Simply Science from Science is My Specialty.com Hello World!  This is the first entry of my “Simply Science” blog on my new website, “Science is My Specialty.”   You will find a variety of things discussed on this site that come to me as I roam through life.  The main theme of my blogs is: science is everywhere.   Science touches our lives from the day we were born (an obstetrician studies science), to the day we die (a mortician must know science too)*.  Science touches our lives every day in between.  My blogs will mostly be about the connections to science in our daily lives. But I will sometimes talk about other issues in education that move me. I will begin with a definition of what a good time means to me.  What? I can hear you through cyberspace saying, “I thought this was about science.”  Well it is, but as my introduction to the world, I want to let you know that things science do not have to be stuffy, scary or out of your league.  I want you to make science part of your life….because science is an integral part of your life.  You may just not realize it.  I want to define a good time and show you how science can be the center of that good time. Science on Tap at National Mechanics on the second Monday of every month is my idea of a good time. It has all the ingredients I need for fun.

• Food—good food that doesn’t cost a lot, and enough choices to satisfy the many different tastes and diets people keep these days (veggie burgers, meat, salads with low fat dressing, high fat fries, you name the diet, they probably have something to satisfy you)
• Drinks—lots of choices, boutique beers, cocktails and wine, at prices that make you want to buy a few to keep the buzz on
• Casual atmosphere—polite, yet not pretentious.  Wood tables and benches bar stools and very cool clean bathrooms.
• Good friends with similar interests.  I meet up with former coworkers there and occasionally a new friend or relative of friends.
• Networking—-lots of other people interested in science so I can pass out my business card for Anita Brook Dupree Educational Consulting-“Science is My Specialty”
• End by 7:30—I can’t stay out too late, those days are long gone.  The restaurant opens at 5:00 (get there early because it always fills up).  The talk begins at 6:00 and ends around 7:00.  By 7:30 we have said goodbye and everyone in my party is safely home by 8:00!
• Close to my home—For me a plus because I can ride my bicycle and not have to worry about parking when I get home.
• Occasional jokes—the presenters always throw in a joke or two, and even admit publicly to their inner geek.  The self-deprecation turns humorous at times.
• And finally, the star of the show—A short talk on a science topic with visuals and a question and answer period at the end.  In Philadelphia five local science institutions rotate inviting various speakers to Science on Tap.  A serious but fun crowd gathers and all are engaging in their geekdom simultaneously.  It is a real pleasure.

scienceontapphilly@gmail.com National Mechanics 22 South 3^rd St. Philadelphia PA 19106 215-701-4883   PS: If you are reading this and not in the Philadelphia area, Google Science on Tap and you will find other cities and towns all over do this (Seattle, St. Louis, Leeds England –where it started).  Still can’t find a place, start your own.  Find a comfortable, casual restaurant bar, a bunch of interested interesting people, invite them to speak for ½ hour or so on science topics of their expertise and there you have it, Science on Tap.