brooklyn’s DIY arcade. Enjoy drinks and appetizers while special musical guest One Ring Zero fills the Cullman Hall of the Universe with music from their album Planets, a tribute to the solar system. Then, make your way to Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration, where you can smell the Moon, deflect asteroids, fly over Mars, terraform the red planet using a custom, multi-player interactive table, and play other out-of-this-world games.

 

Beyond Planet Earth: The Future of Space Exploration is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (amnh.org), in collaboration with MadaTech: The Israel National Museum of Science, Technology & Space, Haifa, Israel.

 

Beyond Planet Earth is made possible through the sponsorship of LockheEd Martin Corporation.

And is proudly supported by Con Edison.

 

Major funding has been provided by The Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund.

 

Additional support is generously provided by Marshall P. and Rachael C. Levine, Drs. Harlan B. and Natasha Levine, and Mary and David Solomon.

 

Presented with special thanks to NASA.

 

Astronomy Live: NASA Missions

January 31 at 6:30 pm

Hayden Planetarium Space Theater

$15; $13.50 Members, students, seniors
For over 50 years, NASA has been pioneering space exploration from low-Earth orbit to The Edge of the solar system. Emily Rice, a research scientist in the Museum’s Department of Astrophysics, and Brian Levine, an astrophysics educator at the Museum, will show you breathtaking images from NASA missions combined with stunning visualizations from the Digital Universe Atlas. Join us for an exciting evening of past, present, and future NASA missions and an unforgettable journey through the solar system.

 

Museum Information

 

Hours

The Museum is open daily, 10 am–5:45 pm.

The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

Space Show Hours

Space Shows are shown Monday through Friday every half hour, 10:30 am– 4:30 pm except Wednesdays (first show on Wednesday begins at 11 am).  Saturday through Sunday, every half hour, 10:30 am–5 pm.

 

Admission

Suggested general admission, which supports the Museum’s scientific and educational endeavors and includes 46 Museum halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, is $19 (adults) suggested; $14.50 (students/seniors) suggested; $10.50 (children) suggested.

 

The Museum offers discounted combination ticket prices that include suggested general admission plus special exhibitions, IMAX films, and Space Shows.

o   Museum plus special exhibition, IMAX film, or Space Show: $25 (adults), $19 (students/seniors), $14.50 (children)

o   Museum Supersaver, which includes the Space Show, IMAX, and all special exhibitions: $33 (adults), $25.50 (students/seniors), $20.50 (children)

 

Visitors who wish to pay less than the suggested Museum admission and also want to attend a special exhibition, IMAX film, or Space Show may do so only on-site at the Museum. To the amount they wish to pay for general admission, they should add $20 (adults), $16.50 (students/seniors), or $11 (children) for a Space Show, special exhibition, or IMAX film.

 

Public Information

For additional information, the public should call 212-769-5100 or visit the Museum’s website, amnh.org.