I found a free moment to learn more about the recent New York-based World Science Festival in which Disney participated this Spring.
*ABC News segment about the Festival. (5/30/2008, Video courtesy of WABC-TV.)
“World Science Festival Hits NYC – Thousands to flock to Manhattan this weekend in the name of science.”
(The segment includes a few of the contraptions showcased by Disney’s Imagineers.)
*Fellow DISer bradk attended one of “The Science of Disney Imagineering” sessions and included a detailed report on his
StitchKingdom web site.
The Science of Disney Imagineering, World Science Festival 2008
*Leanne (from Walt Disney World’s Public Relations Department) posted some photos of her trip to New York in her blog,
Leanne’s Life.
Wrapping Up New York City
On the Road Again
*
And, an Amusing Little Tidbit: Muppet Dr. Bunsen Honeydew participated in the press conference announcing the World Science Festival. He joined actor Alan Alda and World Science Festival Co-Founder (and Columbia University Professor of Physics and Mathematics) Dr. Brian Greene, among others. (‘Gotta love quirky gimmicks like that!)
L to R: Alan Alda, Muppet Bunsen Honeydew, and
World Science Festival Co-Founder Dr. Brian Greene
Photograph © Chris Lee
Excerpt from an article announcing the event:
(
The New York Times, “Coming to New York, a Science Event for the Masses,” by By Dennis Overbye, April 3, 2008.)
As the presence of the Muppet, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, on the program suggests, another large segment of the festival includes programs featuring magicians, robots, a “mathemagician” and the Disney Imagineers, who will explain how science and engineering are used to create illusions.
Popping up from behind the lectern, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, who described himself as being from Muppet Labs, extolled the family-oriented programs. The most important thing they could show, he said, was "that science can be as explosive and violent as any TV program."
Then he sprayed [Columbia physicist] Dr. Greene with a can of silly string.
Mr. Alda said that as a young student he had fallen for the idea that art and science could not be combined. He called the fields “two lovers who have long been separated and long to reunite.”
He added, "They’ll have a honeymoon at the World Science Festival."
******
For anyone who’s interested, I’ve cut-and-pasted the full article below. (Registration is required to access it on
The New York Times web site.)
Coming to New York, a Science Event for the Masses
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Published: April 3, 2008
Correction Appended
Vowing to make New York City the center of the scientific universe — as it is for commerce, art and expensive dining — a panel of university presidents, Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein of New York, the actor Alan Alda, the Columbia physicist Brian Greene and a Muppet announced plans on Wednesday for a World Science Festival to be held here at the end of May.
“The most exciting city in the world is going to be a little more exciting,” Mr. Alda said at a news conference at New York University.
From May 28 through June 1, festival organizers say, the canyons of the city will be alive with the sound of science. Biologists will discuss the perils and promises of humans’ knowing their own genetic codes. Quantum physicists will debate the nature of reality. Neuroscientists will ponder the mysteries of creativity. The Abyssinian Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir will serenade scientists to demonstrate the effects of music on the brain.
The festival, the first of what is expected to be an annual event, is the brainchild of Dr. Greene, and his wife, Tracy Day, a former Emmy Award-winning television producer. They said they were concerned that the public was missing out on the excitement and relevance of science.
“The general public by and large doesn’t connect with science in a significant way,” Dr. Greene said, adding, “Science is inspirational, it’s exciting, it can influence lives.”
This will not be “fun” science, he said, “this is the real thing.”
In an interview before the news conference, Dr. Greene said that if he had to sum up the goal in one sentence, it would be “to move science from the cultural fringes to the center.”
That sentiment struck a chord with a long list of organizations that have supplied various forms of support, both financial and logistical, including the Sloan Foundation, the James Simons Foundation, the Templeton Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Cullman Foundation, Columbia and New York Universities, Cooper Union, Rockefeller University and the City University of New York. The festival’s main corporate sponsor is Credit Suisse.
New York University will be the epicenter, and the host of a daylong street fair on May 31. But events will be held all over, from Columbia to the Guggenheim to the Metropolitan Museum to the Museum of Modern Art, and at smaller theaters and lecture halls. A couple of events, on the science of sports, will be at the Coles Sports Center at N.Y.U.
The festival will kick off with a closed one-day gathering at Columbia called the World Science Summit. Modeled after the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, it will consist of about 100 scientists and thinkers, including Nobel laureates and business, academic, cultural and government leaders talking about the impact of cutting-edge science on the world. Science is often included at Davos as a sort of entertainment, Dr. Greene said.
Ms. Day, who serves as the festival’s executive director, described the New York festival as an occasion on which “science can drive a conversation that usually leaves it behind.”
The rest of the program, she said, was divided into three parts. There are so-called signature events, like a discussion of parallel universes and one on the investigation of genius and creativity, aimed at general audiences. Several others are geared toward audiences who may not know that they are interested in science but are hungry for art and culture.
Among those offerings will be a discussion of memory and the brain as reflected in the film “The Bourne Identity,” about an amnesiac secret agent, and a discussion with its director, Doug Liman. At the Guggenheim the choreographer Karole Armitage will present a dance based on the concepts in Dr. Greene’s book on string theory, “The Elegant Universe.”
“Audiences can come in for the art and leave with the science,” Ms. Day said.
As the presence of the Muppet, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, on the program suggests, another large segment of the festival includes programs featuring magicians, robots, a “mathemagician” and the Disney Imagineers, who will explain how science and engineering are used to create illusions.
Popping up from behind the lectern, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, who described himself as being from Muppet Labs, extolled the family-oriented programs. The most important thing they could show, he said, was “that science can be as explosive and violent as any TV program.”
Then he sprayed Dr. Greene with a can of silly string.
Mr. Alda said that as a young student he had fallen for the idea that art and science could not be combined. He called the fields “two lovers who have long been separated and long to reunite.”
He added, “They’ll have a honeymoon at the World Science Festival.”
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: June 3, 2008
Because of an editing error, an article on Friday about the World Science Festival in New York misstated the relationship between the festival’s founders, Brian Greene and Tracy Day, in some copies. They are married, not simply companions. (The error also appeared in The Arts on April 3 in an article about the festival.)
I was even able to hear both Brett and Laura's phone calls in to the show. That was a treat! Great job!
) Please do let us know which suit your husband ends up wearing to your Happy Anniversary dinner. I did this once about 11 or 12 years ago and it was certainly a night to always remember!
) please lemme know! We could meet near the start line. Im interested, but I dont think I want to run solo! (My husband would be busy watching the kids (and cheering!), so hes sidelined. Plus, running really isnt his thing
One of my friends would love to participate, but shell be waaaay pregnant -- or in labor 
Then he turned to me with a straight face and said, Dont worry! God loves you anyway! Nice! 
, but if you're out their lurking -- Hope you have a great one as well! 
