Even if you've been to the Microsoft Museum before, you need to get back out there again.  It's been completely redesigned - there is a lot more to see and do; it's really a gorgeous space - and it's FREE!  Especially recommended for kids.

 

Here's a detailed review:
 
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/mar05/03-21VisitorCenter.asp

Free

Educate your family about the world and build international friendships. Consider becoming a host family for foreign exchange students arriving from BRAZIL, GERMANY, JAPAN and KOREA. Education Travel & Culture is looking for host families for one semester or full year programs.

I will be presenting a recital of classical art songs of the 19th and 20th centuries in German, French, Italian and English, linked around the theme of the moon.  I will be accompanied on the piano by Beth Kirchhoff, chorus director of the Seattle Opera.  As an experiment, we will project translations of the songs (as they do at the opera), and will welcome comments on how well this works.  The recital will last about an hour, plus an intermission halfway through.  More information at http://home.comcast.net/~bmill07. 

Free admission

Internationally acclaimed batik artists, Agus Ismoyo and Nia Fliam, will conduct a hands-on 3-day workshop at IslandWood where participants will learn the methods of hand and cap batikand will produce several textiles.  Agus and Nia are the only artists from Indonesia invited to exhibit and lecture at the World Batik Conference that will be held in Boston during June 2005.

The workshop will be held in the well-known environmental learning center, IslandWood, where the beautiful lodging and fine food make this an experience not to miss!

Workshop fees, room & board for 3 days/2 nights 

The World Affairs Council and Grameen Foundation USA are pleased to welcome Professor Muhammad Yunus to Seattle after his recent participation in the Clinton Global Initiative and the 2005 UN World Summit in New York City.

In a specially scheduled public lecture Dr. Yunus will discuss the critical roles played by microfinance, technology, and social entrepreneurs in the fight against global poverty. The lecture will be followed with a Q&A session moderated by Paul Maritz, former Group Vice President, Microsoft, and Grameen Foundation USA Board Member.

 

Event Details:

 

Dr. Yunus's book, Banker to the Poor:

 

$15

Noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin returns to Town Hall to speak about her new book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, which centers on Lincoln’s capacity for empathy shaped the most significant presidency in the nation’s history. Steven Spielberg is making a feature film based on this book.

 

Monday, November 21 , 7:30 PM at Town Hall

$5

The story of Greg Shaw’s first trip to Ecuador in May 2005 to meet Dr. Vera Kohn and her Centro de Desarollo Integral. Dr. Kohn and her fellow psychologists for the last 30 years have provided private and group therapy to the Ecuadorian community combining Jungian Analysis, Zen Buddhism, and Psychography.

Suggested Donation:  $5.00

Steven Squyres Professor of Astronomy - Cornell University

Free

Celebrate the 45th anniversary of the first human space flight and the 25th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch with the Museum’s first-ever Yuri’s Night ‘06: World Space Party (check out the world wide celebration at http://www.yurisnight.net/2006/). Across the globe, the twin anniversaries known as Yuri’s Night will be celebrated with simultaneous parties in scores of cities in dozens of countries on every continent and even aboard the International Space Station—all celebrating space and global cooperation.

$30

Mike Melvill, the first private astronaut, will be giving a talk at the Museum of Flight at 2pm on Saturday, May 6th.

Free with Museum Admission

ENTREPRENEURS SIG is a group for entrepreneurs to come together to discuss the practical aspects of entrepreneurship, share personal experiences and network with other like-minded people interested in exploring and building business ventures together in a dedicated and supportive small group setting.

 

The guest speaker for this Kick-off Meeting is Connie Bourassa-Shaw, Director, Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UW Business School.  In addition, an Overview of the ENTREPRENEURS SIG will be presented and there will be discussion time.

MIT alum Jim Tillman will be donating his Viking Flight Lander #3 body and his Viking archives to the museum for a new exhibit.  There will be a panel discussion as well.

A few days ago, I went on a tour of the Nucor steel plant.  You've probably seen it -- it's just south of the far end of the West Seattle Bridge.

 

It's a very cool tour -- big machines and lots of noise and sparks. 

 

They make one batch of liquid steel every 50 minutes.  The furnace uses three electrodes as big as telephone poles.  They use scrap exclusively (that is, no iron ore).  Scrap goes in one end and finished products out the other -- in as little as 4 hours.  The tour also shows the stamping part.  What they make is somewhat limited -- long thin things exclusively, I think.  Mostly rebar and angle beams.  No I-beams or sheets, for example.  The company has been there under varying owners since 1906. 

 

The compensation program is interesting -- workers get up to 200% bonus based on production.  As a result, everyone is motivated to keep the machines running as efficiently as possible.  No unions.

 

As part of the initiative to address mathematics education in Washington State middle schools/junior highs, Microsoft has agreed to host the state MathCounts competition on March 17th.  (MathCounts is a math competition for 6th, 7th and 8th graders.)

 

To put on this great event, we need lots of great volunteers to grade tests, proctor and register the students.  If you are interested in helping, please contact Dan Cory (info below). 

 

I’ve been doing it the past few years, and it’s quite fun, especially watching the final Countdown Round where students compete 1:1, game-show style.

 

The event will include food and a guest speaker.  Registration will start at 8:30am and the event should be over by 2pm. Most volunteers are needed to grade the tests, from about 10am to noon.  Lunch and snacks will be provided for volunteers.

 

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Dan. Feel free to invite others as well.

Free

The Harvard Club of Seattle invite members of the Seattle-area Ivy League community to attend “Mapping the Mind: Intersections of Science, Technology, and Medicine,”. Join Randy Buckner, Professor of Psychology, Jeff Lichtman, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, R. Clay Reid, Professor of Neurobiology, and Alyssa Goodman, Director of the Initiative in Innovative Computing and Professor of Astronomy, as they discuss innovative approaches to neuroscience research, the impact their work has on our understanding of thought and decision-making processes, memory, and aging, and what this means for treating diseases and disorders like autism, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

$35/guest

Past President of the MIT Club of Puget Sound, Malcolm Best, recommends the following event:

 

Cascadia Convergence 2007
October 26  at Town Hall
and October 27 at the Seattle Center
Dr. David Suzuki, world renown sustainability guru, kicks off this 2-day event to take stock of sustainability progress in the Pacific Northwest.
 
The discounted price is $22.50 per person for Friday evening.

The discounted price is $22.50 per person for Friday evening.

The Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS) announces its 10th anniversary season of Winter Festival at Benaroya Hall, January 24-27, 2008.  The Festival features four fabulous concerts:Thursday, Friday, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.  In its effort to extend its outreach, SCMS is prepared to offer MIT Alumni Association members single tickets for $36.00 (15% off normal price of $42) to any of the four concerts.  To take advantage of this excellent offer, either call the SCMS office at 206 283-8808 and mention "MIT Alumni Association member" or enter "MIT Alumni Association offer" in the "Special Requests" box on their online ticket form.  Each member may order up to four tickets and there is also a general special offer of $10.00 per ticket for persons 25 years or younger (ID required).  This offer is subject to seat availability and does not apply to full subscriptions.  For more information, please visit www.seattlechambermusic.org.

Single tickets are available to us for $36.00 (15% off normal price of $42) to any of the four concerts.

If you've ever attended an event at Google, then you know that this will be a good one -- with the added benefit that the speaker went to MIT!

The event is free.  Register here:

 

MIT Alums,
The flooding in Iowa this summer left the University of Iowa seriously damaged. The unprecedented flooding The high waters have damaged more than 16 buildings on campus.
The University has created the UI Flood Relief Fund and contributions can be made online at http://www.givetoiowa.org/floodfund.
The first priority of the fund is to aid those UI students and employees that have been displaced as a result of the flooding.
MIT alumni/ae are invited to a fund-raising Sunday Brunch on Queen Anne. One half of the bill will be donated to the relief efforts.
Aaron Belenky [abelenky@alum.mit.edu]

Because everything must be on one tab, please bring cash or checks.