History of The Atlanta Science Tavern
We are not original. Surprise! The idea for The Atlanta Science Tavern comes from PBS and NOVA Science Now's Science Cafe movement. The Science Cafe movement is starting to catch on all across the United States. Learn all the details about what exactly a Science Cafe is at http://www.sciencecafes.org/index.html.
Or, to jump right to some example web sites for other Science Cafés in the United States, check these links out:
- Raleigh Science Cafe, sponsored by The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
- Science Pub, sponsored by The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
- Café Scientifique Gainesville, a Science Café in Gainesville, Florida
- more all over the world!
Who Attends an Atlanta Science Tavern Gathering?
There are two primary target audiences of people who attend Atlanta Science Tavern gatherings:
- Non-Scientists
- and Scientists!
It's that simple!
The Non-Scientist
You do not need to have had formal training in science to attend! We invite you to bring your curious mind and open ears. Feel free to bring along a loud mouth too, but just be sure to tell him or her to wait their turn. A taste for beer, coffee, or tea may help too, depending upon where we meet!
Most people who come to a Science Cafe meeting are casual followers of the science and technology news sections. Or, they may subscribe to magazines like Discover, New Scientist, or Scientific American. As a non-scientist, you just come to listen to a scientist introduce a topic for discussion and then you participate in that discussion as it naturally develops in a casual and fun way.
The Scientist
If you are a trained scientist, we invite you to attend as a presenter.You may be representing such diverse fields as biology, horticulture, environmental science, engineering, astronomy, chemistry, physics, computer and information sciences, and more. You'll introduce a topic of discussion and give a brief presentation or show a video that serves to kick start conversation during the meeting.
All you have to do is have a desire to share your knowledge and curiosity with others in a way that engages them and makes them feel comfortable asking questions. Ideally, the topic you introduce should be one that is easy for you to make fascinating to people and can connect with them on a very real, practical way. An example of this would be findings of neuroscience that would help people understand the biological basis for emotions and depression.
Sounds Interesting, But I Don't Know Much About Science and I'd Feel Stupid…
That's perfectly OK. One of the co-founders of the Atlanta Science Tavern, Josh, doesn't know much about it either! That's exactly why he and his friend Carol, a biology teacher and science expert, decided to create this group.
We'll leave it to the collective wisdom of Wikipedia editors to define science in depth. But, simply put, the word "science" comes from the Latin word "scientia", which simply means "knowledge". So, if you like to know about things, then you may have a knack for or an interest in science.
We're looking forward to seeing you at our next gathering!