Friday May 29th, 2026 at The Howland Cultural Center
This show will be out of this world!
This show is sold out, but if you’d like to be added to the waitlist, please email ! We always have some cancellations and a few tickets at the door.
Three fun-yet-informative visual presentations with music, prizes, refreshments and guaranteed good company.
Beacon Bicycle Coalition Co-Founder Yvonne Caruthers, a 35 year career cellist in the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, presents Physics, Fashion, and Feminism: How Bicycles Continue to Change the World. The simple 2-wheeled vehicle that most of us learn to ride as kids has become a global phenomenon since its invention in the early 1800’s. No longer considered to be “just for kids”, bicycles have challenged our conceptions of clothing as well as city planning, and have become powerful cultural symbols as well.
Yvonne Caruthers is co-founder of Beacon Bicycle Coalition where safe, practical, and enjoyable cycling is accessible to all kinds of riders. Before Yvonne moved to Beacon in 2021, she had a 35 year career as a cellist in the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) in Washington, DC. In addition to made-for-TV specials and foreign tours, in the early 90s the NSO began a series of state residencies. It was then that Ms. Caruthers realized a need for programs connecting music to the standard school curriculum.
Yvonne began studying the violin at 8 in her local public school, switched to the cello at 9 and never looked back. She has three adult children and three grandchildren.
This is her second time back with Nerd Nite and we couldn’t be more excited!
Next, Astrophysicist, Author & Folklorist Dr. Moiya McTier brings us Constellations: the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. Officially, the sky is divided into 88 zones called constellations, each with their own rich mythological histories and fascinating astronomical objects. But this astrophysicist/folklorist has to be honest: some constellations are undoubtedly awesome and some just objectively suck. This talk will reveal the best and worst constellations, scientifically and folklorically speaking.
Dr. Moiya McTier is an astrophysicist, folklorist, and author living in NYC. Since breaking barriers at both Harvard and Columbia, McTier has given hundreds of talks around the world, helped design museum exhibits, and consulted on multiple projects with Disney. These days, McTier advocates for artists’ rights with the Human Artistry Campaign and hosts a weekly astronomy podcast called Pale Blue Pod. Her next book, MOTHERS OF INVENTION, a history of creativity from the perspectives of the Greek Muses, comes out this August.
Finally, Dr. Clara Sousa-Silva, a quantum astrochemist and molecular astrophysicist takes us into the strange and unknown with How to Maybe Find Aliens. Over the last few decades, scientists have found thousands of planets beyond our own. Some of those planets might be habitable, and perhaps even inhabited already; but how can we tell? Clara Sousa-Silva looks for signs of life on other planets by detecting faint signals emitted by potential alien biospheres. In this presentation, Clara draws on her experience investigating strange molecules on strange planets to discuss how often she gets to say: “Could that be aliens?!”
Professor Clara Sousa-Silva is a quantum astrochemist and molecular astrophysicist. She investigates how molecules interact with light so that they can be detected on faraway worlds. Clara spends most of her time studying molecules that life can produce so that, one day, she can detect an alien biosphere. Her favorite molecular biosignature is phosphine: a terrifying gas associated with mostly unpleasant life. When she is not deciphering exoplanet atmospheres, Clara works hard to persuade the next generation of scientists to become an active part of the astronomical community.
Clara is currently an assistant professor at Bard College (US) and a Researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (Portugal). She holds a doctoral degree in quantum chemistry from the University College London, and a masters degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). Among her many achievements, Clara is the recipient of the prestigious 51 Pegasi b Fellowship from the Heising-Simons Foundation, which supports exceptional postdoctoral scientists who make unique contributions to the field of astronomy. Prior to her current position, Clara was at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian from 2020 – 2022, and at MIT from 2016 – 2020.
Clara’s work and commentary has been featured in the BBC, WIRED, and the New York Times, among many others, and is the focus of her TED talk.
This is her second time back with Nerd Nite, we previously heard her discuss Science and Religion with the movie Contact!
Friday May 29th at 7:30pm at The Howland Cultural Center in Beacon, NY.
Doors at 7pm. Be there and be square!
This show is sold out, but if you’d like to be added to the waitlist, please email ! We always have some cancellations and a few tickets at the door.