Notebook

Science Future for January 1, 2011

January 3 – 4The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks. Look east and up between midnight and dawn. Visit www.seasky.org/sky.html for more information. January 8 Test engineering skills in a LEGO Building Challenge in Portland, Ore. See www.omsi.edu January 11 – 20 Preschoolers experiment with the rainbow’s colors at Phoenix’s Arizona Science Center. See www.azscience.org

Science Future for December 18, 2010

December 26 Schenectady Museum in New York explores why bikes stand up. See www.schenectadymuseum.org December 27 Author John Monahan signs copies of They Called Me Mad at the National Air and Space Museum. See www.nasm.si.edu January 10 Deadline to submit original wake-up music for NASA’s final space shuttle mission. Go to https://songcontest.nasa.gov

Science Past from the issue of December 17, 1960

HEAVY SHIELD UNNECESSARY — Heavy shielding as protection for an astronaut against space radiations may not be necessary, at least for trips of less than 50 hours and at distances not greater than 618 miles from earth…. [B]iological specimens were encased in different types of metal to test their effectiveness as shielding materials. Some specimens […]

Science Future for December 4, 2010

December 5Closing ceremony of the 2010 World Memory Championships in Guangzhou, China. See www.worldmemorychampionship.com December 13 – 14Geminid meteor shower, all night but best after moonset around midnight. Look east and up. Info at http://earthsky.org December 17 Mummies of the World exhibit debuts in Milwaukee as part of its three-year tour. See www.mummiesoftheworld.com

Science Past from the Dember 3, 1960 issue

ASTHMA CLUE FROM HORSES — Research into the deaths of thoroughbred horses, especially foals, has produced an entirely new approach to the treatment of asthma, hay fever and skin troubles in human beings…. During the course of the investigation on horses, a substance was found in certain white cells in the horses’ blood that played […]

Science Future for November 20, 2010

November 20 New York’s American Museum of Natural History opens its interactive brain exhibit. Go to www.amnh.org/exhibitions/brain December 2 San Francisco’s Exploratorium considers sugar, from its bodily functions to art. With cocktails. See www.exploratorium.edu December 2–3 Howard Hughes Medical Institute airs live classroom webcasts on infectious diseases. See www.holidaylectures.org

Science Past from the issue of November 19, 1960

MERCURY CAPSULE FAILS — Failure of the test shot of the Mercury space capsule and its pilot escape system will not “necessarily” delay putting a man in space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported. NASA has scheduled a manned rocket launch for 1961. The Mercury spacecraft, designed to take an astronaut safely into outer […]

Science Future

November 6 Tweens can explore science and magic at the Moore Public Library in Tacoma, Wash. http://www.tacomapubliclibrary.org November 6 The Orlando Science Center in Florida hosts a “Neanderthal Ball.” Cocktail dress with caveman couture. http://www.osc.org November 17 Entry deadline for teen whiz kid competition, the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search. http://www.societyforscience.org/sts

Science Past from the issue of November 5, 1960

“BUMPERS” FOR SPACE SHIPS — Sound-proofed “meteor bumpers” for space ships are needed to provide important psychological and physical protection for astronauts traveling through fast moving concentrations of space dust as they leave the earth, Dr. Fred L. Whipple, director, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and a professor of astronomy at Harvard University, reported. The sound of […]

Science Future for October 23, 2010

October 28 – 30 National Science Teachers Association holds its Kansas City area conference on science education. Go to www.nsta.org/conferences/2010kan November 1 Slated launch date for shuttle Discovery’s final spaceflight. See www.nasa.gov/missions November 5Nomination deadline for the 15th Annual Carnegie Science Awards. Go to www.carnegiesciencecenter.org

Science Past from the issue of October 22, 1960

WORLD TV VIA SATELLITES SET AT $170,000,000 — Fifty improved courier-type communications satellites would provide world-wide telephone and television facilities for a mere $170,000,000: $100,000,000 for the satellites and $70,000,000 for the ground stations. These are the figures the American Telephone and Telegraph Company estimated for the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C. Without the […]

Science Future for October 9, 2010

October 10 – 24 First USA Science & Engineering Festival, held in D.C. Go to www.usasciencefestival.org October 15 – 22 Third annual Imagine Science Film Festival celebrated in New York City theaters. See http://imaginesciencefilms.com October 16 New Smithsonian exhibit opens featuring a coral reef made of yarn crocheted into geometric patterns. Go to www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/hreef