Phil Plait thinks the universe is trying to kill us. “Too cold, too hot, no air, supernovae exploding, galaxies colliding, black holes gobbling matter — the universe is awful,” said Plait, the scientist-turned-writer known for
Nature recordist Lang Elliott captured an album of sounds in the Peruvian rainforest, and his work attire traditionally favors waders over slacks as he combs ponds for duck calls. But when he was diagnosed with
The other week, two monarch butterflies escaped. The Bird, Tree & Garden Club had taken over Lincoln Park to demonstrate the monarch life cycle, and Chautauquans filtered through one of the tents to immerse
Astronomer Phil Plait has an asteroid named after himself: 165347 Philplait. “It’s a kilometer or so across, and (like me) slightly eccentric; it orbits the Sun on an elliptical path between Mars and Jupiter,”
Halfway through July, Chautauqua Lake is speckled with occasional patches of green algae, and anyone who swims in the lake knows the familiar tickle of seaweed. Older Chautauquans will look at that and tell
On Wednesdays, Alan Nelson guarded the sugar. He was 8 years old and in the service of his aunt, the hostess at the Presbyterian House, who’d warned him about an eccentric, middle-aged woman named Martha
Bob Jeffrey said architecture at Chautauqua follows a circular path — what’s old is new again. Jeffrey, an architectural preservationist, will deliver a Bird, Tree & Garden Brown Bag lecture at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in
NOTE: This event is still happening, despite the rain. The listed rain location is the Girls' Club. Lori Stralow Harris thinks personal connection is the way to change someone’s mind. That’s why she, along with the
Neither of the two United Church of Christ’s denominational houses is actually green, but they’re both green certified. The UCC’s Reformed Church House at 10 Pratt, and The Mayflower, at 30 South Terrace, recently
Ryan Kiblin was tall, with long, sometimes-blonde-sometimes-red hair often hidden beneath a visor. She came to Chautauqua as a seasonal employee in 2002; by 2014, she was grounds, gardens and landscapes manager for the Institution.
Although she’s a veterinarian by training, Nina Schoch doesn’t work in an office, and she doesn’t see patients. Much of her time is spent outdoors, on a boat, capturing loons to gather blood samples. “It’s
Jack and Diane Voelker, now retired, grew up in suburban Buffalo where they said it wasn’t uncommon to visit the shore of Lake Erie and see bushes covered in butterflies. Now, Lake Erie is still
When Pari Tuthill moved into her first home, she planted a rhubarb plant. When she moved to another home outside Cleveland, she took the rhubarb with her. She’s still making strawberry rhubarb pie from that