Board of Directors

Treasurer

Işil Arican
Yalansavar

Directors

Bill Patterson

Herb Masters
Bay Area Science, SciSchmooze Newsletter, ExplOratorium

Steven Newton
College of Marin

28 August: Skeptics in the Pub, Millbrae
5 September: Café Inquiry, Menlo Park
6 September: Skeptics in the Pub, Sunnyvale
12 September: SkepTalk, Berkeley
17 September: North Bay Skeptics, Santa Rosa

Skeptics in the Pub: Millbrae

brings lads & lassies from hill & dale
discussing pseudoscience & science
over good eats & ale.
Sponsored by Bay Area Skeptics and Center for Inquiry, SF.

WHEN: 7PM Wednesday 28 August (4th Wednesday)

WHERE: Fiddlers Green, 333 El Camino Real, Millbrae. A 10 minute stroll from the Millbrae BART & Caltrain station. [Map]

Café Inquiry: Menlo Park

WHAT: A great gathering of nerds! Sponsored by Center for Inquiry, SF and Bay Area Skeptics.

WHEN: 6PM Wednesday 5 September

WHERE: Café Barrone, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. A 2-minute walk from Menlo Park Caltrain. [Map]

Skeptics in the Pub: Sunnyvale

WHAT: Upholding the tradition of skeptics groups: good free-flowing discussions with food and ale.

WHEN: 7PM Friday 6 September

WHERE: Firehouse Grill, 111 S. Murphy Avenue, Sunnyvale [Map]

HOW: Hosted by the Silicon Valley Skeptics.

SkepTalk: Berkeley

Tucker Phelps

WHAT: Successful Skepticism: Creating Lasting Community
We often look at youth as a source of hope for the future: we want them to be less prejudiced, more equitable, able to tell right from wrong and better equipped to build a better world. As Skeptics, we often tell ourselves that critical thinking and analytical reasoning are key tools for building this better future. Yet surveys show that while the newest generation of young adults supports science and scientific literacy, they are increasingly disconnected from the broader skeptical inquiry. Surveys find that US Adults 18-33 are the most likely to identify Astrology as “sort of scientific,” the most likely to fall prey to pyramid schemes and twice as likely to express skepticism in a round-earth than their older peers.

One element which may explain this trend is that social pressure to engage the world rationally is lacking. Research has shown that on its own analytical reasoning is insufficient to prevent belief in unfounded ideas. The true test is whether or not the individual personally values critical thinking as a means of engaging with their world.

At Camp Quest, we provide children 8-17 the tools necessary to be critical thinkers and engaged members of their community. Between your traditional summer camp activities, campers are taught to engage with everyday science and given the freedom to put to practice what they learn among their peers. Campers are encouraged to ask questions and rewarded for inquiry. In this way they learn more than the bare facts of some scientific experiment, but how to value that process and bring it into their everyday worlds at home, school or elsewhere.

What they learn at their sleep-away summer camp they take home for the rest of the year and return again smarter and wiser. Come learn how a volunteer organization is teaching children to think critically, and building a supportive community while doing it.

WHO: Tucker Phelps
For 7 years Tucker Phelps has been serving as Leadership Track Director, board member, and curriculum developer for Camp Quest West, a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) educational non-profit who envisions a world in which children grow up exploring, thinking for themselves, connecting with their communities, and acting to make the most of life for themselves and others. In his spare time, he works as an analyst in the financial sector.

WHEN: 7:30PM Thursday 12 September

WHERE: La Peña Lounge, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley [Map]

HOW: This event is presented FREE by the Bay Area Skeptics.

WHY: Because we’re curious creatures.

North Bay Skeptics: Santa Rosa

What: Join the North Bay Skeptics celebrating the scientific method while discussing current topics and consuming non-homeopathic liquids.
When: 7PM Tuesday 17 September
Where: Ranch 7 Creative, Six West Ninth St., Santa Rosa

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