Problem Solving with Smithsonian Experts (Online Conference)

Phil Sadler of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory shows how to bring the cosmos down to size by using the processes of any scientific investigation: selecting a specific problem, collecting data, and building a model that both explains our observations and accurately predicts future findings.

Entomologist C. J. Geraci and colleague Michael Biondi explain the importance of this information and demonstrate a new way of precisely measuring biodiversity — a web-based application for mapping the distribution of beetles and canopy trees in two rainforest plots. They then show how to use basic spatial statistics to examine distribution patterns of species.

Conservation biologist Joe Kolowski leads us into the Peruvian Amazon, a rich, fertile, and essential part of our planet. He shows how the technique of "camera trapping" helps scientists to understand the creatures that move about the jungle—particularly mammals that may be endangered by oil exploration.

Learn about research on modern animal bones in a Kenyan game conservancy. The work is not only helping us to understand current biodiversity and predation pressure, it is also a key to understanding these conditions millions of years ago.

Curator Margaret A. Weitekamp presents space-themed toys from the collection of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in a discussion how these toys encouraged our imaginations and our fascination with the "space frontier."

Clothing is often used to show faith, to mark a rite of passage, or to indicate inclusion in a group. Drawing on her research into African American communities in seven cities, Diana N'Diaye asks: "How do we define and express our community through the clothing we wear?"

Recently, as a result of Smithsonian exhibitions of the collections, the Yup'ik people have been creating their own exhibitions on their nearly vanished traditional life. Bill Fitzhugh, director of the Smithsonian's Arctic Studies Center, discusses these events as a recovery of knowledge, which is helping to ensure that a culture and a language remain relevant and viable. He also demonstrates ways to look at Yup'ik artifacts to learn how their culture solved real-world problems in some unexpected ways.

Folkways' D. A. Sonneborn tells stories of the music makers he's met—including truck drivers in Ghana playing on hubcaps, air pumps, and their trucks' horns—in a session that considers the idea of ownership in its largest sense.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) opened its doors in Washington in 2004. The goal? Nothing less than to change how we see the lives of Native peoples. A NMAI curator leads a discussion on hard lessons and brilliant mistakes from the front lines of Washington's most controversial museum.

Astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger is at work examining planets, and any Avatar-like moons, for signs of life. She leads a discussion of the burgeoning field of planet hunting, which is bringing us ever closer to a new view of the starry skies—from a universe of distant fires to a universe of other lands.

We take you inside the real world of forensic investigations and lay out evidence in cases dating from the earliest English settlement in America to modern times. We'll also show how one case—a four-hundred-year-old murder mystery—has been adapted into an entertaining "webcomic" for classroom learning

Take a look at the ideas behind cutting-edge household items, from a glow-in-the-dark electrical cord to a camera for the blind. Discover how designers came up with these wild ideas and how you and your class might follow their lead.