Join SPARK Museum’s Book Club to discuss some of the most fascinating inquiries into the world and its mysteries as we experience them. We believe that at the heart of science is inspiration and curiosity and reading is one of the most enriching and enlightening ways to engage with new ideas, reacquaint ourselves with the past, and inspire us to move into the future as change-makers.
Our first discussion will be on “The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another.” Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions – clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips – and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa.
Participation is Free for this virtual event but registration is Required. Register here!