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Virtual Author Talk

Matthew Shindell - "For the Love of Mars"

2024-06-03 14:00:00 2024-06-03 15:00:00 America/New_York Virtual Author Talk Join us online. Streamed live. Westlake Porter Public Library -

Monday, June 03
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Add to Calendar 2024-06-03 14:00:00 2024-06-03 15:00:00 America/New_York Virtual Author Talk Join us online. Streamed live. Westlake Porter Public Library -

Join us online. Streamed live.

Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Due to its vivid color and visibility, geologic kinship with Earth, and potential as our best hope for settlement, Mars embodies everything that inspires us about space and exploration. For the Love of Mars surveys the red planet's place in the human imagination, beginning with ancient astrologers and skywatchers and ending in our present moment of exploration and virtual engagement.

You’re invited to come learn alongside Matt Shindell, National Air and Space Museum curator, as he introduces viewers to historical figures across eras and around the world who have made sense of this mysterious planet. Shindell will highlight historical figures such as: 

  • Mayan astrologer priests who incorporated Mars into seasonal calendars and religious ceremonies; 
  • Babylonian astrologers who discerned bad omens; 
  • Figures of the Scientific Revolution who struggled to comprehend it as a world; 
  • Victorian astronomers who sought signs of intelligent life; and
  • 20th- and 21st-century scientists who have established a technological presence on its surface.

Along the way, we will encounter writers and artists from each period who take readers and viewers on imagined journeys to Mars.  By focusing on the diverse human stories behind the telescopes and behind the robots we know and love, Shindell will show how Mars exploration has evolved in ways that have also expanded knowledge about other facets of the universe. Register now for this captivating voyage through time!

About the Author: Matthew Shindell, Ph.D., is a historian of science with a background in science studies. He is Curator of Earth and Planetary Science at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. He is responsible for the Museum’s collection of spacecraft, instruments, and other artifacts related to the exploration and study of our Earth and solar system. He co-hosts the Museum’s podcast, AirSpace. He curated the Museum’s permanent exhibition, Exploring the Planets, and is leading a curatorial team developing the exhibition Futures in Space. Shindell is the author of For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet (2023) and The Life and Science of Harold C. Urey (2019), coauthor of Spaceships (2023), Our Future in Space (2023), and Discerning Experts (2019), and co-editor of Smithsonian American Women (2019).  




Brought to you in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium. Visit our site to see all events, register and explore recordings of past events.

AGE GROUP: | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Books and Authors |

TAGS: | LSC |

Westlake Porter Public Library

Phone: (440) 871-2600
Fax: (440) 871-6969

Hours
Mon, May 13 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Tue, May 14 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Wed, May 15 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Thu, May 16 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Fri, May 17 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, May 18 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sun, May 19 1:00PM to 5:00PM
Mon, May 13 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Tue, May 14 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Wed, May 15 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Thu, May 16 9:00AM to 9:00PM
Fri, May 17 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, May 18 9:00AM to 6:00PM
Sun, May 19 1:00PM to 5:00PM

About the branch

Westlake Porter Public Library is an independent public library serving the residents of the city of Westlake, western Cuyahoga County and eastern Lorain County. The library is located at 27333 Center Ridge Road in Westlake, Ohio. Anyone who lives, works, owns property, or goes to school in Ohio can register for a free library card.

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Registration opens Monday, June 10 2024 at 9:00am

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