Multiple venues
June 1-5
www.worldsciencefestival.com
The mind-expanding World Science Festival kicks off June 1 with a gala celebration at Alice Tully Hall as a group of stars (Liev Schreiber, Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and others) will read Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie, a new play written by WSF veteran Alan Alda and directed by Bob Balaban. What follows are more than three dozen events over four days that examine the impact of science on today’s world, including panel discussions, lectures, film screenings, live music, magic, and more. Tickets are still available for most programs, including “Spotlight: Women in Science” on June 2 at Galapagos, a cabaret happy hour featuring Joy Hirsch, Jean Berko Gleason, Priyamvada Natarajan, Corina Tarnita, and Tal Rabin, moderated by Faith Salie; “World Science Festival Salon: The Mystery of Dark Matter” on June 3 at the Rosenthal Pavilion, where you can mingle with Elena Aprile, Glennys Farrar, Enectali Figueroa-Feliciano, Katherine Freese, Jocelyn Monroe, and Priyamvada Natarajan; “A Thin Sheet of Reality: The Universe as a Hologram” June 3 at the Skirball Center, a cutting-edge discussion with John Hockenberry, Gerard ’t Hooft, Leonard Susskind, Raphael Bousso, and Herman Verlinde; “Scents and Sensibilities: The Invisible Language of Smell” June 4 at the New School, with Juju Chang, Leslie Vosshall, Sissel Tolaas, Consuelo De Moraes, and Avery Gilbert; “Music and the Spark of Spontaneity” June 4 in the Great Hall of the Cooper Union, in which Pat Metheny will perform and Jamshed Bharucha, Charles Limb, Aaron Berkowitz, and Gary Marcus will focus on his brain and creativity, moderated by John Schaefer; “Man-Made Minds: Living with Thinking Machines” on June 4 at the Kaye Playhouse, as IBM’s Watson supercomputer will be joined by Hod Lipson, David Ferrucci, Eric Horvitz, and Rodney Brooks; and “Chemistry on Canvas: A Revealing Portrait of Monsieur and Madame Lavoisier” on June 5 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Garrick Utley, Kathryn Calley Galitz, Harold Varmus, and Roald Hoffmann. There are also several free events, including the opening reception of “BIORHYTHM: Music and the Body” at Eyebeam on June 3 at 6:00, with Chesney Snow, the Theremin Inspectors, Sonic Bed, Optofonica Capsule, and Stone Forest Ensemble; “From the City to the Stars: A Night of Stargazing at Brooklyn Bridge Park” on June 3 at 8:30; “Science on Site: Explorations on Governors Island” on June 4 with Timothy Ferris, Mark Kurlansky, Dean Pesnell, and Robert Naczi; and the 2011 World Science Festival Street Fair in Washington Square Park on June 5.