For Immediate Release, May 4, 2015 2015 WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL TO COMPRISE MORE THAN 50 EVENTS OVER FIVE DAYS IN INDOOR AND OUTDOOR LOCATIONS ACROSS NEW YORK CITY, MAY 27–31 Nation’s Foremost Science Festival Will Bring the Drama of Scientific Discovery to Everyone, with a Wide Range of Original Programs Including: • Celebrations of the 100th Anniversary of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, Including a New Original Work, Light Falls, Featuring Festival Co-Founder Brian Greene, and Created with Composer Jeff Beal (“House of Cards”) and the 2015 Tony-Nominated Team from 59 Productions (An American in Paris); and a Discussion of Relativity Since Einstein, Moderated by Greene and Featuring an All-Star Lineup of Panelists • Opportunities to Hear and Engage with Numerous World-Renowned Scientists, Including NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan, Paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, Nobel-Winning Theoretical Physicist Steven Weinberg, and Physicist and String Theorist Edward Witten, Who Will Deliver the Festival’s Signature “On the Shoulders of Giants” Lecture • Immersive Activities Such as Stargazing (with Music) in Brooklyn Bridge Park, a Catch-and- Release Fish Count in the Waters Surrounding NYC, a Massive Sculptural Installation from NASA Exploring Satellites, Scientific Sails Through New York Harbor, and a Science Street Fair in Washington Square Park • Science and Story: Nature’s Dramas, Featuring Award-Winning Authors Diane Ackerman (The Human Age), Dan Fagin (Toms River), David Quammen (The Chimp and the River), Rebecca Skloot (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks), and Neal Stephenson (Seveneves) • Alan Alda’s Flame Challenge, on the Question “What Is Sleep?” • Provocative Talks and Demonstrations of New Scientific Developments in Cognitive Enhancement, Quantum Mechanics and Other Areas, Featuring the Topics’ Foremost Thinkers • A Program on the Coolest Jobs in Science, Hosted by Science Bob (“Jimmy Kimmel Live”) • Astronauts Including Nicole Stott and Michael López-Alegría • Botany at the Bar, a Workshop with the Botanists Behind Shoots & Roots Bitters and Estela Ticket Pre-Sale Begins Today; Tickets Available to the Broader Public May 7; Many Events Are Free The World Science Festival is pleased to announce programming for its 2015 edition, which will engage audiences of all ages in the drama of scientific discovery over the course of five days (May 27 – 31) and through more than 50 events presented in performing arts centers, museums, parks, plazas, rivers, lecture halls, laboratories, and other locations spanning—and outside of—New York City’s five boroughs. The Festival will bring the City into direct contact with many of the world’s leading scientists, thinkers, and artists through original programs that are by turns intellectually stimulating, entertaining and fun. Ticket pre-sale, for registered users of www.worldsciencefestival.com, begins today at noon EST. Tickets will be available to the broader public on May 7. When the World Science Festival first launched in 2008, it represented a significant leap of faith for its founders, the highly regarded physicist and string theorist Brian Greene and four-time Emmy-winning journalist Tracy Day. New York City, a place teeming with things to do and unique opportunities for enrichment, had no festival introducing the general public to the great minds and wonders of science. The World Science Festival is now an anticipated annual attraction that consistently draws capacity crowds to events including performances, outdoor installations, interactive demonstrations, talks, debates, and much more. Brian Greene, Co-Founder of the World Science Festival and Chairman of the Science Festival Foundation, said, “When people realize that there’s so much more to science than what’s in the textbooks, science comes alive. That’s a life- changing experience. And that’s what the World Science Festival is all about.” Tracy Day, Co-Founder and CEO of the World Science Festival remarked, “By recasting science with art, music and story, we’re shifting science toward the center of culture. We’re touching all those people who love the arts but run the other way, and fast, when it comes to science.” 2015 WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS Many events will be streamed live at http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/livestreams Light Falls: Space, Time and an Obsession of Einstein May 27 at 8pm Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College (524 W 59th St.) $55 ($35 for students) The World Science Festival will present a preview performance of a new evening-length multimedia work celebrating the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s discovery of the General Theory of Relativity. In Light Falls, physicist and Festival co-founder Brian Greene and an ensemble cast guide a broad audience to experience the breakthrough moments, the near misses, the agonizing frustrations and the final emergence into the light, as a single intrepid mind took on the grandest mystery of the cosmos—and won. Weaving together live action with state-of-the-art animation and projection methods, the work provides an edge-of-your-seat retelling of the dramatic journey that resulted in one of the deepest scientific insights of all time. Designed by 59 Productions (An American in Paris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the David Bowie Is series, Philip Glass’ The Perfect American), with original music by Jeff Beal (“House of Cards”). The NASA Orbit Pavilion May 27–29, 10am–5 pm; May 30, noon–4pm; May 31 10am–6pm Gould Plaza, NYU (40 W. 4th St.) FREE This massive interactive sculpture installation, designed by NASA and StudioKCA and premiering at the World Science Festival, will allow audiences to learn about Earth Science satellites, which monitor our planet’s ever-changing pulse from their unique vantage points in orbit. Listen to the sounds of the satellites in real time, view our planet through the 3-D program Eyes on the Earth and holograms of rovers, and conduct hands-on activities with NASA scientists. Night Lights, Big City: Stargazing May 30 at 7-11pm Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1 (Old Fulton and Furman St., Brooklyn) FREE Bring a telescope (or borrow one from the Festival) for a night of stargazing and live music to celebrate the dance of the planets. Participants will meet astronomers and astronauts, space out to cosmic beats, and look to the stars and imagine the worlds beyond. The Great Fish Count May 30 at various times 13 locations throughout New York City FREE The World Science Festival invites New York to pull on waders, cast a net, and see the many types of marine life that can be found in the city’s waterways. Maybe one of the participants will be the first to find a seahorse or identify the 222nd species in the Hudson River. From the piers along the West Side Highway and the East River to the tips of Jamaica Bay, NYC’s rivers, bays, and estuaries are teeming with life. At 13 sites throughout and beyond the city, festivalgoers will join top ecologists and biologists to catch, count, identify, and release the animals in our waters. The Ultimate Science Street Fair May 31, 10am–6pm Washington Square Park (1 Washington Square East) FREE 2015 World Science Festival turns Washington Square Park into an outdoor lab celebrating the fascinating science that shapes our lives. It’s a full day of hands-on activities, interactive experiments, installations, and demonstrations. Meet scientists and astronauts, and enjoy live performances. Run through our Mars rover obstacle course, and learn how scientists search for life on other planets. Suit up and train like an astronaut while suspended in the air. Be a robot—or drive one. Build and launch rockets. And wire up your brain to use its electric signals to fly a helicopter or tune into a friend's brain. It’s a day of science the family will never forget. Spark of Genius? Electrical Stimulation and the Brain May 27 at 8pm NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Pl.) $35 ($20 for students) How far would you go to improve your perfectly healthy brain? Would you be willing to strap on headgear that delivers electrical shocks to targeted areas of your brain? You may soon have that option. It’s called transcranial direct current stimulation, and it’s already known to help some stroke and depression patients. Soldiers, gamers, students, and others looking for a cognitive edge are also using variations of the technique. Does it work? Can carefully directed electrical stimulation improve cognitive function? What are potential long-term effects? And how should it be regulated? This discussion on the topic will feature noted neuroscientist Michael Weisend; Nita A. Farahany, a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of biosciences and emerging technologies; psychologist Richard Haier; and neuropsychologist Roi Cohen Kadosh. Moderated by Richard Besser. Alan Alda’s Flame Challenge: What Is Sleep? May 31 at 1pm NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Pl.) $30 ($15 for students) This year’s iteration of Alan Alda’s popular Flame Challenge contest, which asks scientists to explain a complex question to an 11-year-old, will ask, “What is sleep exactly, and how does it affect our brains?” Audiences will watch the brain activity of a wired-up person sleeping offstage, and learn what happens during different phases, including REM sleep, when most vivid dreams occur. They’ll also see how sleeping rats’ brains are still able to respond to audio cues. Finally, they'll learn how sleep deprivation harms fruit flies’ tiny brains and big human brains—and why getting enough sleep is especially important to youngsters. Capping the program, Alan Alda will announce this year’s Flame Challenge winners. Participants include Mary Carskadon, Paul Shaw, Robert Stickgold, and Matthew Wilson. The Flame Challenge is presented in association with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University.