New Year, new you. That’s how the saying goes. But we aren’t going to say that. In fact, pretend we didn’t.
One thing was can promise you in 2017 is more of the same great Nerd Nite quality you’ve come to expect from Nerd Nite Edmonton. Join us for our first show of 2017!
Be there AND be square!
When: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 (show @ 8pm)
Where: The Needle Vinyl Tavern (10524 Jasper Avenue)
Tickets:
$20 in advance
$10 peanut gallery tickets
[Must be 18 years or older]
Our line-up of talks includes:
When a bird sings in the forest, does anybody hear?
Tara Narwani
A close listen to the clamour of nature—ever been woken up by crack-of-dawn bird chatter in the spring and summer?—reveals a lot. It can tell you who’s present (which species of birds and other animals), where they live, and how they may be affected by activities around them. Technology is changing the “when”, “where”, and “how” researchers listen to the singing (squawking, squealing, chirping) creatures in our environment. This talk will transport you into Alberta’s boreal forest and give you an intimate listen into how scientists at the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute and the University of Alberta monitor our province’s vocalizing species.
Tara Narwani is a scientist by training, but a science communicator at heart. After spending many months and years with a pipette in her hand, she traded it in for a keyboard and screen to write about science and medical research for Alberta Innovates. Science communication became her full-time gig when she joined the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute in 2012. Tara keeps hoping leading a science-themed flash mob is in her future.
Cosplay meets Couture
Nikki Ewing
Cosplay is truly the runway of the imagination. Cosplay Meets Couture explores the growing intersection where costumes meet high fashion. Faithful character reproductions, mash-ups, and interpretive designs are all an integral part of cosplayas we know it. Here you’ll see, in glorious living technicolor, intricate hand-made outfits from a wide variety of fandoms. Closer looks as well as discussion on props, ethical fashion, just what goes into the creation of a couture ensemble will all be discussed. Burning questions are not only permitted, they are encouraged! Indulge your imagination and explore what it means to cosplay!
Nikki started Dark Knits Boutique in 2006 to give life to her passion for all things creative and her belief that everyone should be able to have a spectacular handmade quality piece in their wardrobe. Each piece Nikki makes, from corset to latex to top hat, is custom, unique to both her vision and that of the client’s requests, and is of heirloom quality. Dark Knits Boutique is also founded on Nikki’s commitment to founding an inclusive community and showing beauty in all shapes and sizes. Dark Knits is where the macabre, the inclusive, the creative, and the well-tailored fuse together into wearable art.
From the motor cortex to muscles: How do humans move?
Dave Collins
Humans move when electrical signals travel from the brain, down the spinal cord and out to muscles. For this interactive presentation I will bring as much of my lab equipment on stage as possible to record from (and listen to) my muscles when they contract and stimulate my muscles and brain to produce movement. Through these demonstrations I will describe how muscle contractions are generated and how movement can be restored for people experiencing paralysis due to injury or disease of the nervous system. During the talk it is hoped that audience members will learn a bit about the neural control of movement and get closer to their inner neuronerd.
Dr. Collins is a self-proclaimed and proud “neuronerd”. He is a Professor in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, a member of the Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute and the Director of the Sensorimotor Rehabilitation Neuroscience Group at the University of Alberta. Dr. Collins runs the Human Neurophysiology Laboratory at the University where he and his research team investigate how the nervous system controls movement and develop better ways to restore movement for people experiencing paralysis.