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Project Progress

A Series of Evening Public Events

We are prototyping several modes of informal astrobiology educational presentation at Denver Museum of Nature & Science, with testing, documentation and packaging for dissemination to other museums and planetariums. We have been producing a series of evening public events designed to excite, inform and engage the public in the latest astrobiology research and the wider societal implications of research in this field. Adult education programming at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) has established a strong audience base and a reputation for presenting compelling opportunities for the public to interact with leaders in scientific and cultural research fields. Through archived streaming videos, DMNS adult programs have increasingly reached national and international audiences.

This year we held two events at the museum, the first being a lecture by Dr. Ellen Stofan, on May 31st 2012, and the second being a lecture by Par Beauchamp, on September 11th. The first lecture was presented by Dr. Ellen Stofan from Proxemy Research, and was titled Exploring Titan by Boat, in which she discussed her recent proposal mission (TiME) of sending a boat to one of Titan’s northern lakes, Legia Mare. There were 74 audience members in attendance and the entire production, including audience question and answers, was filmed with multiple high definition cameras and has been edited into a film available online here http://vimeo.com/44046816.

Our second evening lecture by Patricia Beauchamp titled Missions to Titan: The Enigmatic Moon of Saturn went into great detail about the exciting knowledge scientist have discovered on Titan and highlighted future proposed missions. The lecture was filmed and is being edited for web distribution. There were 78 audience members in attendance.

In addition to the speakers this year, we have completed the editing process on the filmed lectures thus far and all but one lecture (Beauchamp’s) is available to be viewed for free online. The Astrobiology of Titan lecture in August 2009, presented by David Grinspoon has received 114 plays on vimeo. Titan: Dead or Alive a debate by Lorenz & Moore has received 622 plays. Exploring Titan by Boat presented by Ellen Stoffan 235 plays. Science, Life and the Universe presented by Steve Benner has received 53 plays. The total Titan Lecture Series + Life Out There vimeo reach is at 1,215 total plays at last inquiry. To view all of the events, lectures and performances related to the Titan as a Prebiotic Chemical Systems Grant, please visit the online video album here http://vimeo.com/album/1891554.