Meet up-and-coming scientists and learn about questions at the forefront of research today in this series of short talks. Perhaps you’ll discuss how studying dog reactions help us learn about the evolution of social behavior? Maybe you’ll consider the regrowth of a microscopic worm after injury and what that can teach us about any animal cell. Will you look at how trees manage the tradeoffs of building woody tissue or look for geological evidence of Earth’s first billion years? Each Science Spotlight in the series will include several short research talks.

Schedule

2:00 pm Sweaty Shrubs with Melissa Mai, Holbrook Lab

How do plants deal with too much salt? From the world's driest desert and tropical coastlines to your own neighborhood, plants get exposed to more salt than they’d like. Some plants have developed unique adaptations to handle extra salt, including a shrub that sweats! I explain how multiple branches of science come together to help us unearth this shrub’s secrets.

3:00 pm What Bunnies and Tree Rings Tell Us about Climate Change with Dr. Jakob Sedig, Reich Lab

How do archaeologists know what the climate was like 1000 years ago? How can learning about how humans have responded to environmental downturns in the past improve our resilience to modern climate change? Join me as I describe the techniques archaeologists use to study ancient environments, changes to ecosystems, and how one group in ancient southwest New Mexico adapted to severe drought.

Ages 10–Adults. 

Free with regular museum admission.