Ever Wonder? from the California Science Center California Science Center

On today’s episode we chat with Johanna Varner (@johannavarner), aka Pika Jo! An ecologist and Assistant Professor of Biology at Colorado Mesa University. 
Do you ever wonder what it is like to study the world’s cutest mammal?
Johanna has spent her career studying the ecology and conservation of alpine and arctic ecosystems, with a particular interest in a small, adorable animal: the Pika. For those of you familiar with the beloved Pokémon character Pikachu, you may be surprised to learn that pikas were the inspiration behind such a cute little fella! 
In this episode, Johanna shares with us her insights into the challenges that pikas face, including the impacts of climate change on their habitats, and how we can all play a role in preserving these important species. 
So, whether you are a fan of Pikachu, an aspiring scientist, or just someone who loves learning about the world around us, join us in our conversation with Jo.  
Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.
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This summer, we opened a brand-new exhibit called Life! Beginnings in our World of Life gallery. Life! Beginnings invites our guests to discover how humans and all living creatures reproduce, develop, and pass on their genes in order to bring new life into the world.
At its core, reproduction is all about passing on genes to the next generation. 
Do you ever wonder what genes are?
And how much do our genes actually tell us about who we are, where we come from, and what we might become in the future?
To try to answer some of these big questions, we spoke to Dr. Carla Easter at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. She served as a scientific advisor for Life! Beginnings, and has spent much of her career helping the public learn about genetics. We had a fascinating conversation about our complicated and often misunderstood relationship with our genes. 
Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.
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One of my all-time favorite movies is Inception. No joke, I recently rewatched it, and even though it came out over a decade ago, it still holds up. Between the character’s adventures in different dream levels and the manipulation of time in the story, I still find myself picking up on new details when I watch it again for the umpteenth time. It’s all great movie magic, but…
Ever wonder if there’s any truth to the movie Inception?
Karen Konkoly is a graduate student researcher in psychology at Northwestern University. We recently talked to her about her work studying lucid dreaming. And in this short episode, we ask Karen to help us sort out the sci-fi movie magic from real dream science.
Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.
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Our immune systems are always hard at work protecting us from viruses, bacteria, and other critters that can infect our bodies and make us sick.
But on an earlier episode, we learned that the human body is teeming with microscopic creatures. These microbes—collectively known as the human microbiome—are always with us, coexisting with us and even benefiting our health.
Ever wonder how your immune system knows good microbes from bad?
To find out, we talked to Dr. Joël Babdor (@JoelBabdor), an immunologist at UCSF who studies how the immune system and microbiome interact with each other. Joël walks us through how our immune system works, and how studying the microbiome in health can help us understand and treat a wide variety of diseases. Joël is also the co-founder of BlackInImmuno, an organization that aims to amplify, celebrate, and support Black people in immunology.
Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.
Follow us on Twitter (@casciencecenter), Instagram (@californiasciencecenter), and Facebook (@californiasciencecenter).
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We’re bringing you an unaired clip from our past interview with Kirstin Petersen, a roboticist and professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell University. In her lab, she builds cooperative teams of robots, called robot swarms, that are inspired by insects like ants, termites, and bees.
Now, when you think of a robot, what do you usually picture in your mind? Probably something with a rigid metal body or arm, right? Or maybe it has some wheels or legs to move around?
Do you ever wonder if robots can be… squishy?
In addition to robot swarms, Kirsten works on ‘soft’ robots. She told us all about why you might want to use a soft robot instead of a traditional rigid one, as well as some of her biological inspiration for building these kinds of robots. We even talked about a popcorn-inspired robot that could have future uses in construction.
Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.
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The Science Center has proudly displayed Space Shuttle Endeavour to our guests for the past ten years. Seeing the shuttle is amazing, but…


Do you ever wonder what it felt like to fly Endeavour?


We talked to Chris Ferguson (@Astro_Ferg), a former Navy pilot and NASA astronaut who flew on three space shuttle missions, including one as commander of Endeavour in 2008. He shares a vivid play-by-play of what he saw out the window while landing at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California. By the way, my favorite part of his story is how the shuttle’s double sonic boom was heard across LA County, surprising some sleepy residents on an early Sunday morning!


It’s always a treat to talk to astronauts, especially one who’s flown on Endeavour. So, join us as we hear from one of the most experienced and accomplished space shuttle commanders, Chris Ferguson.


Have a question you've been wondering about? Send an email or voice recording to everwonder@californiasciencecenter.org to tell us what you'd like to hear in future episodes.


Follow us on Twitter (@casciencecenter), Instagram (@californiasciencecenter), and Facebook (@californiasciencecenter).


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