VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Air and space museum|Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, 7711 E. Academy Blvd., needs volunteers to help at the admissions desk, museum store, and in the museum’s collection of artifacts. The museum’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 5 on Sundays. For information, call Matthew Burchette at 303-360-5360, ext. 103.
Xeriscape garden|Volunteers are needed to work in the Aurora Xeriscape Demonstration Garden, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway. For information, call Abby Schreiber at 303-739-7356 or e-mail aschreib@auroragov.org.
Zoo|The Denver Zoo, 2300 Steele St., needs volunteers to assist with special events, to assist zookeepers and to work in the zoo’s membership, education and administration departments. For information, visit www.denverzoo.org or call 303-376-4894.
Dinosaur Ridge|Volunteer tour guides are needed to teach people about the paleontological, geological, natural resources and history of Dinosaur Ridge. Applicants must be at least 18 and complete required training. For information, call 303-697-3466 or visit www.dinoridge.org.
Science Museum|The Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., needs volunteers to work with visitors in the museum’s diorama halls, galleries and activity areas. Also needed are volunteers to be guides, interpreters, collections assistants and classroom prep assistants. For information, call 303-370-6419.
Nature Center|Bluff Lake Nature Center, East 30th Avenue and Moline Street, needs volunteer naturalists to work with kids, using games, science experiments and hands-on activities to teach them about nature. No experience is required. For information, call Sue Schafer at 303-468-3245.
Rocky Mountain Field Institute|Volunteers are needed for service programs in October and November at Table Mountain, Shelf Road and Garden of the Gods. Register at least two weeks ahead by calling 719-471-7736 or e-mail rmfibox@qwest.net.
Conservation Center|The Plains Conservation Center, 21901 E. Hampden Ave., Aurora, needs volunteer “citizen scientists” to work with PCC naturalists gathering, compiling and mapping information about prairie residents. Survey work will take place on the first Saturday of each month. Training is provided. To register, e-mail Fran Blanchard at fblanchard@plainscenter.org or call 303-693-3621.
Butterfly Pavilion|The Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster, needs volunteers to work with visitors and to help in its tropical butterfly conservatory, tide pool, touch cart, and garden areas. For information, visit www.butterflies.org or call Kris Desmarais, 720-974-1868.
TWICE WEEKLY
Telescope viewing|Chamberlin Observatory, 2930 E. Warren Ave., on the University of Denver campus, has astronomy presentations and allows use of the 20-inch Alvan Clark refractor telescope beginning at 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. For information, visit www.thedas.org, or call 303-871-5172 for reservations.
ONGOING
Science and engineering fair|The Denver Metro Regional Science and Engineering Fair will be Feb. 28, 2006 at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd. For information, e-mail james.stevens@uchsc.edu or call 303-724-3003. Teachers interested in staging a science fair at their school can visit the Central Colorado AHEC website at www2.uchsc.edu/ahec/science/.
Map and compass class|The US Geological Survey hosts a free map, compass and orienteering class at 1 p.m. Fridays in the map department at the Denver Flagship REI, 1416 Platte St. For information, call 303-756-3100.
Bird banding station|Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory’s Education and Bird Banding Station at Barr Lake State Park, 13401 Picadilly Road, Brighton, will be active now through Oct. 21. RMBO biologists assess the present condition of songbirds, and gather scientific data by measuring, weighing, identifying, aging and banding the specimens. For directions and hours, call 303-637-9220.
Mini Med School|The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is having a free Mini Med School at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Nov. 9 in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Phipps IMAX Theater, 2001 Colorado Blvd. Nine lectures given by CU School of Medicine professors will cover topics like molecular and cell biology, anatomy and physiology, immunology, cancer, virology, and neurology. Registration is required and is on a first-come first-served basis. For information, visit www.uchsc.edu/minimed or call 303-315-8911.
Mesa Laboratory|The Mesa Lab, a working research laboratory at the west end of Table Mesa Drive in Boulder, has a free visitor center that is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends. The visitor center has a climate exhibit, an eclipse telescope, working supercomputers, a gravity well, and hands on demonstrations of lightning, tornados and fluid dynamics. For information, call 303-497-1174 or visit www.ucar.edu.
Renewable energy|The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory Visitors Center, 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Visitors Center features an interactive exhibit hall and DOE public reading room. For information, visit www.nrel.gov/visitors_center/ or call 303-384-6565.
Children’s workshops|The Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., has children’s workshops and events for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. For a list, call the Children’s Workshop coordinators at 303-370-8225 or 303-370-8347.
Nature activities|South Suburban Parks and Recreation naturalists lead outdoor, nature and environmentally related activities and events at Carson Nature Center, 3000 W. Carson Drive, Littleton. For a list of events, visit www.sspr.org or call 303-730-1022.
Wildlife refuge programs|The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, East 56th Avenue at Havana Street, is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. There are various exhibits at the visitor center, free nature programs and refuge tours. Call 303-289-0930 for times and reservations, or visit http://rockymountainarsenal.fws.gov.
Natural history seminars|The Rocky Mountain Nature Association offers a series of outdoor seminars on natural history topics in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado State Parks and other locations. For information, call 800-748-7002 or visit www.rmna.org.
Nature programs|The Morrison Nature Center at Star K Ranch, 16002 E. Smith Road, Aurora, offers a variety of nature programs. For a list of events, call 303-739-2428 or visit www.auroragov.org.
Astronomy events|Fiske Planetarium, on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, has a variety of astronomy shows, talks, and family matinees. The evening talks and shows are $6 adults, $5 students with valid I.D., and $3.50 for children and seniors. Saturday family shows are $5 adults, $3.50 children and seniors. Laser shows are $5. For more information, call 303-492-5002 or visit www.colorado.edu/fiske/.
TODAY
Woodpecker talk|Tim Gallagher, author of “Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker,” will discuss his book at 7 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church of Denver, South Monaco Street and East Hampden Avenue. Cost is $5 Friends of Denver Audubon, $7 nonmembers. For reservations, call 303-973-9530.
Guided birdwalk|Naturalist Doris Cruze is leading a birdwatching excursion at 8 a.m. in Roxborough State Park, 4751 N. Roxborough Drive, Littleton. A $5 daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park. Or information, call 303-973-3959.
Moonlight hike|The Friends of Roxborough State Park are hosting a moonlight hike at 6 p.m. in Roxborough State Park, 4751 N. Roxborough Drive, Littleton. For information, call 303-973-3959.
MONDAY
“Healthy” building program|The Boulder Green Building Guild and the US Green Building Council are sponsoring a presentation by author and architect Paula Baker Laporte about building healthier homes at 6:30 p.m. at the Boulder Bookstore, 1107 Pearl St. Cost is free for BGBG and USGBC members, $10 nonmembers. To register, visit www.bgbg.org/event_registration101705.php.
Dam talk|”Cheesman Dam An Engineering Marvel,” a free presentation by Jim Weldon, engineering manager and dam safety engineer for Denver Water and Richard L. Wiltshire, civil/geotechnical engineer for the US Bureau of Reclamation and member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, will be at 6:30 p.m. at Denver Central Library, 10 West 14th Parkway. For information, visit www.denverwater.org.
Nucleic acid talk|”Developments in Nucleic Acid Technology,” a free talk, will be at 6 p.m. in room M3130 of the main campus building at Arapahoe Community College, 5900 S. Santa Fe Drive. For information, call 303-797-5851.
Prospect Fair and Technofest|The Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, and the Denver Section of the Society of Petroleum Engineers have joined Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, Denver Geophysical Society and Dallas Association of Petroleum Landmen to present the seventh annual Denver Prospect Fair and Technofest 2005, at the Colorado Convention Center, 700 14th St. Cost is $25. For information, call 303-573-8621.
Moonlight hike|Barr Lake Nature Center, 13401 Picadilly Road, is offering a guided full moon hike at 6 p.m. For information, call 303-659-6005.
TUESDAY
Colorado Café Scientifique|”A Telescope the Size of Rhode Island: Colorado’s New Auger Observatory Will Study the Highest Energy Events in the Universe,” a free discussion led by John Harton of the department of physics at Colorado State University, will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Mercantile Room at the Wynkoop Brewery, 1638 18th St., Denver. For information, visit http://CafeSciColorado.org.
Egyptian Study Society program|”Women’s Clothing in Ancient Egypt,” a free lecture and slide presentation, will be at 7 p.m. in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Ricketson Auditorium, 2001 Colorado Blvd. For information, visit www.egyptstudy.org.
Open house/clean water exposition|The Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant, 2900 S. Platte River Drive, Englewood, is having an open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. which includes exhibits, a slide presentation, hands-on experiments, a film, and tours.
WEDNESDAY
Green Points certification workshop|Green Points is the city of Boulder’s mandatory residential green building program. A seminar for building professionals and homeowners seeking information about the benefits of building or remodeling “green,” will be from noon to 4:30 p.m. at East Boulder Senior Center, 5660 Sioux Drive. Cost is $35 for Boulder Green Building Guild members, $50 nonmembers. Lunch is provided. To register, e-mail Elizabeth Vasatka at vasatkae@ci.boulder.co.us.
“Objects of Attire” panel presentation|”Objects of Attire: Historical Purpose of Clothing and Adornments,” a free panel presentation with Deane Bowers, curator of entomology at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, Jim Dixon, curator of museum and field studies, Naomi Horii, writer, Reg Saner, writer and professor emeritus in English, and Gene Wheaton, doctorate student in anthropology, will be at 7 p.m. in Changing Gallery at the CU Museum in the Henderson Building on the CU Boulder campus. For information visit http://cumuseum.colorado.edu/ or call 303-492-6892.
Museum free day|Admission to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd., will be free from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for Colorado residents with proof of residency. Separate admission fees to Phipps IMAX Theater and Gates Planetarium remain in effect. A scavenger hunt begins on the bridge on Level 2 between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. For information, call 303-322-7009 or 800-925-2250 or visit www.dmns.org.
THURSDAY
Space talk|”Listening for Monsters in the Cosmic Sea: Black Holes and Einstein’s Astrophysical Legacy,” a free presentation by Shane L. Larson, a postdoctoral student in gravitational wave astrophysics in the Center for Gravitational Wave Physics at Pennsylvania State University, will be at 7:30 p.m. at Colorado College’s Packard Hall, at Cascade Avenue and Cache La Poudre Street. For information, call 719-389-6607.
“Dialogues in Anthropology” colloquium|”The W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite: The Historical Archaeology of an African American Homestead in Western Massachusetts,” a talk by Robert Paynter, University of Massachusetts, Amerherst Marsico Visiting Scholar, will be at 5 p.m. in Strum Hall 451 on the Denver University campus.
Astronomy talk|”China’s Mannes Space Program,” a talk, will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Cost is $6 adults, $5 students with valid I.D., $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5002 or visit www.colorado.edu/fiske.
FRIDAY
Space talk|Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society and author of “The Case for Mars,” will give a free presentation, “The New Space Age, Science, Fact or How We May Finally be on the Road to Space,” at 7 p.m. in Salon 4 room at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, 6363 E. Hampden Ave., Denver. For information, call Bill Nelson at 303-238-0182.
Astronomy talk|”Native American Star Knowledge,” a talk, will be at 7:30p.m. at the Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Cost is $6 adults, $5 students with valid I.D., $3.50 children and seniors. For information, call 303-492-5002 or visit www.colorado.edu/fiske.
SATURDAY
Geology hike|Volunteer naturalist Roger Dowell will lead a hike and discuss geology at 2 p.m. in Roxborough State Park, 4751 N. Roxborough Drive, Littleton. A $5 daily State Parks pass is required for all vehicles entering the park. For information, call 303-973-3959.
Guided birdwalk|Barr Lake Nature Center, 13401 Picadilly Road, is offering a guided birdwalk at 9 a.m. For information, call 303-659-6005.
To publicize upcoming events geared toward and open to the public, please mail complete details at least two weeks in advance to Scientifically Speaking, The Denver Post, City Desk, 1560 Broadway, Denver, CO 80202, or e-mail to Scispeak@denverpost.com.
