Ever Wonder? from the California Science Center

As time goes on, it’s getting easier to get a COVID-19 vaccine—in many places in L.A. County you can now just walk up to a vaccine site without an appointment . Millions of Californians have already gotten their Fauci Ouchie , but it’s also okay to have questions about the vaccine. Do you ever wonder if vaccines are safe and effective?  This very question came up when we last talked to Kenneth Phi...

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...

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. Through interactive and immersive experiences, guests can explore the human journey from conception to birth, see how a mother’s bod...

Here at the Science Center, you can find both permanent and temporary exhibits about all kinds of topics. Dogs. King Tut. Space exploration. Or even the emotion of fear. Do you ever wonder who gets to decide what these exhibits are about? In this episode, we talk to David Bibas, the curator for technology programs at the California Science Center. Curators like David imagine up new exhibits, help...

A few weeks ago, we spoke to journalist Tara Haelle ( @tarahaelle ), who’s written about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy for a decade. If you haven’t already listened to her first episode, where she breaks down how to make sense of all the news around COVID vaccines, please go check it out . We had such a great conversation with Tara that we couldn’t fit everything in a single episode—so now we’re...

As time goes on, it’s getting easier to get a COVID-19 vaccine—in many places in L.A. County you can now just walk up to a vaccine site without an appointment . Millions of Californians have already gotten their Fauci Ouchie , but it’s also okay to have questions about the vaccine. Do you ever wonder if vaccines are safe and effective?  This very question came up when we last talked to Kenneth Phi...

Even before the pandemic, it could be difficult to keep up with the news cycle. Now it’s worse than ever and the stakes are even higher. As COVID vaccines become more widely available, we are inundated with headlines about their safety, their effectiveness, and how people feel about getting vaccinated. It can be a lot, and it can get overwhelming. Do you ever wonder how to make sense of all the CO...

Nearly half of all Californians have received at least one vaccine dose . But remember before we had COVID vaccines available? We relied solely on other tools, like physical distancing, and wearing face masks, to slow the spread of the disease. Another important tool we’ve used that you might be less familiar with is contact tracing. This is when public health workers call people who test positive...

The California Science Center just opened a new exhibition called All in this Together . The exhibit shows how science is used to understand and combat the COVID-19 pandemic, and how our individual actions affect our community.  It was an interesting challenge creating an exhibit about an ever-evolving science story that we were all living through every day… So, do you ever wonder how we developed...

It’s been a little more than one year since the COVID-19 pandemic started and the California Science Center closed to the public. By the time you hear this, though, the Science Center will have just reopened our doors to our guests—running at 25% capacity, now that LA County has moved into a less-restrictive tier and more people are getting vaccinated. As we reflect on the past year, we wanted to...

We are wrapping up our series on space exploration, with an inside look at what makes a mission to space successful. Have you ever been on a road trip, only to have your car break down and leave you stranded out in the middle of nowhere? Imagine how much worse that would be if you were on your way to the Moon, Mars, or even Jupiter! But going to space is hard, and even with teams of top engineers...

Well, it’s official. NASA stuck the landing on Mars with its latest rover, Perseverance! And even though it will likely be decades before we send humans to Mars, many folks are now excitedly talking about how Perseverance will lay the groundwork for future human missions. But what if you don’t want to wait decades to experience what it’s like to live on Mars? Do you ever wonder if you can be an as...

When this episode airs, NASA will be just one day away from landing another rover on Mars. On February 18, the Perseverance rover will reach the surface of the Red Planet, capping off a journey that started with a rocket launch last July. In an earlier episode , we talked with Matthew Frost about Perseverance’s robot arm, and how it works to collect samples from the Martian surface. But that robot...

We're eagerly anticipating another Mars rover landing on February 18! So in case you missed it, we're rebroadcasting our interview with Matthew Frost , the lead engineer for the robot arm on NASA's Perseverance rover. -- For the last few episodes, we've been talking to robotics experts about everything from robot swarms to human-robot interactions. One thing all of these roboti...

We are kicking off a new series on space exploration, which is particularly relevant this month because a new Mars rover named Perseverance is hurtling towards The Red Planet for its landing on February 18. And joining me along for the ride as co-host for this series is my Science Center colleague and planetary geologist Devin Waller. There is a lot of science to unpack here, so we’ll be talking t...

Before we go on break for the holidays, we’re releasing another bonus episode. We introduce Devin Waller , who will be joining the show as co-host for the next few episodes. As our first season wraps up, we answer a question from one of our listeners: Do you ever wonder why our galaxy is a spiral? And we also give a teaser of what’s coming next season!  Have a question you've been wondering a...

For the last few episodes, we've been talking to robotics experts about everything from robot swarms to human-robot interactions. One thing all of these roboticists have in common is that they build robots that are used here on Earth. But that's not the only place robots can be useful.  Do you ever wonder how engineers build robots that go to space? This past July, NASA launched Persever...

The field of robotics has advanced a LOT over the past couple of decades, and part of that has to do with advances in the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence. Algorithms that help robots function and interact with the world are all around us, from the search engines we use to the facial recognition function in our phones. But these algorithms can have problems. This past Septemb...

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 are starting a new series on robots! We've seen some pretty amazing advances in robotics in just the past few years. Maybe you've seen videos of humanoid robots that do backflips or robot hummingbirds that can hover in midair. Now, a video of a single back-flipping robot is pretty amazing. But what if you could get a whole team of robots--hundreds or even thousands of robots--to coope...

Folks often say that dogs are a human's best friend. The Science Center doesn't have any dogs on display (well at least not since our temporary Dogs! exhibit closed), but we sure do have lots of other terrestrial animals to take care of. And our keepers--the folks who do that work--really care about our animals. Do you ever wonder how keepers develop a relationship with the animals they...

We're living in a truly unprecedented time, and it can be tough to stay hopeful about the future. But here at the Science Center, we believe that science is an indispensable tool for understanding our world to help everyone make decisions that can improve our future.  Do you ever wonder how science can help us build a better future? Since 1980, the TV show COSMOS has captured the imaginations...

Giant sea bass. Desert tortoise. Leopard shark. These are all examples of creatures you can see on display when you visit the California Science Center. And just like you or me or any of the pets you might have at home, these critters can get sick. Do you ever wonder who takes care of all these different animals when they need to go to the doctor? In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Brittany...

No visit to the California Science Center is complete without a stop at our kelp forest. This exhibit showcases the spectacular diversity of life that coexists off the coast of Southern California. As you peer into the tank you might spot a leopard shark, get a glimpse of a moray eel, or exchange glances with a giant sea bass. If you're especially lucky you might even see… a diver?  Divers re...

Back when the Science Center opened, our guests could see a few small animals (like snakes, insects, and spiders) on display here and there. But when we opened Ecosystems in 2010, a whole bunch of new creatures joined the Science Center family. Our kelp tank alone is home to more than 40 different species!  If you count up all the fish, insects, and other critters on display, we now take care of t...