Illuminating Discovery Hub

The WhySci Variety Show
2025-10-21 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | Majestic Theatre, 115 King Street, Madison, WI, 53703, United States
The most science-inspired variety show in town! Produced by the Wisconsin Science Festival and the UW-Madison Division of the Arts.

Get ready to rock your curiosity at the Why Sci Variety Show—a high-energy mashup of science talks, artful performances, and live music! This year’s theme is Rock and Roll, so expect brainy beats, geology jokes, and scientific showmanship that will have you thinking and tapping your toes.
Hosted by the always-entertaining Ben Rush and featuring tunes from our live house band: David Hecht & The Who Dat, this is edu-tainment at its finest. From ancient rocks to musical molecules, science and art collide in unexpected ways during this one-of-a-kind show.
Doors and bar open at 6:30pm – show starts at 7pm.
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Produced in partnership with the UW-Madison Division of the Arts and with support from The Anonymous Fund.

Threading the Story of Earth's Oldest Rocks
2025-10-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street, Orchard View Room, Madison, WI, 53715, United States
Ancient geology meets modern creativity! Scientists studying the Earth’s oldest rocks collab with a textile artist to bring them to life!

Join us for a very special Wisconsin Science Festival edition of Crossroads of Ideas, where ancient geology meets modern creativity. This engaging evening features scientists Tyler Blum, Annie Bauer, and Emily Mixon, who have been studying the Earth’s oldest rocks – Acasta Gneiss (that’s pronounced “nice”) – and collaborating with local textile artist, Leah Evans, to bring 4-billion-year-old stories to life.
In conversation with UW-Madison Geology Museum Associate Director, Brooke Norsted, learn how these researchers and artist have explored deep time, planetary processes, and creative interpretation. Be among the first to experience the unveiling of Leah’s final artwork – an awe-inspiring textile piece created for the Geology Museum. Learn how curiosity, conversation, and collaboration turned billion-year-old rocks into an artistic and scientific celebration of deep time and deeper connections.
This event will take place in the DeLuca Forum in the UW-Madison Discovery Building.
Registration requested

Michelle Thaller: Cosmic Treasures
2025-10-23 19:00 - 20:00 | Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street, Orchard View Room, Madison, WI, 53715, United States
Chasing Asteroids for Clues to the Origins of Life

Join Michelle Thaller, former NASA science communicator, for an evening exploring the origins of life. Thaller, in conversation with Eric Wilcots, Dean of the College of Letters & Sciences and Professor in the Dept of Astronomy, will talk about the OSIRIS-REx mission – an audacious project to return a sample from an asteroid. No problem, right? Just chase down a small rock 200 million miles away, traveling literally faster than a speeding bullet, vacuum up a sample of its surface, and shoot it back to Earth. The story turned out to be more difficult, dramatic, and rewarding than anyone expected. Join us to find out why we went to so much trouble to bring back an ancient sample of our solar system and what was waiting inside that absolutely blew our minds. This event will take place in the DeLuca Forum in the Discovery Building.
Registration requested

SoundWaves: Atomic Scale
2025-10-25 19:30 - 21:00 | Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Atomic Scale, Klezmer Scales

Gaze into the world of the unimaginably small with an evening exploring the atomic scale. What is quantum computing and how does it work? How do atoms in metals organize themselves into hierarchies? As part of Klez Fest Midwest, this special SoundWaves event will feature more live music than ever, with the duo of Krakauer & Tagg, featuring brilliant klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer and pianist Kathleen Tagg, performing and explaining what gives klezmer music its characteristic style and sound (it’s all in the scales!).

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Crossroads of Ideas: Living and Learning with Animals
2025-11-12 19:00 - 20:00 | DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building, 330 N. Orchard Street, Madison, United States
From the mellowest Labrador to the wiliest coyote, experts in animal behavior & wildlife management discuss human interactions with canines.

Join UW–Madison’s Dr. David Drake and Carroll University’s Dr. Mindy Waite for an engaging Crossroads of Ideas conversation exploring the dynamic relationship between humans and animals, both wild and domestic. From what we can teach animals to what they can teach us, how retrofitting animals into the human world has changed our relationships, and discovering new insights into behavior, adaptation, and the possibilities for living together in a changing world. Hosted by Director of the WID – Illuminating Discovery Hub.
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SoundWaves: Micro Scale
2025-11-14 19:30 - 21:00 | Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
This academic year, SoundWaves is exploring scales. In this second edition, we will be zooming in on the micro scale!

Our second SoundWaves event of the season explores the Micro Scale, looking at things that are very small in size. What is a microbiome? What’s going on in the Earth’s water? What is microeconomics? What happens when you look at rhythm and pitch on a micro scale? Find out at SoundWaves.

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Crossroads of Ideas: Quantum Frontiers
2025-12-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street, Orchard View Room, Madison, WI, 53715, United States
Presented in celebration of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.

Quantum science might sound like it belongs in the lab or a science fiction novel, but its impact is already woven into our daily lives—from the technology in our phones to the future of computing and medicine. Join the Wisconsin Quantum Institute’s Aws Albarghouthi (Computer Science) and Matthew Otten (Physics) for a moderated discussion with Katerina Moloni, exploring the fascinating science of the quantum world and why understanding it matters for all of us. This Crossroads of Ideas conversation will pull back the curtain on quantum science, revealing its surprising role in shaping the present, and the future, we all share. Presented in celebration of 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.
Registration requested

Crossroads of Ideas: How Failure Fuels Innovation
2026-01-28 19:00 - 20:00 | Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street, Orchard View Room, Madison, WI, 53715, United States
Part I in our Productive Failure Mini-Series

Crossroads of Ideas: The Upside of AI Failure
2026-02-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street, Orchard View Room, Madison, WI, 53715, United States
What failure in AI can teach us, and how it can inspire innovation, critical thinking, and resilience.

Failure is part of progress, especially in the fast-moving field of artificial intelligence. This Crossroads of Ideas event, part of our three-part mini-series on “productive failure,” brings together David Fields (UW-Madison Department of East Asian Studies) and Rob Nowak (UW-Madison Computer, Data & Information Sciences) to explore what happens when AI technology falls short. From real-world research that didn’t go as planned to the broader implications for society, this conversation highlights how failures can deepen our understanding, shape future innovation, and help us navigate technology’s role in our lives. Together, they’ll discuss what failure in AI can teach us, and how it can inspire innovation, critical thinking, and resilience.

SoundWaves: Macro Scale
2026-02-27 19:30 - 21:00 | Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
This academic year, SoundWaves is exploring scales. In this second edition, we will be zooming out to the macro scale!

Crossroads of Ideas: When Antibiotics Fail
2026-03-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Discovery Building, 330 North Orchard Street, Orchard View Room, Madison, WI, 53715, United States
How do we manage when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines? What are our options?

SoundWaves: Astronomical Scale
2026-04-24 19:30 - 21:00 | Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
This academic year, SoundWaves is exploring scales. In this final edition, we will be zooming WAY out to the Astronomical scale!
