April, 2012 – Science Fact V. Science Fiction

0
940

SCIENCE MUSEUM LECTURES SERIES TACKLES SCIENCE FACT V. SCIENCE FICTION

Series promises “everything you wanted to know about science but were afraid to ask”

 

(PALM BEACH, FL)  The South Florida Science Museum is kicking off a free lecture series on April 24 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Royal

Michael and Suzanne Ainslie with Lew Crampton. Photo by Esteban Parchuc.
Michael and Suzanne Ainslie with Lew Crampton. Photo by Esteban Parchuc.

 Poinciana Chapel, Palm Beach.  Designed to take a look at the hard science side of issues you always wondered about, but were afraid to ask, the Museum’s Edgar Mitchell Science Lecture Series will feature guest speaker, Rudolph E. Schild, PhD., for its inaugural lecture.  The event is being generously underwritten by Palm Beach residents and Museum supporters, Michael and Suzanne Ainslie and Eric and Lucinda Stonestrom, and moderated by local scientist, APOLLO 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, PhD.

 

“So many adults remain intimidated by their school-day views of science,” said Lew Crampton, South Florida Science Museum CEO.  “They recall not mastering the periodic tables or feeling squeamish when dissecting their first frog.  But talk to those same people about the science behind UFO abductions, crop circles, parapsychology and near death experiences, and their eyes light up!  This lecture series gives adults a fun, new way to consider the hard science side of unexplained phenomena that intrigue the public, but are not ordinarily studied by university scientists. It’s our way of making science topics accessible to adults in a highly intelligent, but non-threatening environment.”

 

Dr. “Rudy” Schild is an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. A proponent of “magnetospheric eternally collapsing objects” (MECOs), an alternative to black holes, Schild was encouraged by Harvard colleague, John Mack, to investigate UFO abduction experiencers, who seemed to have knowledge of different kinds of energy in the universe. Because Schild could see a tie-in between their descriptions and an emerging astronomical view of Dark Matter and Dark Energy, he began learning about the connections between the Dark Energy and other topics not studied by university astrophysics. His lecture for the South Florida Science Museum is titled, “Dark Matter and Dark Energy: The Force is Within You.”

 

Kicking off with Dr. Schild’s lecture, the series will continue during the 2012-2013 season with future dates to be announced.  Each guest lecturer in the series will be presented by local resident, Dr. Edgar Mitchell.  As an astronaut, scientist, test pilot, naval officer, entrepreneur, author, lecturer and good friend of the South Florida Science Museum, Dr. Mitchell has devoted the last 38 years to studying human consciousness and psychic and paranormal phenomena in the search for a common ground between science and spirit.

 

Founded in 1961, the South Florida Science Museum recently celebrated its next 50 years of science in the community with a groundbreaking to launch museum expansion plans. The Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to exciting curiosity and furthering the understanding and appreciation of science and technology. It features more than 50 hands-on exhibits, a digital planetarium, fresh and saltwater aquariums, as well as natural history exhibitions.  Each year the Museum welcomes more than 125,000 visitors and reaches more than 45,000 students through workshops at the Museum and outreach programs to local schools.

 

Advance reservations are required for the April 24, free Edgar Mitchell Science Lecture Series at the Royal Poinciana Chapel.  To RSVP or for more information, please contact Kristina Holt at (561) 370-7740 or [email protected].

 

The South Florida Science Museum is located at 4801 Dreher Trail North in West Palm Beach.  For more information about the South Florida Science Museum, please call 561-832-1988 or visit www.sfsm.org.