All upcoming Science & Nature programs

For 115 years, Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, has stood as one of the world’s leading collections of plants, showcasing botanical splendor and state-of-the-art glasshouses. Celebrate the yuletide season at Longwood during a day that explores a newly reopened conservatory, holiday-themed gardens, and a stunning light display.

By the year 2100, the global population is predicted to be 10 billion, 2 billion more than now. Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti sees this as an opportunity to build a more ecologically healthy and equitable world centered on well-designed communities with new forms of affordable, sustainable housing. Drawing from his new book, The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing for Nature, Culture, and Joy, Chakrabarti says that caring for the character and culture of communities can be the key to solving urgent global and political challenges.

During the winter season, Cape May, New Jersey, transforms from a beach destination into a storybook holiday town. A two-day tour offers the opportunity to experience this National Historic Landmark site and its Victorian elegance during a magical time of year.

The disappointments and sorrows of life can leave us hurting and isolated. But journalist Steven Petrow, has a surprising insight: Joy is always present—in our everyday routines, in ties to those we care about, even in our grief. In a conversation with Todd Doughty, author of Little Pieces of Hope: Happy-Making Things in a Difficult World, Petrow draws on personal experiences, research, and interviews with experts to describe the many expressions of joy and how to find, cultivate, and share it.

It’s not just celebrity that connects Harry and Megan, Jennifer Garner, Julia Roberts, and Lady Gaga: It’s their flocks of backyard chickens. For more than two decades, naturalist, adventurer, and author Sy Montgomery nurtured one of her own. Drawing on personal stories and science, she reveals the remarkable facets and abilities that make a chicken such a feathered phenomenon.

Not everyone is aware that the health care system scoops up our most intimate medical secrets to sell commercially to companies that have nothing to do with our treatment or billing. Adam Tanner, author of Our Bodies, Our Data: How Companies Make Billions Selling Our Medical Records, examines how this lucrative international business extends to doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and insurers—and even labs that test blood and conduct other deeply revealing tests. He offers insights into how we can best balance the promise big data offers to advance medicine and improve lives while preserving the rights and interests of every patient.

On April 18, 1906, San Francisco was nearly destroyed by a massive earthquake and ensuing devastating fires, a catastrophe beyond the experience of the city’s residents. Historian John A. Martini brings stories of the disaster to life using seldom-seen photographs of the earthquake damage, the fires that followed, and the massive relief efforts led by the U.S. Army that aided the victims.

Much folklore surrounds owls. To some, they symbolize wisdom. To others, they are harbingers of death. To the naturalist, they are one of the most finely honed predators the world has ever known. Why do owls fly silently? What exactly is an owl pellet? Can owls really turn their heads completely around? Find the answers to these intriguing questions as master falconer Robert Johnson delves into owls’ evolutionary and behavioral adaptations.

The dramatic landscapes of northern New Mexico captivated Georgia O’Keeffe and inspired striking paintings that depict rocks and landforms shaped by erosion. Geologist Kirt Kempter explores the geologic story of the beloved region O’Keeffe called home—one that spans more than 300 million years and includes rock layers from ancient rivers, oceans, and sand dunes.

Using an extraordinary suite of 21st-century tools, marine scientists and explorers are gathering stunning new knowledge about the universe beneath the waves. They have uncovered fantastical new species; astonishing insights into how Earth’s life-support systems work; and high-resolution seafloor maps that reveal hidden landscapes and buried treasures that even Jules Verne could never have imagined. Journalist and author Susan Casey dives into the latest discoveries in the deep ocean, offering a glimpse of the tantalizing mysteries that still lie on its floor.