Joshua Bell, Renee Fleming & Pilobolus to Launch 10th Annual World Science Festival in NYC

The World Science Festival will culminate its groundbreaking first decade by bringing science to the crossroads of the world, Times Square, and to locations across New York City's five boroughs, with more than 50 events, May 30 - June 4, 2017.

At a time when science is at the heart of numerous pressing policy debates, the Festival will provide an unparalleled opportunity to engage with revolutionary discoveries, the thinkers behind them, and their wide-ranging political and cultural implications. The programming includes world-class performing arts productions, lively debates, lectures, intimate discussions, and interactive demonstrations for both kids and adults.

Ticket pre-sale begins today at worldsciencefestival.com for World Science Festival subscribers; tickets will become available to the broader public on April 29. Many events are free. Additional programming and participants will be announced as the Festival approaches.

The 10th annual World Science Festival will launch with Time, Creativity, and the Cosmos, the latest in a series of original multimedia works produced by the Festival, May 30 at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Acclaimed physicist and World Science Festival Co-Founder Brian Greene tells a cosmic journey that wends its way from the Big Bang to the end of time. The production features an eclectic, star-studded lineup of artists including famed violinist Joshua Bell, opera star Renée Fleming, and the innovative dance troupe Pilobolus, among others. Written by Greene and directed by John Christian Plummer (Awakening the Mind: A Celebration of the Life and Work of Oliver Sacks, Netflix's "Granite Flats"), Time, Creativity, and the Cosmos celebrates the human spirit of exploration and discovery and examines our collective longing to transcend the boundaries of space and time through science and art.

For the first time, the Festival will be anchored in Times Square, substantially furthering its mission to engage a broad general public. During three action-packed days (June 1-3), the Festival will descend on Times Square (with the largest footprint in Times Square's northern triangle) with activities, demonstrations, and installations that educate, entertain, amaze, and inspire. The centerpiece will be Holoscenes, an epic performance-installation that connects everyday actions to climate change. Created by the artist Lars Jan, and born out of the widely-shared concern that the worldwide impact of water-from rising seas, melting glaciers, intensifying floods, and extended droughts-will be a defining issue of the 21st century, Holoscenes takes place in a twelve-ton glass aquarium that, over the course of five hours each day, periodically floods and drains, requiring a rotating cast of performers to continually respond to changing water levels. This spectacular work of public art is co-presented by the Festival and Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance.

During the Festival week, Main Stage lectures and discussions will take place in a variety of New York venues, and will feature renowned scientists, philosophers, historians, authors, journalists, and other luminaries addressing timely topics including science, truth, and insight in an era of alternative facts; the impact of genomic engineering on evolution; the continuing evolution of quantum physics; neuroscience and the roots of cooperative behavior; the controversial creative capacities of computers; the deepest scientific and philosophical puzzles of cosmology; the promise of nanotechnology to meet exploding energy demands; and the Human Connectome Project's exciting potential to inform clinical practice and illuminate the nature of consciousness.

Additional outdoor programming will include the Festival favorite Saturday Night Lights: Stargazing at Brooklyn Bridge Park, with astrophysicist and author Mario Livio and Pilobolus; a catch-and-release fish count in the waters surrounding New York City; and family-friendly Scientific Sails in New York Harbor, all on June 3.

The Great Fish Count and Scientific Sails are just two of many events for kids and their parents. Also on June 3, actor, author, science popularizer, and World Science Festival board member Alan Alda will host an hour-long program with interactive demonstrations, in which he and a team of experts will reveal how our bodies use energy and how we Will Power the world in the future. The event will also highlight the winners of the 2017 Flame Challenge, which requires scientists to communicate familiar yet complex concepts in a way that is understandable to an 11-year-old. On June 4, this year's interactive performance of Cool Jobs, hosted by Science Bob, will give young audiences the opportunity to meet some of this country's greatest science teachers. In a range of hands-on apprentice programs on June 3 & 4, children and adults alike will learn about chemistry in baking, microbiology, urban farming, museum architecture, astronomy, zoology, urban archaeology, civil engineering, and rodentology.

Additional Festival highlights include a trivia night, Mummy Knows Best, at the American Museum of Natural History, hosted by author, comedian, and "CBS Sunday Morning" contributor Faith Salie, on June 2.

The World Science Festival is the brainchild of Brian Greene, a distinguished physicist, best-selling author, and one of the world's foremost science communicators, and Tracy Day, a four-time National Emmy Award-winning producer who brought historic events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of apartheid in South Africa to television audiences. Joined by Alan Alda, who continues to be a close collaborator each year, they launched the Festival in 2008, motivated by the realization that New York City, a place teeming with unique opportunities for enrichment, had no festival introducing the general public to the great minds pushing the frontiers of understanding. The New York Times hailed the inaugural Festival as a "new cultural institution."

"When we started the World Science Festival a decade ago, we conceived it as a way of introducing the diverse worlds of science to a broad audience-to take science out of scholarly journals and into the cultural mainstream," said Tracy Day, Co-Founder and CEO of the World Science Festival. "Now, more than ever, it is critical that the general public recognize how vital science is to our collective future."

Brian Greene, Co-Founder of the World Science Festival and Chairman of the Science Festival Foundation, said, "The World Science Festival is part of a movement emphasizing that science is not just a subject in school, it's a perspective on the world. Science is our most powerful tool for revealing the deep truths of reality, and the Festival is dedicated to making those truths understandable, accessible, and widely available."

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2017 WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS

Note: Many events will stream live at www.worldsciencefestival.com.

Time, Creativity, and The Cosmos
Featuring Joshua Bell, Renée Fleming, Brian Greene, Pilobolus
May 30 at 7pm
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rose Hall (10 Columbus Circle)

The tenth anniversary World Science Festival opens with a new work celebrating the human spirit of exploration, discovery, and creativity. Told by acclaimed physicist Brian Greene as a cosmic journey that wends its way from the Big Bang to the end of time, the evening features an exceptional and eclectic group of performances including famed violinist Joshua Bell, renowned opera star Renée Fleming, the innovative dance troupe Pilobolus, among others. The evening is a celebration of science and art examining our collective longing to transcend the boundaries of space and time.

Computational Creativity: AI and the Art of Ingenuity
Participants: Jesse Engel, Peter Tse, Lav Varshney
May 31 at 8pm
NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Pl.)

Today, there are robots that make art, move like dancers, tell stories, and even help human chefs devise unique recipes. But is there ingenuity in silicon? Can computers be creative? A rare treat for the senses, this thought-provoking event brings together artists and computer scientists who are creating original works with the help of artificially intelligent machines. Joined by leading experts in psychology and neuroscience, they will explore the roots of creativity in humans and computers, what artificial creativity reveals about human imagination, and the future of hybrid systems that build on the capabilities of both.

Science in the Square
June 1-3
Times Square (7th Ave. and 47th St.)
FREE

The World Science Festival brings science to the crossroads of the world, Times Square. For three action-packed days, the Festival will descend on Times Square with free activities, demonstrations, and installations that will give the public a greater understanding and appreciation of our ever-changing planet-and our relationship to it. Capping a pioneering decade of communicating scientific ideas in creative, novel, and impactful ways that make science accessible and visceral, the Festival's presence in Times Square dramatically advances its mission by bringing the world of science to visitors from across New York City and around the globe.

Among the highlights is Holoscenes, a large-scale performance-installation, created by artist Lars Jan and his company Early Morning Opera, that examines humankind's relationship to water and illustrates the connection between our everyday actions and climate change. Born out of the widely-shared concern that the worldwide impact of water-from rising seas, melting glaciers, intensifying floods, and extended droughts-will be a defining issue of the 21st century, Holoscenes takes place in a twelve-ton glass aquarium that, over the course of five hours each day, periodically floods and drains, requiring a rotating cast of performers to continually respond to changing water levels. This spectacular work of public art is co-presented by the Festival and Times Square Arts, and was originally produced by MAPP International Productions.

Forever Young: The Promise of Human Regeneration
Participants: Dany Spencer Adams, Stephen Badylak, Doris Taylor
June 1 at 8pm
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College (524 W. 59th St.)

Synthetic blood mass-produced to meet supply shortages. Livers and kidneys "bioprinted" on demand. Missing fingers and toes re-grown with a jolt of bioelectricity. Regenerative medicine promises to do more than just treat disease, injuries, or congenital conditions. It holds the potential to rejuvenate, heal, or completely replace damaged tissue and organs. If successful, regenerative medicine will have immense impact on how we care for the injured, sick, and aging-and how we think about death. This program will explore mind-boggling medical advances as well as the societal and economic implications of a future in which everybody may truly be forever young.

Mummy Knows Best: Trivia at the Museum
Moderator: Faith Salie
June 2 at 6pm
American Museum of Natural History (Central Park West & 79th St.)

Unwrap an evening of mystery and celebrate the American Museum of Natural History's newest temporary exhibition-Mummies. Join comedian and journalist Faith Salie under the blue whale to unearth rare facts and show off your smarts in a pub-style quiz format. Tackle trivia questions and physical challenges with a drink in hand. And if things get too tough, you might even get an assist from a team of top scientists.

This program includes one free drink and special private access to the special exhibition Mummies. Special exhibit access is available to ticket-holders one hour prior to the program (6-7pm).

Better Cooking Through Chemistry
Participants: Joe Brown, J. Kenji López-Alt
June 2 at 7:30pm
Saveur Test Kitchen (15 E. 32nd St.)

Cooking isn't magic-it's science! Boiling water for your favorite angel hair pasta? This is merely molecules bouncing around. What about slightly burnt toast with your morning coffee? It's simply organic compounds in your whole wheat bread being converted to carbon. Whether at breakfast, lunch or dinner, chemistry is always at work. Serious Eats' J. Kenji López-Alt, author of the James Beard Award-winning cookbook The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, and Popular Science Editor-in-Chief Joe Brown will demonstrate science-based techniques you can take back to your own kitchen. In the meantime, sip some Sauver private label wine and taste the results of these edible experiments.

This program is produced in collaboration with Popular Science and Saveur.

Quantum Reality: Space, Time, and Entanglement
Moderator: Brian Greene
Participants: Mark Van Raamsdonk, David Wallace, Birgitta Whaley
June 2 at 8pm
NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place)

Ninety years after the historic double-slit experiment, the quantum revolution shows no sign of slowing. Join a vibrant conversation with renowned leaders in theoretical physics, quantum computation, and philosophical foundations, focused on how quantum physics continues to impact understanding on issues profound and practical, from the edge of black holes and the fibers of space-time to teleportation and the future of computers.

The Social Synapse: Neuroscience and the Roots of Human Connections
Moderator: John Donvan
Participants: Louise Barrett, Agustin Fuentes, Kevin Laland, Kevin Ochsner, Dietrich Stout
June 2 at 8pm
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College (524 W. 59th St.)

We humans work together on enormous scales, build complex tools as large as cities, and create social networks that span the globe. What is the key to this innately social profile? How did it evolve? This program will examine the development of the human brain-and the brains of other animals-asking how neurons and synapses orchestrate communal behavior and guide group interactions, demonstrating how our social nature is key to our humanity.

This discussion will be moderated by ABC News correspondent John Donvan and features anthropologists Agustin Fuentes and Louise Barrett, evolutionary anthropologist and Paleolithic archaeologist Dietrich Stout, biologist Kevin Laland, and neuroscientist Kevin Ochsner.

Chemistry Baker's Apprentice
Mentor: Danielle Vellucci
June 3 at 9:30am
Four & Twenty Blackbirds (597 Sackett St., ??Brooklyn)

Love isn't the secret behind grandma's apple pie-it's chemistry! Bring your passion for pastries and step into the kitchen at Four & Twenty Blackbirds Bakery with NYU chemistry professor Danielle Vellucci. Through starch, acid, and heat experiments, discover what causes the ideal flakey crust, creates the most scrumptious filling, and makes the perfect pie.

Microbiologist's Apprentice
Mentor: Jessica Joyner
June 3 at 10am
Brooklyn College, Old Ingersoll Building, Room 3239 (2900 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn)

The human body, the depths of the ocean, and just about every surface imaginable is home to a hidden world of microscopic organisms. Uncover this invisible universe-and how it affects our everyday life-with Brooklyn College microbiology professor Jessica Joyner. With a microscope as your exploratory tool, examine cells and discover how researchers find small solutions to some of our planet's biggest problems.

Urban Farmer's Apprentice
Mentor: Yemi Amu
June 3 at 10am
Oko Farms (104 Moore St., Brooklyn)

Forget the pitchfork and the fishing rod...we're farming in New York City! Join Yemi Amu, co-founder of Oko Farms, to learn how to raise fish and grow plants in the same environment. Plant your own seedlings, feed some fish, and tour a farm like no other. Build your own mini aquaponic system and conduct experiments to convert fish waste into nutrients for plants-just like our oceans do naturally every day.

Museum Architect's Apprentice
Mentor: Kubi Ackerman
June 3 at 10am
Museum of the City of New York (1220 5th Ave.)

What kind of New York City will we leave for the next generation? A lot of it has to do with the design of our parks: how they protect the city from environmental challenges, provide recreation, and offer health benefits to those in an urban environment. Architect Kubi Ackerman of the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) is imagining endless possibilities for our future parks, and invites you to do the same. After a walk through Central Park to study the natural environment, explore the MCNY's Future City Lab to create your own sustainable park.

Astronomer's Apprentice
Mentor: Jackie Faherty
June 3 at 11am
NYU Kimmel Center, Classroom 808 (60 Washington Square S.)

Is there another Planet Earth? Scratch that-is there even another planet that has life on it? Science says there's a good chance. In this program, astronomer Jacqueline Faherty of the American Museum of Natural History reveals the different signals exoplanet hunters are using to better understand worlds beyond our own. Take a look through our own astronomical backyard and explore the data to find hints of another Earth-like planet.

Scientific Sails
Participants: Roy Arezzo, Eleanor Sterling, Sean Dixon
June 3 at 11am, 3pm, and 7pm
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 5

Raise the sails, trawl for fish, and join us for a family-friendly tour of New York Harbor aboard the Mystic Whaler, a reproduction of a late 19th century coastal cargo schooner. At 11am, participants can cast a net into the harbor to catch all kinds of organisms to study how they impact the ecosystem. Biologist Roy Arezzo is on deck to provide an up-close encounter with the oysters that play an essential role in filtering our harbors and creating an environment that continues to sustain life. On the 3pm Sail, work side-by-side with conservation scientist Eleanor Sterling to experiment with turtle tagging equipment, examine artifacts, and trace the DNA of underwater creatures. Participants will learn how warming waters are impacting sea turtles, other ocean animals, and the underwater world around us. At 7pm, fishery scientist Sean Dixon will be on board for an exciting exploration of historical overfishing, its impact on our waters, and how sustainable practices can restore locAl Fisheries.

Pondering The Imponderables: The Biggest Questions of Cosmology
Moderator: Jim Holt
Participants: David Albert, George F. R. Ellis, Alan Guth, Veronika Hubeny, Andrei Linde
June 3 at 2pm
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College (524 W. 59th St.)

Physicists and cosmologists are closing in on how the universe operates at its very core. But even with powerful telescopes and particle accelerators pushed nearly to their limits, experimenters struggle to keep up as theoreticians march forward, leaving grand theories untested. Is our universe unique or one of many? What was there before the Big Bang? Why is there something rather than nothing? Some argue that if these deep questions can't be confirmed empirically, they're not relevant to science. Are they right? Join leading cosmologists, philosophers, and physicists as they tackle the profound questions of existence.

Flame Challenge: What is Energy?
Host: Alan Alda
Participants: Eddie Goldstein, Herman Pontzer, Lynn Trahey
June 3 at 4pm
NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Pl.)

Alan Alda has issued this year's challenge to the world's top scientists: What is energy? In a thrilling hour of interactive demonstrations, Alda and a team of experts invite the audience to explore how our bodies use energy, the impact of natural resources, and how we're going to power the world in the future. The program also highlights the winners of the 2017 Flame Challenge, in which video and written explanations of sound were judged for clarity's sake...by 20,000 eleven year-olds.

The Future of Farming: Programming Perfect Produce
Participants: Joe Brown, Caleb Harper
June 3 at 5:00pm
Saveur Test Kitchen (15 E. 32nd St.)

Self-described "nerd farmer" Caleb Harper and his team at MIT have created a greenhouse with a brain: these "food computers" are enclosed, managed containers that allow you to create the perfect conditions for healthy crops. The fish-tank-sized farming computer allows Harper to simulate any environment within its glass walls, from ideal tomato-growing weather to the predicted climate and atmospheric conditions of New York in the year 2117. Want to grow a flawless Mexican strawberry in New Jersey? No problem. Professor Harper and Joe Brown, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science, demonstrate how this amazing machine came to exist, and how it can be used in our kitchens, schools, and farms going forward. So grab a seat, pour yourself a glass of wine, and get ready to taste the future.

This program is produced in collaboration with Popular Science and Saveur.

Saturday Night Lights: Stargazing at Brooklyn Bridge Park
Participants: Mario Livio, Pilobolus
June 3 at 7pm
Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier 1
FREE

Brooklyn Bridge Park lights up the night's sky with high-tech interactive and stargazing activities. Step up to a telescope for an up-close look at the moon, Jupiter, and beyond. Then, take part in UP! Umbrella Project, a participatory experience created by the Dance Company Pilobolus in collaboration with MIT Distributed Robotics. Armed with an LED-lighted umbrella, create your own exploding stars and constellations, along with physicists and astronomers in a larger-than-life celebration of our universe. Highlights include a meet-and-greet with astrophysicist Mario Livio.

Much Ado About Nearly Nothing: Nanotech and the Future of Energy
Participants: Sanjoy Banerjee, Yury Gogotsi, Patricia Holden, Paul Weiss
June 3 at 8pm
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, John Jay College (524 W. 59th St.)

The biggest challenge of our time, confronting the energy demands of an exploding population on a warming planet, may well be met by manipulating matter on the tiniest of scales-revolutionizing how we power the planet. Join world-class engineers, nanoscientists, and environmental leaders to explore how the capacity to harness molecules and atoms is accelerating spectacular inventions-including light-weight "wonder materials," vital energy-storage technologies, and new sources of renewable energy-that promise to redefine the very future of energy.

Urban Archaeologists Apprentice
Mentor: Alyssa Loorya
June 4 at 11am
NYU Kimmel Center, Classroom 808 (60 Washington Square S.)

Construction workers at Washington Square Park recently found two burial vaults from the early 1800s. Now is your chance to uncover New York City history just like scientists do. Join archaeologist Alyssa Loorya to reconstruct artifacts, piece together pottery, and create a map of archaeological sites throughout the city. The program concludes with a walk to area where the burial vault was discovered at Washington Square Park East.

Civil Engineer's Apprentice
Mentor: Erin Styfco
June 4 at 11:30am
NYU Kimmel Center, Classroom 803 (60 Washington Square S.)

Building a skyscraper takes more than just an architectural drawing. You have to take into account materials, location, ground structure, and weather. Engineer Erin Styfco leads an exploration of how natural processes-from wind and rain to natural disasters-can affect structures over time. Recreate an earthquake to determine what causes buildings to collapse, and construct your own structure designed to survive the elements.

Zoologist's Apprentice
Mentor: Russell Burke
June 4 at 1:30pm
NYU Kimmel Center, Classroom 808 (60 Washington Square S.)

What do turtles, lizards, and coyotes all have in common? They call the New York City area their home. Join Hofstra University biology professor Russell Burke on a journey to study the behavior of our furry and not so furry neighbors. Participate in a study to learn how scientists capture, mark, and release animals to determine their populations in our backyard.

Cool Jobs
Host: "Science Bob" Pflugfelder
June 4 at 1:30pm
NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place)

The World Science Festival's highly celebrated program, Cool Jobs, is back with an astounding line-up of the coolest science teachers around. Can you break a cinder block on your chest? Dance your way into learning about fossils? Play catch with a robot? These are all things that these people do every day...at work. And all because they know how to make science the most exciting thing around. Come experience their passion during an interactive performance you will not want to miss.

Cool Jobs is, once again, hosted by the one and only Science Bob.

Rodentologist's Apprentice
Mentor: Caroline Bragdon
June 4 at 3:30pm
NYU Kimmel Center, Classroom 808 (60 Washington Square S.)

It's hard to find a New Yorker who hasn't encountered a rat. They are notoriously clever and hard to control. Thankfully, the scientists at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are regularly tracking and developing new ways to control our rodent neighbors. You won't come face-to-face with any rats at this program, but you'll join research scientist Caroline Bragdon to examine gadgets, track population growth with interactive maps, and search for signs of rodent activity in the local park.

Cartographers of The Brain: Mapping the Connectome
Participants: Deanna Barch, David Van Essen, Jeff Lichtman, Nim Tottenham
June 4 at 5pm
NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Pl.)

Imagine navigating the globe with a map that only sketched out the continents. That's pretty much how neuroscientists have been operating for decades. But one of the most ambitious programs in all of neuroscience, the Human Connectome Project, has just yielded a "network map" that is shedding light on the intricate connectivity in the brain. Join leading neuroscientists and psychologists as they explore how the connectome promises to revolutionize treatments for psychiatric and neurological disorders, answer profound questions regarding the electrochemical roots of memory and behavior, and clarify the link between our upbringing and brain development.

The Great Fish Count
June 3, 10am - 4pm
Various Locations
FREE

From Lemon Creek in Staten Island to the shores of the Bronx River, New York's waterways are teeming with life-and it's up to you to find it! Led by top marine scientists and biologists in 17 sites across New York's five boroughs and New Jersey, the Great Fish Count gives attendees of all ages the chance to strap on a pair of waders, cast a net, and discover the underwater world in their own backyard.

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The World Science Festival gathers great minds in science and the arts to produce live and digital content that allows a broad general audience to engage with scientific discoveries. Through discussions, debates, theatrical works, interactive explorations, musical performances, intimate salons, and major outdoor experiences, the Festival takes science out of the laboratory and into the streets, parks, museums, galleries and premier performing arts venues of New York City and beyond.

The Festival has featured Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin, Joshua Bell, Chuck Close, Glenn Close, Sylvia Earle, Philip Glass, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Hawking, John Hockenberry, Bill T. Jones, Cynthia Nixon, Paul Rudd, Charlie Kaufman, Mary-Claire King, Eric Lander, Richard Leakey, John Lithgow, Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Oliver Sacks, Liev Schreiber, Anna Deavere Smith, Julie Taymor, E.O. Wilson, and Nobel Laureates David Baltimore, Steven Chu, David Gross, Eric Kandel, Dudley R. Herschbach, Roald Hoffmann, Leon Lederman, Paul Nurse, John C. Mather, Saul Perlmutter, William Phillips, Adam Riess, F. Sherwood Rowland, Horst Störmer, Jack W. Szostak, Gerard 't Hooft, Harold Varmus, James Watson, Steven Weinberg, Carl Wieman, and Frank Wilczek, among many other luminaries in science and the arts.

The annual live, week-long New York Festivals, which launched in 2008, have collectively drawn more than a million and a half visitors, and received more than 50 million views online. Ten years into its existence, the World Science Festival continues to grow across New York City and around the world, with original musical and theatrical works touring nationally and internationally; the 2016 launch of the World Science Festival Brisbane, whose second annual installment took place March 22-26, 2017; and City of Science, a series of free interactive exhibits produced by the World Science Festival and presented by Con Edison that traveled to all five boroughs in 2016.

The World Science Festival is a production of the World Science Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in New York City.

Connect with the World Science Festival at www.worldsciencefestival.com, or follow on Facebook: www.facebook.com/worldsciencefestival, Twitter: twitter.com/WorldSciFest, and Instagram: www.instagram.com/worldscifest.

Photo Credit: Greg Kessler

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