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Science + Cinema

The Science + Cinema initiative serves to highlight the intersection between film and science as a device for wide dissemination of scientific knowledge and to promote collaboration between film makers and scientists. Movies have helped change the way people view social issues, inspired people in their choice of a profession, helped us understand our rapidly changing world and sparked political reform. We think it’s time to move science and technology into the mainstream of our culture, to the point where we care about scientific breakthroughs almost as much as the outcome of a football game. Movies can help make that happen.

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Science in the Parks

This initiative grew out of an impetus here at C2ST to reach communities that were underrepresented in our audiences. We wanted spaces that were established in Chicago neighborhoods where we were not able to reach previously. This is a concerted effort between C2ST and the Chicago Park District to bring free, family-friendly programming to Chicago’s communities and make science more accessible to everyone. Learn with us at the parks!

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Science in Film: Lessons from the Movie Armageddon

The film Armageddon is fiction; it suggests that humanity was in mortal danger until heroic actions saved us. Did you know that there are people who observe and secure improved orbits for near-Earth asteroids EVERY DAY? Their efforts have eliminated the chances of an extinction-level asteroid impact with Earth over the next 100 years or so.  Did the film spur action that helped achieve this incredible decrease in risk?  Was this due to increased public consciousness of the risk? Continue reading “Science in Film: Lessons from the Movie Armageddon”

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You Can’t Cheat Sleep

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By Robert Kriss

Dr. Phyllis Zee, Chief of the Sleep Medicine at Northwestern Hospital, warned the audience at Horner Park on Wednesday, August 15, that we cheat sleep at our peril. Dr. Zee’s excellent presentation was the first instance of C2ST’s collaboration with the Chicago Park District in the “Science in the Parks” series. Watch the video here.

Dr. Zee explained that three scientists recently shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in the early 1980’s identifying the genes and protein molecules that drive our twenty-four-hour biological clocks, often referred to as our “circadian rhythm.” Every cell in our bodies has the clock mechanism, and all these clocks are coordinated by the master clock in our brains. The mechanism interacts with light and dark. It keeps us awake and productive (usually) during the day and early evening, and puts us to sleep at night to rejuvenate our systems for another day.

Continue reading “You Can’t Cheat Sleep”