The Lawrence Hall of Science Asset 37
The public science center of the University of California, Berkeley.
Wednesday–Sunday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
On a visit to The Lawrence, students collaborate to investigate new ideas as they become scientists and engineers for a day.
We partner with school districts to support science learning. We offer district-wide elementary, middle, and high school programs, either virtually or in-person.
We collaborate with a range of partners to innovate in science education. Together, we go further.
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Join us and our partner, Justice Outside, for a cosmic journey and a lecture by artist, astrophysicist, and professor of astronomy, Dr. Nia Imara. In We Love the Light, Imara will lead us on a dynamic, light-filled exploration of the universe. She will tell a story of how we live on a small, rocky planet orbiting an ordinary star, which is just one of the billions of stars flying around in the Milky Way—which, in turn, is one of the countless galaxies that have been speeding away from each other for the past 14 billion years. It is a story about how our relationship to the cosmos and to one another can be understood by standing at the unique vantage point at the crossroads of art and science. It is a story of how light is fundamental to life.
Light is the messenger of the universe. Long before the invention of telescopes, our ancestors could look up into the sky to contemplate the patterns and mysteries of the cosmos. From the phases of the moon to the changes in the seasons, from rainbows to eclipses of the sun, light makes it possible for each of us to explore and understand nature. Today, astronomers use cutting-edge technology to take pictures of the universe—planets, exploding stars, galaxies, and even black holes—pictures that allow us to see nature in entirely new ways. Images of stellar nurseries unveil the young light of newborn stars, while the cosmos’ most ancient light reveals that the universe is old, dynamic, and vast. Artists, meanwhile, use light and color as practical tools of communication and as metaphors for excavating the heart. Although we are small compared to the cosmos, every individual is precious, and art has the compelling power to evoke community and bring people together.
Dr. Nia Imara
Assistant Professor, Astronomy & Astrophysics Department, UC Santa Cruz
lhsweb@berkeley.edu
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