All upcoming programs

The icy continent of Antarctica has a fiery volcanic past—and some volcanoes there remain active. Volcanologist Samuel Mitchell highlights them and their effects. Go back in time with Mitchell to see how volcanic and magmatic activity shaped the continent and how tectonic plate movement doomed Antarctica to its frozen fate for millions of years.

The human brain is constantly working to maintain balance, adapting to life’s turbulence in ways that shape our mental health. But what happens when this balance falters? Neuroscientist Camilla Nord delves into the science of mental health, exploring how our brains strive for equilibrium and how approaches as varied as placebos, recreational drugs, and talk therapy work to restore balance and resilience, as well as how the brain and body interact to foster both physical and mental well-being.

Explore spectacular scenery and a geologic overview of Iceland in a virtual field trip led by volcanologist Kirt Kempter. Geologic highlights include the boundary between North American and Eurasian plates; unusual volcanoes that form beneath vast glaciers; famous volcanic eruptions, including those of the small island of Heimaey in 1973 and ice-capped Eyjafjallajökull in 2010; and older historic eruptions that impacted global climate and human populations.

Every day the average person draws in 2,000 gallons of air—and with it, thousands of living things. The bacteria, fungi, algae, and other organisms that inhabit the air constitute an invisible ecosystem known as the aerobiome, one of the last great frontiers of science. New York Times columnist and author Carl Zimmer draws on his new book, Air-Borne, to explore how the aerobiome is an essential part of a living world—a highway through the sky for many species—of which we become a part with every breath we take.

What do the music of J.S. Bach, the fundamental forces of nature, Rubik’s Cube, and the selection of mates have in common? They are all characterized by certain symmetries— the concept that bridges science and art. Astrophysicist and author Mario Livio explains how symmetry underlies not only some of the most important phenomena in our lives and in the evolution of humans, but also the laws governing our universe.

The 2,650-acre campus of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) in Edgewater, Maryland, encompasses a mix of forests, farmland, wetlands, and shoreline and is home to some of the world’s most enduring environmental research projects. Spend the day with SERC’s expert staff as you explore this environmental research hub and learn about its cutting-edge ecological studies.

Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge are home to natural splendor, cultural treasures, and coastal charm. Spend two days with naturalist and educator Liana Vitali immersed in island life, exploring the natural wonders the barrier islands have to offer—and hear the lore of the Chincoteague ponies’ origin.

George Mason University will be the home of the recently approved NASA Landolt space mission that will put an artificial star into orbit around Earth. It will allow scientists to calibrate telescopes and more accurately measure the brightnesses of stars. The science associated with the mission and what astronomers hope to learn from it are explained by Peter Plavchan, the mission’s principal investigator and associate professor of physics and astronomy at George Mason University. Following the talk and a question-and-answer period, Rob Parks, director of the George Mason Observatory, brings the skies into your living room with remote control of the university observatory, weather permitting.

Entire ecosystems rest on the shoulders (or tentacles or jointed exoskeletons) of animal babies. Biologist Danna Staaf invites you to explore these tiny lives and discover some of nature’s most ingenious workings. For example, a salamander embryo breathes with the help of algae inside its cells, the young grub of a Goliath beetle dwarfs its parents, and the spotted beak of a parasitic baby bird tricks adults of other species into feeding it. Our planet needs them all, the maggots as much as the kittens.

Life thrives in the deepest, darkest recesses of Earth’s crust, and it is unlike anything seen on the surface. Discovered only in recent decades, intraterrestrials—bizarre subsurface beings that can live for millions of years—can exist in boiling water, pure acid, and even bleach. Biologist Karen Lloyd offers a firsthand account of the remarkable hunt for life beneath Earth’s surface and how new discoveries are challenging our most basic assumptions about the nature of life on Earth.