The Octopus Challenge

Saturday, February 23, 2013


2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Beckman Auditorium
Located at 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA  91125

The Octopus Challenge

Series: Science Saturdays Series—Matinees for All Ages

The Octopus Challenge explores the abilities of octopi. After watching the movie, you will experience what it's like to be an octopus through a few activities, and we'll use that experience to see how octopi can inspire new technology.

This stunning high-definition movie will serve as the springboard for a lively discussion about the science behind the beauty and wonder of nature.

Matt Gethers and Stephanie Barnes, graduate students in Bioengineering at Caltech, will introduce the film and guide the post-screening discussion.

Recommended for ages 8 and up.

Tickets:  $5.00, unreserved seating.

Schubert Ensemble

Sunday, February 17, 2013

3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Beckman Auditorium

Located at 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA  91125

Schubert Ensemble

Series: Coleman Chamber Music Series

If there were such a thing as musical Super Heroes, the Schubert Ensemble would qualify. Acclaimed for 29 years as one of the world's leading proponents of music for piano and strings, the Ensemble regularly performs more than 50 concerts each year, thrilling audiences in more than 40 countries. Additionally, the London-based musicians have commissioned more than 80 works from many of the United Kingdom's leading composers and produced more than 30 critically acclaimed recordings. Their guiding spirit, Franz Schubert, would be proud.

Program:

Martinu - Piano Quartet No. 1, H. 287

Mozart - Piano Quartet in G minor, K. 478

Schumann - Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47

Admission: $45.00, $38.00, $31.00, and $24.00; youth high school age and under: $15.00. 

Under the Hood of the Earthquake Machine

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

8:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Beckman Auditorium

Located at 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA  91125

Nadia Lapusta: Under the Hood of the Earthquake Machine

Series: Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series

The San Andreas and similar faults separate two tectonic plates slowly moving in opposite directions. The faults can remain locked for many years, then catch up in sudden dramatic rupture events perceived as earthquakes. These occasional fast motions co-exist with much slower fault slips. This talk will describe how laboratory-derived friction laws and sophisticated numerical models can reproduce, in remarkable detail, all stages of past fault behavior - locked, slowly moving and earthquake-producing - bringing us closer to understanding earthquake physics. Such calibrated models will provide new ways to assess seismic hazards and forecast the seismic response to both natural and man-made perturbations.

Nadia Lapusta is a professor of mechanical engineering and geophysics at Caltech.

Event is free, no tickets or reservations required.

Atlantic Steps

Saturday, February 2, 2013

8:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Caltech's Beckman Auditorium located at 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA  91125

Atlantic Steps: Irish Music and Dance

Series: Performing Arts Series

Atlantic Steps is an international touring adaptation of the phenomenally successful Irish show Fuaim Cchonamara. It tells the inspiring epic story of Ireland's oldest dance form, portrayed through the music, song, dance and energy of the Connemara region. Centered around the joyful dance and unbridled enthusiasm of Brian Cunningham, the show brings sean-nos dance to its rightful place on the world stage.

Admission: $26.00, $21.00, and $16.00; youth high school age and under: $10.00; senior rush tickets may be purchased 30 minutes before the evening performance for $15.00 (subject to availability).