Talking with ET: The Language and Timescales of Interstellar Communication
November 22, 2003
Guest: Dr. Douglas Vakoch
What if we receive a signal from another intelligence? Should we respond? What should we say? What traits best represent our humanity? Dr. Douglas Vakoch, SETI's Director of Interstellar Message Composition, is working with scientists, artists, linguists, composers, and others to imagine how to speak for our planet.

Listening for the Long Term
November 22, 2003
Guest: SETI Director Dr. Jill Tarter
Join us as we talk with Jill Tarter, Director of the Center for SETI Research and the inspiration behind Jody Foster's character in the movie Contact. Find out about the tools and technologies being developed for a multigenerational effort to search for other advanced civilizations beyond our solar system.

What About Intelligent Life?
November 21, 2003
Guest: Dan Werthimer, Director, UC Berkeley SETI Program
SETI is a scientific effort seeking to determine if there is intelligent life outside Earth. We were at Aricebo Radio Observatory in March 2003 when scientists listened to the most promising transmissions from UC Berkeley’s SETI@home search. Join the Exploratorium’s Ron Hipschman and special guest Dan Werthimer, chief scientist and principal investigator for the SETI Institute’s efforts, including Arecibo Observatory’s search of artificial radio signals coming from other stars.

Is There Life Elsewhere In Our Solar System?
November 20, 2003
Guest: Paul Doherty, Exploratorium staff scientist
Join Exploratorium physicist Paul Doherty and explore the possibilities of where life may exist elsewhere in our solar system. Paul will discuss the Red Planet, what scientists will look for in their planetary explorations, and some of the Mars-like places he’s visited on Earth.

Looking for Mars on Earth
November 19, 2003
Guest: Chris McKay, Planetary Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center
Chris McKay has traveled the world seeking Mars-like environments. In the Dry Valleys of Antarctica—his favorite Mars analog on Earth—Dr. McKay discovered a kind of algae living inside rocks porous to light and water. He’ll show us some of these rocks and talk about the physical conditions required for life.

Life at the Extremes
November 19, 2003
If satellite conditions are right, we’ll talk live to a biologist on a research vessel from Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institute, who will discuss life near deep-sea thermal vents in the Pacific Ocean.

Life at High Temperatures
Noember. 18, 2003
Guest: Jonathan Trent, Astrobiologist, NASA Ames Research Center
Jonathan Trent studies "thermophiles," heat-loving microbes inhabiting places once thought too hostile for life, but analogous to environments that might be found on other planets. He discovered that some of these microbes make a protein that appears to stabilize their cell membranes (and may have applications for nanotechnology).

Life's Ingredients
,November 16, 2003
Guest: David Deamer, Director, UC Berkeley SETI Program, and Karen Kalumuk, Exploratorium staff scientist. Julia Child and physicist Philip Morrison once cooked up (and sampled) "primordial soup," a mixture of ingredients said to be the materials from which life sprang on Earth. How accurate is this notion? David Deamer studies how some molecules self-assemble into order, and has developed new theories about how life evolved from components on Earth. We’ll talk with him, do hands-on experiments, and watch vintage footage of Julia Child tasting the soup.

Live from Licancabur Volcano in Chile
November 16, 2003
Time subject to change, depending on weather conditions at the volcano.Guest: Nathalie Cabrol, Planetary Scientist, Principal Investigator, NASA Ames Research Center and the SETI Institute Nathalie Cabrol looks for Mars analogs in extreme environments on Earth. She found one at the world’s highest lake at Chile’s Licancabur volcano, site of a unique analog to ancient Martian lakes. If all goes well, we’ll host a live chat with Dr. Cabrol as she investigates the life forms at Licancabur.

.Iron Science Teacher Halloween Edition!
October 31, 2003
Watch as Exploratorium staff and local teachers compete for the title of Iron Science Teacher. Each contestant has 10 minutes to make a science lesson out of a secret ingredient.

Explainer Perspectives: Under the Hood
August 3 2003
The first in a series on automotive science, this webcast will explain all about braking systems. How do disc brakes work? Are there other kinds of brakes? What kind of maintenance should you be doing? Join High School Explainers as they visit a repair shop and interview experts!

Sweet Science: Candy!
April 19, 2003
How do they make jellybeans shiny? Can the color of a
candy affect the way it tastes? Do candy factories really
look like Willy Wonka's? Join us as we investigate the sweet world of sugar.

Moldy Science: Cheese
March 15, 2003
What is that hairy stuff on my cheese? Is it supposed to be runny? Creamy? Crumbly? How can anything that smells that bad taste that good? Come along as we explore the cool, dark world of cheese.