Carolina Skies
2023-11-17 16:30 - 17:30, 2023-11-18 16:30 - 17:30, 2023-11-25 16:30 - 17:30, 2023-12-01 16:30 - 17:30, 2023-12-02 16:30 - 17:30 (America/New_York)

Teen Science Cafe | Does warmer mean hungrier?
2023-11-17 17:30 - 19:00 | Morehead Planetarium and Science Center Science Stage, 250 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27514, United States
Join us for our November Teen Science Cafe!

Please join us at Morehead Planetarium on Friday, November 17th for a very exciting Teen Science Cafe! We will be joined by Esteban Agudo, a marine ecologist interested in how environmental characteristics (i.e. temperature, structural complexity) affect marine communities in a time of global change. Our guiding question will be “How is climate change affecting predation in marine communities?”

The western doors up the big stairs will open at 5:30 for pizza and conversation. The cafe will start at 6:00 and wrap up around 7:00.

Temperature affects every aspect of the biology of ectotherms (cold blooded animals). Through my research I study the effects of temperature changes on predation rates (e.g., how much an organism eats) of marine organisms including whelks, starfish, and reef fishes in the Galapagos Archipelago. As climate change is causing the ocean to get warmer, we need to know how temperature affects the interactions between species to better predict the future of marine communities.

About Esteban:

I was born in Caracas, Venezuela. While I was an undergrad majoring in Biology, I learned to scuba dive and found I could combine my passion for science and my passion for the ocean into a career. After finishing my undergrad, I went into graduate school and did my master also in my home country, studying the importance of corals as provider of shelter for reef fishes. Afterward I worked as lab manager in the same lab for a couple of years, where I spend most of my time traveling across the Venezuelan coast and islands studying the health status of coral reefs and helping students to develop their own projects. In 2019 I moved to North Carolina to start my PhD at UNC in the Bruno Lab where I had been studying the effect of temperature on interactions between species on reefs in the Galapagos.

Program Schedule

5:30 pm – Arrive and check in. We will gather inside the west, main entrance of Morehead.

5:30 pm – 6:00 pm: Pizza social. Pizza social will take place in our classrooms, located on the 2nd floor.

6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Discussion & activities. Presentations will take place at the Full Dome Theater.

*Please Note: Depending on scheduled activities, the program may end between 7:00 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

Earth, Moon and Sun
2023-11-18 10:30 - 11:30

Star Families: Planets
2023-11-18 12:00 - 13:00

Mars: The Ultimate Voyage
2023-11-18 13:30 - 14:30, 2023-12-01 15:00 - 16:00

The Sun: Our Living Star
2023-11-18 15:00 - 16:00

Mysteries of Your Brain
2023-11-19 13:30 - 14:30

Phantom of the Universe
2023-11-19 15:00 - 16:00

One Sky, Many Eyes
2023-11-19 16:30 - 17:30, 2023-11-26 16:30 - 17:30, 2023-12-03 16:30 - 17:30

Storytelling Under The Stars
2023-11-19 18:00 - 19:00

Magic Tree House Space Mission
2023-11-25 10:30 - 11:30, 2023-12-02 10:30 - 11:30

Astronaut
2023-11-25 12:00 - 13:00

Forward! To the Moon
2023-11-25 13:30 - 14:30, 2023-12-02 13:30 - 14:30

The Longest Night: A Winter's Tale
2023-11-25 15:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-26 15:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-02 15:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-03 15:00 - 16:00

We Are Stars
2023-11-26 13:30 - 14:30, 2023-12-03 13:30 - 14:30

Take Flight
2023-12-02 12:00 - 13:00

Carolina Science Cafe | New Frontiers in Hydrology
2023-12-05 18:00 - 19:00 | Haw River Tap & Table, 300 E Main St C, Carrboro, NC, 27510, United States
NASA’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission: A New Eye in the Sky for Earth’s Water

Join us on the first Tuesday of every month for Carolina Science Cafe, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s free, current science awareness program. For this month, we will be joined by Dr. Tamlin Pavelsky to discuss how his team is verifying data from a new NASA’s SWOT mission that is recording the first global survey of Earth’s water cycle with unprecedented accuracy.

Please note the Carolina Science Cafe will be moving to a new location at Haw River Tap & Table in Carrboro for the foreseeable future.

In December 2022, NASA and its international partners launched the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission, a new satellite that uses radar to measure Earth’s rivers, lakes, and oceans. SWOT’s groundbreaking technology allows us to measure ocean currents, observe floods, and monitor water resources in ways that were previously impossible. In this talk, we will explore some of the first results from SWOT and what they might mean for our understanding of water on our planet.

Designed for adults, this program explores science topics making national and international headlines and offers the chance to meet the experts behind the headlines. The Carolina Science Café will be hosted at Haw River Tab & Table in Carrboro on Tuesday, December 5th, starting at 6:00 p.m. with light appetizers available for all attendees.

About Tamlin:

Tamlin Pavelsky is a professor of global hydrology in the Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences Department at the University of North Carolina. He is also NASA’s Hydrology Science Lead for the recently launched SWOT satellite mission. Tamlin earned his BA in Geography from Middlebury College and a master’s and PhD, also in Geography, from UCLA. He uses satellite imagery, field measurements, and other tools to study the world’s rivers and lakes. Tamlin grew up outside of Fairbanks, Alaska in wood-heated cabins with no electricity or running water.

Carolina Science Cafe is produced by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and sponsored by the UNC Chapter of Sigma Xi.

You do not need to register…just show up!
