The WhatcomTalk Events Calendar shares things to do around Whatcom County including Bellingham, Ferndale, Lynden, Blaine and beyond. Find fun activities and adventures throughout the region on our comprehensive events calendar. Have an event that isn’t listed? Click the green “Post your Event” button and our editors will review and approve within two business days.
Explore science and art through hands-on learning in specialized labs and classrooms on Western’s campus. Taught by WWU faculty and local highly regarded educators, all courses are designed to engage students through interactive activities that foster success in a fun, inquiry-based learning environment. Participants will create new friendships with local and international students as they explore both in the classroom and on field trips.
Explore science and art through hands-on learning in specialized labs and classrooms on Western’s campus. Taught by WWU faculty and local highly regarded educators, all courses are designed to engage students through interactive activities that foster success in a fun, inquiry-based learning environment. Participants will create new friendships with local and international students as they explore both in the classroom and on field trips.
Whatcom Community College is kicking off STEM Month with a special Chuckanut Radio Hour, presented by Village Books. This month’s radio hour will feature Nathalia Holt, author of “Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars.” WCC’s STEM Division Chair Heidi Ypma will interview Nathalia. Join us before the show for interesting and informational booths about STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) at Whatcom, including 3D printing, the 50th element celebrating WCC’s 50 years, our excellence in cyber security, engineering scholarship opportunities and more.
Please join us! Doors open at 5:30 p.m.; seating for the show begins at 6:30 p.m. This event is free to WCC students, faculty and staff; just bring your ID card! Tickets are $5 for the public.
Special thanks to the Chrysalis Inn & Spa for author accommodations.
To celebrate STEM month and our 50th anniversary, Whatcom Community College is partnering with the Pickford Film Center to present a free screening of TED Talks on PBS: Science and Wonder on Tuesday, Oct. 17. The event is part of Pickford Film Center’s Doctober.The film starts at 6:30 p.m.
Free tickets are available at The Pickford box office.
Come learn about the geologic hazards of your neighborhood and how you can protect your family and property!
-Lectures from geologic experts on regional hazards and how to reduce risks
-Interact with computer mapping stations to explore geologic hazards in your neigborhood
-open to public with no-fee registration
Come learn about the geologic hazards of your neighborhood and how you can protect your family and property!
-Lectures from geologic experts on regional hazards and how to reduce risks
-Interact with computer mapping stations to explore geologic hazards in your neigborhood
-open to public with no-fee registration
As informal educators, we have the ability to reach students in profound and unique ways. We have the power to transform the way they think, broaden their perspective and introduce them to a world of learning outside the classroom. This responsibility can be daunting, and how to align our approach with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) introduces entirely new challenges for all of us.
Join us at “Beyond the Classroom” a symposium designed to connect informal education institutions with local teachers and educators, with the goal of learning how to create educational programming that is effective and serves the teachers and students in our communities to the fullest.
This year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Deborah Hanuscin, will be presenting: “The Next Generation Science Standards Outside the Classroom.” Dr. Hanuscin is a former elementary teacher and museum educator, and is currently on the faculty of Western Washington University.
Following her talk, Dr. Hanuscin will join our panel to discuss the ins and outs of pulling together a field trip from a teacher’s perspective. We will be discussing funding challenges, curriculum incorporation and what teachers need and desire for their students for a truly great field trip experience.
This symposium will be held on June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention. This is a free event, but please RSVP to Abby at abby@sparkmuseum.org or call 360-738-3886. Refreshments will be served.
We hope to see everyone there!
How did life begin? What is time? What is consciousness? Join Pickford Film Center for a viewing of “The Most Unknown,” an experimental documentary addressing some of humanities oldest questions. Nine scientists, from across fields and the globe, push towards interdisciplinary understanding with an interesting approach that not only addresses difficult questions, but that redefines the way scientific knowledge is shared with the world. Challenge your perspectives and explore the world with these scientists during this one-of-a-kind movie experience.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Make your own rock candy! Learn how crystals are formed and have fun making a delicious treat. Stop by the library throughout the week to watch your rock candy form and take yours home on September 26! Join us the third Wednesday of each month for some fun and exciting S.T.E.A.M.-related programs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math). All materials provided. For grades 4-7.
Looking for something to do with your kids on early release days?
Drop your fourth grader off at SPARK on April 11th and 18th for a Mad Science Workshop on Electrical Inventions!
This two-day workshop is only $20 for both sessions!
To Register call Abby at 360-738-3886 or e-mail her at abby@sparkmuseum.org.
Academics—7-8:30 p.m. Science Resource Center
Swim Session—8:30-10 p.m. Wade King Recreation Center
$30 to register
Kindergarten to fifth-grade students will experience hands-on science experiments and activities. Participants will be learning about marine life in our very own Bellingham Bay before finishing the night with a swim.
One hundred years of industrial activity on Bellingham Bay left a legacy of contaminated sites. Hear from the Department of Ecology, the City of Bellingham, Port of Bellingham and RE Sources’ staff scientists about about how Bellingham’s treasured waterfront is being cleaned up and made into something that works for people, businesses and important wildlife like salmon — plus why *you* are a key part of the process.
Now is as good a time as ever to get involved in the process of remaking these places to benefit our whole community. These sites, known as Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA) sites, are in various stages of being cleaned up, so they can once again be accessible to the community (and important aquatic life like young salmon). We’ll talk about:
–Where different sites are at in their cleanup process
–What the waterfront may look like in the future in terms of public spaces, businesses and residential areas
–How habitat restoration plays a role
–How members of the public like you can have your voice heard in the process!
There will also be a Q&A. Registration required. More info at re-sources.org/events.
At our annual Cherry Point Science Forum, we invite local researchers to talk about amazing science happening at Cherry Point in our backyard and the Salish Sea at large.
This year’s forum will include speakers presenting on marine mammals and the implications of the summer heat wave along with longer term patterns of environmental and ecological change in our coastal marine ecosystems.
Located in Whatcom County, the Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve is one of eight Aquatic Reserves in the state. Established by DNR on state-owned aquatic lands in Puget Sound, Aquatic Reserves include important biodiversity and aquatic habitat critical to Salish Sea health.
Cherry Point Forum speakers are:
-Dr. Christopher Harley, Professor at the University of British Columbia, Department of Zoology.
“Death in the afternoon: climate change, heatwaves, and seashore life in the Salish Sea”
-Casey McLean, Executive Director and Veterinary Nurse at SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research (SR3).
“New Hospital; New Hope for Marine Wildlife”
The Cherry Point Science Forum is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to receive a Zoom link at https://us02web.zoom.us/…/reg…/WN_7f7K1CggT4urd1DL6KWPOg
For more information, contact Eleanor Hines at eleanorh@re-sources.org.
At this beach cleanup, we’ll gather trash like usual — but then, we will sort it together to help scientists get a better understanding of what types of garbage pose the biggest threats to waterways!
The Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol (ETAP) was established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a standard debris cleaning protocol to help determine waste management strategies. This survey can be done by community scientists. The methods include setting up a site boundary and dividing participants into two teams (cleanup team and sorting team). The cleanup team collects all the trash inside the determined area. The sorting team then organizes the litter into categories and collects data. ETAP assesses the degradation level and material type of the items and determines each category’s volume and weight.
When: Sunday, October 23rd from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM *could run later, until all trash is sorted
Where: Hilton Ave Beach. Meet at All American Marine by the ASB Pond Trail
Hear from local scientists about their work relevant to the beloved Cherry Point Aquatic Reserve, and how we can better protect this ecologically, culturally and economically vital place. Topics will include oil spills, microplastics, and eelgrass and kelp restoration.
Presentation information:
—Microplastics: Novel Technology Enables Community Science Microplastics Monitoring on Sandy Shorelines of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada Iselle Flores Ruiz (she/her), Laboratory Manager/Analytical Scientist, Ocean Diagnostics (Victoria, BC). How can technology help community scientists monitor microplastic pollution in their local sandy beaches? Join Iselle to learn about new tools that community partners can use to collect microplastic data for their area.
—A tool to determine the long-term impacts of oil spills on the marine ecosystem in the Salish Sea: Raisha Lovindeer, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Mesoscale Ocean and Atmospheric Dynamics Research Group, Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of British Columbia. Raisha Lovindeer is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia. She holds a PhD in Earth System Science from the University of California, Irvine, and an MSc. in Marine Science from Stony Brook University. She has been working on human impacts to coastal waters for the last 15 years, including oil spill management and mitigation in government and industry in the Caribbean. Currently, she is in charge of transitioning the knowledge and expertise of the Salish Sea Atlantis model from development to operation.
—Kelp Restoration and How You Can Get Involved: Jessi Florendo, Puget Sound Restoration Fund. A discussion about local kelp restoration and what community members can do to support kelp health, which provides habitat, sequesters carbon and protects shorelines.
—Stressed-out seagrass: How disease and warming threaten a critical ecosystem: Lillian Aoki, PhD, Research Scientist, Data Science Initiative, University of Oregon. Eelgrass meadows provide essential coastal habitat, in the Salish Sea and around the world. Dr. Aoki will discuss how warming oceans affect this important habitat, and how outbreaks of disease in seagrass may be a warning sign of meadow decline.
Solo Creature Double Feature: A Two Show Night Of Bizarre Comedy Theatre at The Bellingham Circus Guild
ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Two queer touring artists team up to present thier solo shows on the same night! Come enjoy a night of entertainment like no other – a twisting meandering theatrical journey that spans the anatmical, the apocalyptic, and the whimsical. One ticket. Two shows. Catch them while you can!
1st Show:
ANATOMICA – A Comedy About Meat, Bones, & The Skin You’re In
(Amica Hunter, Portland, OR)
International Comedian & Weird-Lil’-Gremlin, Amica Hunter (of A Little Bit Off), GETS UNDER YOUR SKIN and CRUSHES YOUR FUNNY BONE in this hilarious, captivating, and sometimes-unsettling-comedy about skeletons, and the horrors of living in a body. ANATOMICA is an intimate, unpredictable exploration of pain, zoology, & collective imagination. Every animal has a skeleton – But which biological structural system is the BEST? With candidness and a comfortably casual tone, Amica reviews the three skeletal systems found in earthly organisms and discusses the limitations of each one. What would it be like to inhabit a body completely alien from our classic human form? A gloriously deranged Ted-Talk by a wanna-be-scientist clown school graduate.
Part stand-up, part storytelling, and part clown, ANATOMICA is an investigation of the inadequacies of different animal body models, and a celebration of the absurdity of being trapped in a body that is limited by pain, fatigue, and ultimately decay. But, you know, make it fun!
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“Amica Hunter’s stand-up set disguised as a serious science lesson is like the mutant love child of Laurie Anderson and David Attenborough”
-The Edmonton Journal
2nd Show:
RAT MAN HAPPY PLACE
(Bruce Ryan Costella, Orlando, FL)
A guided comedy tour through the happiest place on Earth, using only the power of garbage and imagination. Equal parts interactive storytelling, theme park satire and children’s theater for weird adults, RAT MAN HAPPY PLACE is a ride that’s as wild as it is fun. Written and performed by life long “Florida Man” and award-winning solo theatermaker Bruce Ryan Costella.
PRAISE FOR RAT MAN HAPPY PLACE:
“Rat Man Happy Place is one of the most bizarre yet delightful trips
down memory lane I’ve ever taken.” -Creative Loafing
“a perfect production” -Jenny Revue
“weird and wonderful […] I adored Rat Man Happy Place!” -Orlando Decoded
“FOUR STARS — one of the most imaginative shows at the festival” -Edmonton Journal
WINNER Copyright Infringement Award, Tampa Fringe 2023
WINNER Patron’s Pick / Holdover Performance, Tampa Fringe 2023
OFFICIAL SHOW SELECTION for Orlando Fringe FestN4 2024
Doors at 6:30pm, Show at 7pm
There will be one intermission between the two productions.
Both Shows are rated PG-13 and are about an hour long.
