Explore 'Good Vibrations: The Physics of Musical Instruments' July 23
The next Northern Illinois University STEM Cafe will be on "Good Vibrations: The Physics of Musical Instruments" from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at The House Cafe, 263 E. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb.
Get funky with physics! Join professor Andrew Morrison, chairman for the Technical Committee on Musical Acoustics of the Acoustical Society of America, to explore how musicians harness vibration, sound radiation, and acoustics to create rocking rhythms.
Come for the talk, stay for musical demos!
It is free and open to the public. Food and drinks are available for purchase from The House Cafe. For information, call (815) 753-4751 or email jdymond@niu.edu. The next topic will be "Stargazing" from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Aug. 12 at Bliss Creek Golf Course, 1 Golfview Lane in Sugar Grove. Join NIU STEM Outreach for an evening of star gazing and viewing of the annual Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August. These brilliant meteors radiate from the Perseus constellation and appear throughout the sky.
At 7:30 p.m., Jeremy Benson, NIU Outreach and Engagement Associate, will discuss "The Sky Tonight: What's Visible and What Causes a Meteor Shower?"
Joel Knapper, NASA Ambassador, will talk about "Pluto and the New Horizons Mission" at 7:45 p.m.
At 8:20 p.m., Paul Stoddard, associate professor of geology and environmental geosciences, will talk about "The Search for Life in the Solar System." At 9:15 p.m., guests can view the meteor shower using NIU's telescopes or bring their own.
On Aug. 23, enjoy "Breakfast with the Buffalo" at Nachusa Grasslands in Oregon, Ill.