What's on 5 Tonight

A couple of years ago I read a book called The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World by Jenny Uglow. The book is a history of a group of men in 1760’s Birmingham England who formed a society that met every month on the full moon. This was not because they were moon worshippers but because in an era before street lamps they needed the light of the moon to navigate their way home after an evening drinking and discussing philosophy. The members cheerfully referred to themselves as “lunaticks”, a pun on lunatics.

At the dawn of the industrial revolution, there was no word yet for the study of science so these young inventors and experimenters considered their avocation to be “natural philosophy”. These were men whose work, both amateur and professional, would eventually change the world. Among members of the Lunar Society were, toy maker Matthew Boulton and his partner James Watt who invented the steam engine, potter Josiah Wedgewood and Erasmus Darwin, a physician, poet and inventor who was already developing a theory of evolution long before his more famous grandson wrote The Origin of Species. Also joining the circle were clockmaker Joseph Whitehurst, chemist James Kier and doctors William Small ( a teacher of Thomas Jefferson at William and Mary College) and, William Withering (who discovered medicinal digitalis).Politician and writer Richard Lovell Edgeworth invented the caterpillar track and Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen. Benjamin Franklin joined the group whenever he came to England.

The Lunar Society was never more than an informal group. No constitution, minutes, or publications survive. The only evidence of its existence and activities is found in the correspondence and notes of the members. The men shared investigations and conducted experiments in new sciences like electricity, meteorology, geology and botany.

Science Cafes are inspired by Cafe Scientifique begun in England in 1998. Like the Lunar Society, no central organization controls all science cafes. As a result, each cafe has adapted to its own local culture and audience while keeping a focus on open, public conversation. Around the US, names of science cafés vary. Science on Tap, Science Pub, Ask a Scientist, and café Sci also have a variety of formats and structure. The events were originally designed to take place outside any traditional academic context. Some cafés even explore connections between science and other disciplines, like the arts.

KNME’s Science Cafe uses award winning PBS programs like NOVA and NOVA scienceNOW to engage the public with science and to explore the latest ideas in science and technology. Families, scientists, neighbors, hobbyists and professionals all attend the cafes. KNME Science Cafes are held in community venues, museums and laboratories. Refreshments by the New Mexico Tea Company help create a warm friendly atmosphere to discuss topics and issues in science today.

This week at KNME’s Science Café we explore sleep and memory, two things which many of us seem to be short of these days. How does sleep enhance learning and memory? Leading our discussion is guest scientist is Lee Brown, MD, Executive Director, Program in Sleep Medicine, UNM Health Sciences Center. View a clip of Sleep from NOVA scienceNOW, and then join the discussion. Ask questions and offer your own insights.

Date: December 19, 2009

Location: Madeleine’s Place Event Center, 3824 Corrales Road, Corrales

Many thanks to David Edwards of New Mexico Tea company for providing refreshments. http://www.nmteaco.com/

Time: 10:00am – 12noon

ADMISSION IS FREE, but a reservation is required.  RSVP to Rose Poston at 277-2396 or rposton@knme.org.  Seats are limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

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Tags: Albuquerque, education, science

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 7:53 am and is filed under OUTREACH. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.