All upcoming Science & Nature programs

Spend a day hiking to the summit of Washington, D.C.’s local mountain, a natural treasure less than an hour’s drive from the city. The picturesque and rocky Sugarloaf offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside of Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland. Guided by study leader Melanie Choukas-Bradley, learn about the mountain’s plants and wildlife, seasonal changes, geology, and history.

Humans have long thought of their bodies and minds as separate spheres of existence, with the body as physical and the mind as mental. But such thinking is a barrier to discovery and understanding, and a new framework is needed, argues neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux. He shares his latest research, which says that human beings are a composite of four fundamental realms of existence—biological, neurobiological, cognitive, and conscious. Together our realms account for all of what and who we are, LeDoux says.

Naturalist Matt Felperin leads a two-day adventure for nature lovers that explores the Delaware Bay and its environs, where the diverse life of a tidal marsh and the expanse of the bay come together. From observing horseshoe crabs breeding by moonlight to visits to the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, the Dupont Nature Center, and local beaches, the tour offers insights into a habitat in which a wide range of migratory shorebirds play a key role.

Spend a day hiking to the summit of Washington, D.C.’s local mountain, a natural treasure less than an hour’s drive from the city. The picturesque and rocky Sugarloaf offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside of Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland. Guided by study leader Melanie Choukas-Bradley, learn about the mountain’s plants and wildlife, seasonal changes, geology, and history.

Spend a day hiking to the summit of Washington, D.C.’s local mountain, a natural treasure less than an hour’s drive from the city. The picturesque and rocky Sugarloaf offers spectacular views of the surrounding countryside of Montgomery and Frederick counties in Maryland. Guided by study leader Melanie Choukas-Bradley, learn about the mountain’s plants and wildlife, seasonal changes, geology, and history.

Tucked away along coastal Maine, Hog Island is the home of a National Audubon Society camp that has been operation since 1936. Isolated from the outside world and filled with both pristine forest and coastal habitats, the surrounding Muscongus Bay teems with terns, bald eagles, common eiders, and seals. Naturalist Matt Felperin shares his experiences at the camp, displays striking wildlife photos, and reveals why Hog Island should be on your bucket list of nature-education programs.

The earliest known copy of work by Archimedes. Gutenberg and other early Bibles and Muslim manuscripts. Historical astronomical plates. All these historical objects have been digitized by Michael B. Toth, president of R. B. Toth Associates, and his colleagues in humanities and science. Toth discusses ongoing work on historic objects and offers examples of texts and objects that have been digitized using the latest advanced imaging systems.

Looking at the shared pasts of literature and computer science, former Microsoft engineer and professor of comparative literature Dennis Yi Tenen provides a context for recent developments in artificial intelligence. Rather than a magical genie capable of self-directed thought or action, Yi Tenen draws on labor history, technology, and philosophy to examine why he views AI as a reflection of the long-standing cooperation between authors and engineers.

Throughout history, the creation of books involved a wide variety of materials from the natural world, including unusual ones such as wasps and seaweed. The “Nature of the Book” exhibition at the National Museum of Natural History, assembled by the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, shows what the use of these materials can tell us about books, touching on questions of purpose, process, global trade, and economy. Curators Katie Wagner and Vanessa Haight Smith discuss their process and research.

A record 3.1 million robots are now working in factories, doing everything from assembling computers to packing goods and monitoring air quality and performance. A far greater number of smart machines impact our lives in countless other ways—and we’re on the cusp of even more exciting opportunities. Join pioneering roboticist and computer scientist Daniela Rus as she offers a reframed perspective on the way we think about intelligent machines and weighs the moral and ethical consequences of their role in society.