Ever Wonder? from the California Science Center

Last episode, we talked to environmental historian Jared Dahl Aldern about why California has so many wildfires . And with all the news of big, out-of-control wildfires—especially in the last two years—it’s hard to think of fire as anything but a scary, destructive force. Do you ever wonder if fire can be good? Chairman Ron Goode, the Tribal Chairman of the North Fork Mono Tribe, has been conducti...

In an earlier episode, we spoke with Johanna Varner (@johannavarner) , also known as Pika Jo, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Colorado Mesa University . She introduced us to the pika – an adorable little creature about the size of a russet potato that lives high up in the mountains without hibernating in the winter!    Ever wonder how pikas can survive extreme conditions?     In this...

For this episode, we’re taking a look back at Perry’s interview with roboticist and Professor Ayanna Howard. He spoke with Ayanna about how the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence have advanced, and considered the ways robots can be biased. Considering all of the ethical and social aspects of the new technology engineers create…. Ever wonder if engineers should study ethics? In...

On today’s episode we chat with Elaine Krebs ( @elaine.explains ), science educator and recent Antarctica explorer! Do you ever wonder what kind of science happens in Antarctica? Elaine received her master’s degree in Marine Biology and Environmental Biology from the University of Southern California. One of her current endeavors with the help of PolarTREC has allowed her to do what many only drea...

We humans might think we run the world… but we’re vastly outnumbered by microscopic creatures we can’t see with our own eyes. Soil, air, water… everything around us is full of these tiny microbes. Even a simple puddle can be teeming with life…  Ever wonder what lives in a drop of water?  On today’s episode we chat with Chloé Savard, a microbiology student in Montreal who explores the microscopic w...

There are a lot of references to speed and going fast in our culture, especially in video games, cartoons, and movies. Sonic the Hedgehog can run at supersonic speeds . Speed Racer is busy revvin’ up the powerful Mach 5 . And in this summer’s hit movie Top Gun: Maverick , Tom Cruise flies the Darkstar hypersonic plane to “Mach 10” . Ever wonder just how fast Mach 10 is? To find out, we talked to A...

When the new Jurassic World movie came out last month, we invited Dr. Jingmai O’Connor, a paleontologist at the Field Museum, onto the show to help us think about whether or not humans could ever coexist with dinosaurs . She blew our minds a little bit when she told us that we already have dinosaurs living among us today—birds! If birds are examples of living dinosaurs…. Ever wonder if prehistoric...

Have you ever wandered the yogurt aisle in the grocery store and stumbled upon yogurt or other foods with the label 'probiotic'? These foods claim to support your gut health or your 'gut microbiome' – and some even go so far as to say they can help your mental health! Although that last claim is mostly just marketing hype, some scientific experiments have connected what’s going...

On today’s episode we chat with Johanna Varner ( @johannavarner ), aka Pika Jo! An ecologist and Assistant Professor of Biology at Colorado Mesa University.   Do you ever wonder what it is like to study the world’s cutest mammal? Johanna has spent her career studying the ecology and conservation of alpine and arctic ecosystems, with a particular interest in a small, adorable animal: the Pika. For...

This summer, we opened a brand-new exhibit called Life! Beginnings in our World of Life gallery. Life! Beginnings invites our guests to discover how humans and all living creatures reproduce, develop, and pass on their genes in order to bring new life into the world. At its core, reproduction is all about passing on genes to the next generation.  Do you ever wonder what genes are? And how much do...

One of my all-time favorite movies is Inception . No joke, I recently rewatched it, and even though it came out over a decade ago, it still holds up. Between the character’s adventures in different dream levels and the manipulation of time in the story, I still find myself picking up on new details when I watch it again for the umpteenth time. It’s all great movie magic, but… Ever wonder if there’...

Our immune systems are always hard at work protecting us from viruses, bacteria, and other critters that can infect our bodies and make us sick. But on an earlier episode , we learned that the human body is teeming with microscopic creatures. These microbes—collectively known as the human microbiome—are always with us, coexisting with us and even benefiting our health. Ever wonder how your immune...

We’re bringing you an unaired clip from our past interview with Kirstin Petersen , a roboticist and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University. In her lab , she builds cooperative teams of robots, called robot swarms, that are inspired by insects like ants, termites, and bees. Now, when you think of a robot, what do you usually picture in your mind? Probably something w...

The Science Center has proudly displayed Space Shuttle Endeavour to our guests for the past ten years. Seeing the shuttle is amazing, but… Do you ever wonder what it felt like to fly Endeavour ? We talked to Chris Ferguson ( @Astro_Ferg ), a former Navy pilot and NASA astronaut who flew on three space shuttle missions, including one as commander of Endeavour  in 2008 . He shares a vivid play-by-pl...

We’re digging into our archives again to bring you more unaired vet stories from our past interview with Dr. Brittany Stevens , a veterinarian here at the Science Center. She takes care of all our animals when they get sick and need to go to the doctor. Last time, Brittany told us all about her vet exam room, how she cares for so many different animals, and even what it’s like to do surgery on fis...

A while back we chatted with Sian Proctor ( @DrSianProctor ), an analog astronaut and geoscience professor at  South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, AZ. We got some insight on what analog astronauts do and what it’s like to live in a mock Mars habitat for months in Hawaii but today we ask Do you ever wonder how going to space can help us on Earth? Sian Proctor’s specialty is geologic disast...

Think about the last time you had a dream… Was the dream fun? Scary? Maybe you barely remember anything at all. Or maybe the dream was so vivid that you knew you were dreaming even while the dream was happening, a phenomenon known as ‘lucid dreaming.’ Some people are so good at it that they can even control their dreams. Ever wonder if you can learn to control your dreams? Karen Konkoly is a gradu...

Earlier this year we spoke with Dr. Ryan Rampersaud, a professor of psychiatry at UC San Francisco to figure out if your gut can really talk to your brain. He told us about the microorganisms that live in your gastrointestinal tract, collectively known as your gut microbiome, and how they're able to send messages all the way up to your brain. Now, during that interview, Ryan mentioned that th...

For this episode, we’re taking a look back at Perry’s interview with roboticist and Professor Ayanna Howard. He spoke with Ayanna about how the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence have advanced, and considered the ways robots can be biased. Considering all of the ethical and social aspects of the new technology engineers create…. Ever wonder if engineers should study ethics? In...

We’re digging into our archives again to bring you more unaired vet stories from our past interview with Dr. Brittany Stevens , a veterinarian here at the Science Center. She takes care of all our animals when they get sick and need to go to the doctor. In her past episodes, Brittany told us about her vet exam room, how she cares for so many different animals, and even what it’s like to do surgery...

The movie Robot and Frank tells the story of Frank, a grumpy older man who lives alone, until his son shows up at his house with a robot that has been programmed to take care of him. Initially, Frank wants nothing to do with the robot. But over time they start to get along and even become friends. And the robot turns out to be one of the funniest characters in the movie.  Do you ever wonder if rob...

We humans might think we run the world… but we’re vastly outnumbered by microscopic creatures we can’t see with our own eyes. Soil, air, water… everything around us is full of these tiny microbes. Even a simple puddle can be teeming with life…  Ever wonder what lives in a drop of water?  On today’s episode we chat with Chloé Savard, a microbiology student in Montreal who explores the microscopic w...

NASA is planning to launch a massive new rocket as part of the Artemis I mission to fly around the moon . Earlier this year, we talked to engineers Nate Perkins and Doug Bradley from Aerojet-Rocketdyne about the engines for that rocket. Although the rocket is new, NASA is reusing the same RS-25 engines that once powered the Space Shuttle. (In fact, two of the engines on Artemis I actually flew on...

Last fall, we opened a brand-new exhibit called Fire! Science & Safety , which invites our guests to explore Casa Del Fuego, Apartment 911 as a fire danger detective, seeking out fire and burn hazards to make their families, pets, and homes safer—both inside the home, as well as outside threats like wildfires. It’s been pretty rainy in California lately, so wildfires have largely faded from th...

There are a lot of references to speed and going fast in our culture, especially in video games, cartoons, and movies. Sonic the Hedgehog can run at supersonic speeds . Speed Racer is busy revvin’ up the powerful Mach 5 . And in this summer’s hit movie Top Gun: Maverick , Tom Cruise flies the Darkstar hypersonic plane to “Mach 10” . Ever wonder just how fast Mach 10 is? To find out, we talked to A...