World science festival in NYC

New York City turns into a science playground from 28 May to 1 June, when it hosts the first World Science Festival. Scattered around the city at 17 venues will be more than three dozen events that bring science—and artists, policymakers, educators, and, of course, scientists—to the public.

The lineup includes neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks speaking on the science of perception, Human Genome Project leader Francis Collins and other geneticists and ethicists talking about the extent to which genes determine our health and who we are, high-school students interviewing physics Nobelist Leon Lederman, and scientists telling about their miscalculations and experiments gone awry. Also featured will be a stage adaptation of Alan Lightman’s Einstein’s Dreams, dance works inspired by science, magicians, a street fair, and many other panel discussions, debates, performances, and multimedia presentations. The schedule of events is available online at http://www.worldsciencefestival.com .

The festival was the brainchild of string theorist Brian Greene and his wife, TV producer Tracy Day. “There are so many issues and opportunities—stem cells, genomics, pandemics, nuclear waste, nanotechnology, manned space travel—that we as a society can deal with far more effectively if people are engaged in a substantive way, and yet for so many, science is still intimidating,” says Greene. “We want to take the tools that have been honed and refined in the broadcast medium and bring them to bear on the subject of science. Our motivation was to shift science from the fringe of culture to the mainstream.” The “world” in the festival name refers to the global nature of science, Greene adds, but he envisions a future network of festivals that would create an annual worldwide celebration of science.