Part of NYSCI’s exhibit “Regeneration”, through January 13, 2013.
Learn about the ideas and methods for urban growing and food preparation at this conceptual winter farmers’ market, December 1, 2012; noon – 4 pm. Traditional market stalls will be filled with hands-on activities, artist projects, demonstrations, and of course, food! Free with NYSCI admission.
This community-based food event focuses on the cultural and sustainable elements of food and food production that pertain to ecology. The event complements NYSCI’s ReGeneration exhibition.
NYSCI is revving up for the next exhibit ReGeneration, with artist Angelo Vermeulen and team building the first part of the window garden for his Biomodd project, right now in NYSCI’s Central Pavilion.
This week, the virtual world that will run on the Biomodd computer network is being developed (above image), and students at Parsons are creating concepts and prototypes for “caretaking robots” as part of the Biomodd Collaboration Studio.
If you want to learn more about Angelo’s project and his work, and you happen to be in the Los Angeles area, he is giving a lecture and demonstration at UCLA tomorrow.
In the meantime, mark your calendars for the long awaited opening of ReGeneration on October 27, 2012, at NYSCI.
Mike Wilson’s Nano Rap at the NYSCI Village, World Maker Faire 2012.
World Maker Faire at New York Hall of Science. September 29-30, 2012. Tickets and Info at makerfaire.com
In accompaniment to the interview video, the vivacious explainer Saijah Williams tells us a few things about the relatively new field of molecular gastronomy or “modern cooking”, her love for baking and where she sees herself with NYSCI in the future.
MW: So can you explain molecular gastronomy to those of us who have never heard of it?
SW: Molecular gastronomy studies the physical aspects as well as the chemical aspects of ingredients during cooking. It also studies how the ingredients interact and affect each other under different temperatures.
MW: How did this interest start?
SW: I love food and I love science; [molecular gastronomy] is a combination of the two, so it’s perfect. It turns cooking into a form of scientific experimentation.
You know how we use liquid nitrogen in the Chem demo? Some molecular gastronomical meals use liquid nitrogen to prepare.
MW: That sounds like a science experiment! Do you need any special a degree or PhD. to prepare a molecular gastronomy meal [laughs]?
SW: Yeah there are courses at certain colleges for molecular gastronomy and also special culinary schools.There are recipes that one can follow also. They even sell kits [in bookstores] to get you started.
There is a show on Netflix, called “Quantum Kitchen” it’s all about molecular gastronomy. The chef [Marcel Vigneron] in it goes all out for his meals. He puts a lot of time and thoughts and uses all sorts of techniques to prepare his meals.
MW: A meal like that can’t come cheap. Speaking of expensive meals, I heard there are restaurants [such as Corton located in Tribeca] that use special molecular gastronomical techniques to prepare their meals. The waiting lists for the restaurants are unbelievably long.
SW: I would love to dine at one but they are so expensive and the waiting lists are for months.
MW: Do you cook a lot?
SW: I am more of a baker than a cook. I usually bake extravagant cakes for the holidays. Last year for Halloween, I baked a graveyard themed cake with cookies for tombstones and worms, the gummy type of course.
MW: So we can anticipate an extravagant cake this Halloween [laughs]?
SW: Possibly. I haven’t baked in a while and Halloween, which is my favorite holiday, gives me the perfect opportunity to make a really great cake. I’m thinking of ideas right now, so we will see!
MW: You’ve been with the Hall for 2 years, now. So where do you see yourself in the future with the Hall?
SW: I want to move up the Science Career Ladder, try to go as far as I can, and reach the highest rung.
- Interviewed by Margaret Wang
- Interview edited for clarification purposes
from NYSCI President and CEO, Margaret Honey:
Last week, Peter Orszag wrote an article linking summer learning loss with skyrocketing childhood obesity rates.. For decades, educational researchers have studied summer learning loss — sometimes called the “summer brain drain.” In short, summer vacation negates some of the learning achieved during the academic year. This is particularly so for children on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.
We don’t expect kids to do algebra at the beach, but there’s any number of ways to incorporate science and math into their summer schedules. And summer learning is, you know, fun and active.
Want to learn about molecules? Understand extremophiles? There’s an app for that!
NYSCI Explainers have just had their first apps developed as part of Explainers As Designers. The project is a variation on Iridescent’s Technovation Challenge, with teams of Explainers learning the ins and outs of app development while also getting some baseline knowledge of what it takes to successfully bring an app to market. Two apps — Bio-Hatcher and Molecule Rush — were selected as winners and have just been made available for download in both the iTunes and Google Play stores.
Each app builds on content found at NYSCI exhibits and adds yet another interactive component to the exhibit experience, in the form of games you can play anywhere anytime. It’s a bit of NYSCI in your pocket.
Latest updates on events and topics based on science, technology and learning from the New York Hall of Science: NYC's hands-on science museum.
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