Public Programs
Programs
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Winter Star Party – Kopernik’s 553rd Birthday!
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsCome to Kopernik and join us for our annual winter Star Party! A star party is a gathering of amateur astronomers and the public to observing the sky. Kopernik’s annual Winter Star Party tradition continues this year and we’ll be celebrating Mikołaj Kopernik’s 553rd Birthday (February 19, 1473) with cake. This is a family-friendly event Read More ...
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The Evolution of Virtual Reality Part I – The History of VR
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesJenny Cartie, Kopernik Technology ManagerHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsThe human experience derives from the senses—they shape our reality. The most powerful trait of our species is that we can communicate our realities to one another. BOOM—a clap of the hands—we have an analogue describing thunder! Draw out a series of lines on a cave wall and we have visual storytelling. By harnessing technology Read More ...
$4 – $6 -
Spring Skies – Night Sky Observing This Season
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesJenny Cartie, Kopernik Technology ManagerHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsThe Spring equinox occurs at 10:46 AM on March 20. Now that we are officially entering Springtime, learn how to identify constellations and planets in the spring sky, and how to spot the International Space Station. Free star maps will be provided. If you have your own telescope, bring it with you and a Kopernik Read More ...
$4 – $6 -
Friendly Neighborhood Engineers Helping NASA Back to the Moon
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesRobert McLaren, Scott Butler – Lockheed Martin OwegoHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsThe Southern Tier has a long history of support for the space program. Engineers at Owego’s Lockheed Martin are contributing to the Artemis 2 mission to the moon. Come learn about NASA’s latest mission to return humans to the Moon and how local engineers are making that happen.
$4 – $6 -
Using Fossils to Reconstruct Earth’s History
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesSarah Sheffield, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Earth Sciences Binghamton UniversityHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsThis talk will focus on how we use the fossil record to learn about how Earth has changed across geologic time. By studying fossil record, we can explore patterns of diversity, extinctions, ecology, biogeography, and more over the past half billion years on Earth.
$4 – $6 -
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Canceled Casual Evening of Night Sky Observing
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesPublic ProgramsDue to the anticipated sky conditions, Kopernik Observatory will not be open on Friday, April 3 for an evening of Night Sky Observing. We will be open on Friday, April 10, for our next Friday Night program: Deepfakes, AI, and the Future of Trust: How Can We Tell What’s Real?
$4 – $6 -
Deepfakes, AI, and the Future of Trust: How Can We Tell What’s Real?
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesYu Chen, Ph.D, Professor Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsArtificial intelligence (AI) can now create realistic images, videos, and voices that look and sound real, but that doesn’t mean everything online is fake. In this talk, we’ll explore how deepfakes work, why some fake content is easy to spot while other examples are much harder, and what today’s detection tools can and cannot do. Read More ...
$4 – $6 -
How Drones in the Air are Making the World Safer and Healthier
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesAlex Nikulin PhD Associate Professor of Geophysics Department of Earth Sciences Binghamton UniversityHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsDrones are becoming an indispensable tool for a wide range of applications. In his talk, Dr. Nikulin will show how innovation in remote sensing and artificial intelligence creates adaptable tools that support humanitarian efforts to detect and characterize buried explosive hazards more safely and efficiently, as well as support environmental remediation by locating orphaned and Read More ...
$4 – $6 -
Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases in New York
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesAmanda Roome, PhD Research Scientist, New York Center for Agricultural Medicine and HealthHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsLearn about the different tick species and the associated pathogens they may carry throughout NY, how to prevent tick bites and what to do if you’re bitten. Mandy will discuss some of her research with outdoor workers and their risk of tick-bites.
$4 – $6 -
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Science and Religion Part 4: The Pursuit of Happiness
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesDr. Thomas O’Brien, Professor Emeritus, Binghamton UniversityHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsCome explore: (1) the evolution of our philosophical, theological & psychological understanding of human happiness and (2) complementary, transdisciplinary, “how-to-be” attitudes and practical action steps on how to more regularly experience it. Consilience of spiritual & scientific perspectives provide leveraged power to increase both individual flourishing and societal well-being through and beyond the controllable aspects Read More ...
$4 – $6 -
AeroBing Brings Space to Binghamton
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesRocketry Club at Binghamton UniversityHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsAeroBing students will share how the team started, what we’re building right now, and where we’re headed next, with a look at how student-led rocketry turns ideas into real flight hardware and crafts the next generation of engineers.
$4 – $6 -
Free-Falling: A Physics Lesson
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center 698 Underwood Rd., Vestal, NY, United StatesPeter KlimasHybrid ProgramPublic ProgramsAristotle argued that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. Isn’t it true that a heavy object is pulled down harder toward the earth! Come learn about motion, speed, and acceleration. Discover inertia, gravity and Galileo’s hard balls.
$4 – $6
