Planetarium: 'Fractals Rock' and 'Origins of Life' with Dave Wooten - May 17, 2013
by Michelle Saport |
"Fractals Rock!" Friday, May 17, 6:30 p.m. ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, Room 220
Fractals are all around us in the natural world, spanning a huge range of scales. The same patterns repeat themselves again and again, from the tiny branching of our blood vessels and neurons to the branching of trees, lightning bolts and river networks. Fractals also serve as intricately beautiful representations of the otherwise abstract world of mathematics. They're surprisingly simple to make, but the closer you look at them, the more complexities you find. "Fractals Rock!" will take you on a visual tour of the endless fractal patterns of nature and magnify the infinite complexity of mathematical art. (40 minutes in length.)
"Origins of Life" Friday, May 17, 8 p.m. ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building, Room 220
This full-dome program deals with some of the most profound questions in the field of life science. Starting with the big bang, "Origins of Life" deals with prebiotic chemistry in the universe, the formation of stars and planets and the first life on Earth. It covers the great extinctions as well as humanity's search for primitive life beyond Earth. Featuring many recent discoveries related to life science, this motivational journey demonstrates that if there was ever a time when science was making its greatest advances, it's right now! (23 minutes in length.)
Both shows will also feature a live presentation by Dave Wooten. These will be his last two planetarium appearances before leaving to study systems biology at Vanderbilt University.
Tickets are available at UAATix.net.
"Planetarium: 'Fractals Rock' and 'Origins of Life' with Dave Wooten - May 17, 2013" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.