Exhibitionism
Posted: September 17, 2026 Filed under: Art, Exhibit Development, Museums, Science, Social Justice, Uncategorized, Writing Leave a commentI’m so pleased to be working on a series of science center exhibitions with an extra-special sauce, that I think just might change the industry forever…? I want to tell you all about it. Ooo but we’ve only soft launched. Ain’t that just the way?
Look at the image below. Can you guess what THREE exhibitions it represents…?
Flying to Mars with NASA
Posted: May 30, 2024 Filed under: Art, Museums, Science, Screenwriting, Social Justice, Writing | Tags: Film, NASA, scicomm, SciEd, Science, Screenwriting Leave a commentAt the end of 2022, I was finally able to see the gorgeous final product of a project that began in 2020: a full-dome planetarium show Mars: The Ultimate Voyage. As co-writer and advisor on the project, I was humbled to hear planetarium directors calling it perhaps the most comprehensive show about long-distance space flight yet. Ask me anything about the challenge of balancing complex science with a cutting-edge approach to inclusivity and equity, or about the all-around joy of working closely with NASA scientists to collect their stories. And catch Mars: The Ultimate Voyage at planetaria everywhere on planet Earth!
Reviews for Consider the Platypus
Posted: January 29, 2020 Filed under: Art, Books, Dolphins, Museums, Nonfiction, Research, Science, Storytelling, Writing 2 CommentsHonored and humbled by response to my first book, Consider the Platypus: Evolution through Biology’s Most Baffling Beasts, available now wherever books are sold:
- Wall Street Journal – “What to Give” nature books gift guide
- American Scientist – Science Book Gift Guide
- Ars Technica – Science and tech book review
- Queensland Reviewers Collective – book review
- Minnesota Book Awards – Finalist in General Nonfiction
If All Water Were Blood
Posted: January 5, 2019 Filed under: Art, Books, Fiction, Social Justice, Speculative Fiction, Writing 2 Comments[Edited] The thing happened, that happens, where the online literary magazine that housed “If All Water Were Blood” has turned to digital ash. So here it is for posterity (and probably the AI farm): photos of the piece on paper. For how long? The life of me, or this website, or all of the internet, whichever goes first. Thank you forever to Paper Darts magazine, may she rest in peace.
I Am the SciComm from Your Radio
Posted: January 1, 2016 Filed under: Art, Comedy, Dolphins, Interview, Radio, Science, Speaking, Writing Leave a commentIn Australia last month for the Interrobang Festival of Questions, I talked on the radio. It was a lot like talking on the radio here, only, as my dad would say, upside down.
Dolphin Brains, Greener Pastures, & David Bowie Chemistry
Posted: February 24, 2014 Filed under: Art, Dolphins, Fiction, Nonfiction, Performance, Radio, Science, Uncategorized, Writing 2 CommentsThe latest:
- Gosh but you people really love hearing about dolphins and dolphin brains. Thanks to you humans and your weird obsession, I’ve gotten to speak all over town (here, here, and here) about dolphins, dolphin brains, and humans’ weird obsession with dolphins and dolphin brains. Next stop: MPR’s “A Beautiful World”. Subject: Consciousness. You see where this is going.
- My short story, “Lawn”, was selected as the winner of Revolver and Thirty Two magazine’s ANTE-UP contest. I’m honored. Check it out here, and in the new paper issue of Thirty Two.
- New posts on chemistry, David Bowie, and the science of hands in my Science+Art column for the Walker Art Center’s MNartist’s blog. Because, you know, it is a beautiful world.
Science+Art: Dolphin+Tupac
The Latest: Science+Art & Doing Science About Science
Posted: October 22, 2013 Filed under: Art, Museums, Nonfiction, Research, Science, Writing | Tags: Science Museum, Walker Art Center Leave a commentWhether you like science or not, read on. What I’m up to lately has everything to do with getting people to fall in love with science by realizing they loved science all along. (Is that creepy? Happy Halloween!)
Science+Art Column for the Walker Art Center
It’s just what it sounds like. Click here to read about the science and art of dark matter, cuttlefish, convergent evolution, the human brain, and many more wonders of the known (and unknown) universe…
Research & Evaluation for the Science Museum of Minnesota
I’m proud to announce that I now work as a researcher and museum evaluator in the evaluation department of the Science Museum of Minnesota. What does that mean? I get to prototype, run, and assess educational programs, exhibits, and communication techniques on science education projects funded by places like the National Science Foundation, the National Institute for Health, and NASA. I basically do science about science. It’s just one of many dreams come true, friends. And yes, most of my dreams are science-related.
Mandford
