This weekend, Dana Foundation staff are heading to conferences on both coasts, and we hope to see you there!

In Washington, DC, we’ll be reporting and tweeting from the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting (#AAASmtg). While most events are members-only, at least four talks will be livestreamed, one a day Thursday through Sunday. Livestream should be here: https://meetings.aaas.org/attend/livestream/

And everyone is invited to Family Science Days (#FamSciDays), Saturday and Sunday: two days of kid-friendly science demonstrations, hands-on activities, stage presentations, meet-the-scientists, and more. It’s from 11 am to 4 pm at the Marriott Wardman Park, 5 minutes from the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro station. Registration is required, but you can do it ahead of time to make the process faster.

Another free public event is the “Improbable Research Show,” brought to you by the people responsible for the Ig Noble awards, which honor “research that makes people laugh, then think.” The show, which will feature dramatic readings of studies and patents that have won the award, including neuroscientist Abigail Baird describing an fMRI study of dead salmon, will start at 8 pm Saturday at the Omni Shoreham Hotel (in the Diplomat Ballroom), 2500 Calvert St NW.

As for the science, lectures and workshops we’re looking forward to attending (and live-tweeting) include neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky on the biology of human behavior, cell biologist Geraldine Hamilton on “organs-on-chips” technology, and a workshop on overcoming communication challenges by using technology.

In San Francisco, we’ll have a table at the Learning & the Brain conference, “Educating with Empathy: Cultivating Kindness, Compassion, Cooperation, And Good Behavior” (#latb52). Sadly, none of this conference is free to the public, but if you are attending, please stop by for free publications, puzzles, brain-shaped erasers, and our ever-popular squeeze brains (they go fast!). For people interested in Brain Awareness Week (#brainweek this year is March 11-17), you’re in luck, as the director of the campaign, Kathleen Roina, will be there to answer any questions you may have.

-Nicky Penttila