March 15 - It Came from the Science Fair!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: [March 12, 2020, Noon]: Because of the concern about meeting in large groups and the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 virus, this lecture has been postponed. We expect to reschedule it later this year.


Presented by Adam Ruben, PhD
Writer, Comedian, and Molecular Biologist

What are the most common mistakes kids make when preparing projects for science fairs?  What can we learn from these events about the way science is taught and understood?  And can we all please agree, onceand for all, that science has learned all it needs to learn from measuring classmates' heart rates before and after playing video games?  In this talk, scientist/comedian Adam Ruben will share some of the most bizarre, most inadvisable, least scientifically rigorous science projects he's judged and talk about their implications for the future of science education.

Adam Ruben is a writer, comedian, and molecular biologist. Adam has performed stand-up comedy and told stories on stage for more than 20 years. He has appeared on the Food Network, the Travel Channel, the Weather Channel, Discovery International, Netflix, and NPR, and he currently hosts the shows Outrageous Acts of Science and What On Earth? on the Science Channel and is writing episodes of Elinor Wonders Why, a new show on PBS Kids premiering in September 2020. Adam is the author of two books, Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School (Random House, 2010) and Pinball Wizards: Jackpots, Drains, and the Cult of the Silver Ball (Chicago Review Press, 2017), and writes the monthly science humor column Experimental Error in the otherwise respectable journal Science.

SUNDAY, March 15, 2020 (Note date- Sunday is not a typo)
1:30 pm
Central Library
Barbara M. Donnellan Auditorium
1015 North Quincy Street
Arlington, VA