SCHEDULE: Tuesday, JULY 6 - Sunday, JULY 11, 2021
This tentative schedule is subject to change. Check back ScienceFest week for confirmation.
Please note that a some of our programs will be using the online platform Zoom, if taking place virtually. You don't need to create an account, but you will need the free Zoom app if registration is required (click here to download). For other virtual events not requiring registration in advance, please tune in through the ScienceFest Facebook page!
Virtual or livestream option. If no registration link is provided, please tune in LIVE on the
Los Alamos ScienceFest Facebook page.
In-person activity
Ongoing Activities
Los Alamos Public Library StoryWalk®
Running ScienceFest week, participate in this family-friendly StoryWalk® downtown
that celebrates science!
This is your chance to wind your way through the signs at Mesa Public Library and Fuller
Lodge Arts Center to read Cece Loves Science by Kimberly Derting and Shelli R.
Johannes, illustrated by Vashti Harrison.
Interspersed with the book text signs are signs with simple science experiments you can
do right where you're standing. Text a photo of your child or family with one of the signs
to 505-500-4406 to be entered to win a copy of the book. The drawing for winners is
July 20, 2021.
StoryWalk® is an innovative and delightful way for children — and adults! — to enjoy
reading and the outdoors at the same time. Laminated pages from a children's book are attached to outdoor signs, which are installed along an outdoor path. As you stroll down the trail, you're directed to the next page in the story.
Kwage Mesa Interpretive Trail
Part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Coming Soon (Trail signs will be up in August but get a sneak peak now!)
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TUESDAY, JULY 6
11AM Tour of the Los Alamos Historic District (Monday-Friday. Cost: $15)
1-3 PM Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science Workshop (for LANL scientists)
5:00 PM ScienceFest 2021 Welcome By Laboratory Director Thom Mason
5:30 PM Tuesdays @ The Pond Series: The Hill Stompers - Fuller Lodge Lawn
6:15 PM Driven By Science Panel: Local Scientists - Fuller Lodge Lawn
Featuring Hunter McDaniel (UbiQD), Juston Moore (LANL), Roger Wiens (LANL).
Hear from several local scientists who cover everything from quantum dots, deepfakes, to Mars Rover work!
WEDNESDAY, JULY 7
11AM Tour of the Los Alamos Historic District (Monday-Friday. Cost: $15)
6:00 PM Panel: COVID & Disease Modeling - Fuller Lodge Lawn
Join leading experts in disease modeling for an engaging Q&A panel about the mission to track, understand, and forecast COVID-19. Researchers Sara Del Valle, Carrie Manore, and Nick Hengartner from Los Alamos National Laboratory will bring their scientific knowledge and statistical expertise to discuss how math and modeling intersect to aid prediction efforts, guide decision-making, and support long-term strategies for global health.
8:30 PM Movie in the Park: Flubber - Ashley Pond Park
This PG rated 1994 film runs approximately 90 minutes and is family-friendly! All ages welcome for this free event. No tickets required!
THURSDAY, JULY 8
11AM Tour of the Los Alamos Historic District (Monday-Friday. Cost: $15)
6:00 PM Virgin Galactic Preview - Fuller Lodge
6:30 PM Virtual Tour and Live Q&A: Virgin Galactic - Fuller Lodge (no registration needed if attending in-person)
7-8 PM Author Event: "At the Precipice: New Mexico's Changing Climate" with Author Laura Paskus, Hosted by Los Alamos County Library System
From our forests to our farm fields, reservoirs to rivers, the impacts of climate change are obvious all around the state of New Mexico. How does warming intensify environmental problems, exacerbate inequity, and change how we relate to our landscapes? And what hope is there for the future? Join this discussion with author and journalist Laura Paskus.
Laura Paskus is a longtime reporter based in Albuquerque. Currently, she is the environment reporter for New Mexico PBS, where she produces the monthly series, “Our Land: New Mexico’s Environmental Past, Present and Future,” covers climate and the environment for "New Mexico In Focus," and has been looking into the military's contamination of groundwater with PFAS. Her book “At the Precipice: New Mexico’s Changing Climate,” was published in September 2020 by the University of New Mexico Press.
7:30 PM Quantum Dots Are Becoming Ubiquitous – How UbiQD is Helping Feed and
Power the Future with Nanotechnology – Hunter McDaniel, UbiQD CEO - Fuller Lodge
Lawn
In recent years, quantum dots (QDs) have gained interest as narrowband emitters for displays, but have traditionally suffered from reliability issues, high manufacturing costs, and toxicity concerns, which prevent them from being incorporated into products beyond displays. At UbiQD, local advanced materials company and LANL-spinoff, we are on the path to making QDs ubiquitous with a new QD composition that is intrinsically more stable, lower-cost, and avoids toxic compounds. We are bringing to market QD-enhanced polymers and glass for spectrum-optimized greenhouses and solar windows.
FRIDAY, JULY 9
9 AM Urban Trails Corridor Walk-Through - Meet at Ashley Pond Parking Lot on 20th, ending at Tennis Court Parking Lot on Canyon Rd (1/2 mile walk)
Participate in a walking tour of the Urban Trail alignment starting at the Ashley Pond Parking Lot on 20th Street and ending at the Tennis Court Parking Lot on Canyon Road. During the walk, Keith Wilson (Project Manager, Los Alamos County Public Works) will discuss the proposed alignment of the trail and roadway crossing treatments and garner feedback from participants. It is about a 0.5 mile walk for the tour. Participants will need to make their own way back to the starting point (or we can walk back as a group). The tour will last approximately 1 hour, but may vary.
11AM Tour of the Los Alamos Historic District (Monday-Friday. Cost: $15)
11AM Opening Doors: The Oppenheimer House Past and Future - Los Alamos History Museum Guest Cottage
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the J. Robert Oppenheimer House with the Los Alamos
History Museum’s new temporary exhibit. Learn about the history of the home and
share your thoughts to shape its future.
On view through 2021, Los Alamos History Museum, 1050 Bathtub Row
$5 admission, free to residents of Los Alamos County.
5:30 PM Science OnTap, Driven by Health: Fighting the World's Most Deadly Disease
Fuller Lodge Lawn
This event is part of Los Alamos ScienceFest 2021 and co-hosted as a "Science On Tap" with the Bradbury Science Museum and Los Alamos Creative District. Viruses and bacteria can devastate a body – and the entire globe – rapidly. Join us in-person at Los Alamos ScienceFest to learn from a Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist how the latest research and diagnostic innovations can help fight infectious disease – and create significant change in the health of communities around the world.
7:00 PM "Preserving Our Dark Skies" & Light Pollution Demonstration - PEEC Planetarium
How does light pollution affect our view of the night sky? Using special effects with the cove lighting system in the planetarium, Galen Gisler will demonstrate sky glow and light domes over cities, and how these, together and separately, produce deleterious effects on our appreciation of the sky. Of course we need light to support our modern lifestyles, but mitigating light pollution means following relatively simple rules of responsible outdoor lighting to the benefit of human health, wildlife populations, and enjoyment of the night sky. Buddy Stefanoff, Vice President of Crossroads LED, will present a dark sky slideshow titled “Preserving Our Dark Skies” and will present several dark sky certified fixtures his company produces.
7:00 PM Friday Night Summer Concert Series - Overlook Park, White Rock
Featuring Texas Country Band, Dusty Low
SATURDAY, JULY 10
9 AM Urban Trails Corridor Walk-Through
Participate in a walking tour of the Urban Trail alignment starting at the Ashley Pond Parking Lot on 20th Street and ending at the Tennis Court Parking Lot on Canyon Road. During the walk, Keith Wilson (Project Manager, Los Alamos County Public Works) will discuss the proposed alignment of the trail and roadway crossing treatments and garner feedback from participants. It is about a 0.5 mile walk for the tour. Participants will need to make their own way back to the starting point (or we can walk back as a group). The tour will last approximately 1 hour, but may vary.
10-3PM Electric Vehicle Show - Mesa Public Library Overflow Parking Lot
10AM Telescope Demonstration & More - Ashley Pond Park (North Side)
Telescopes with solar filters will be set up for viewing sunspots on our nearest star. Literature on mitigating light pollution and responsible lighting practices will be available for distribution, and meters for measuring night-time outdoor lighting will be on display. Crossroads LED will have multiple fixtures on display and be available to answer questions regarding the latest LED dark sky lighting technology.
6:00 PM Live Composting Demo with Los Alamos County Environmental Services
Fuller Lodge Lawn
Join us for a fun and interactive backyard compost demonstration that will highlight vermicomposting with red wrigglers and the tumbler method.
8:00 PM Movie at Dusk, "The Astronaut Farmer" - Bathtub Brewing Co-op
Outdoor screening of "The Astronaut Farmer" along with trivia and a chance to win prizes!
SUNSET
~8:23 PM Dark Night Star Party - Spirio Fields at Overlook Park,White Rock
PEEC volunteers and the Pajarito Astronomers will host a special Dark Night Star Party. There will be telescopes and (hopefully) clear and dark skies with a chance to view the clusters and nebulae of the Milky Way.
SUNDAY, JULY 11
11:00 AM All About NASA's Lucy Mission
Hear about NASA's upcoming Lucy mission to Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, presented by University of South Florida Physics and Education student Kara Rock. Kara is a Lucy Ambassador working with L'Space Academies through Arizona State University and NASA, and she will be visiting with local Los Alamos students in-person the week after ScienceFest! Come meet Kara virtually, and get a sneak peek of the Lucy Mission before her visit!
1:00 PM Intro to Virtual Robotics Gaming with RoboRAVE International
This session is geared toward parents who want to help their student navigate virtual robotics. This platform is ideal for Pre-K to 3rd grade. Special Los Alamos ScienceFest Offer: You will get FREE registration in the Northern NM RALLY, a global event (you play from home. The first 100 to register also get a PAID (sponsored by ScienceFest) team registration for a virtual robotics challenge at RoboRAVE Global 2021 November 7-14 (again, playing from home!)
Not interested in the intro event, or cannot attend? Register for an account by contacting russ@roboraveinternational.org, Subject: LA ScienceFest
Did you miss some of our 2020 talks and demos? Most were recorded and can be found on our YouTube channel.