Teachers’ Preview
Tuesday, February 5, 3:30 – 5 p.m.
Preview includes staff tour of the exhibition followed by the presentation of school program and teachers’ materials.  Curriculum connections to science, math and social studies will be highlighted.  Student docent information will also be available.  (.1 CEU) Open to schoolteachers only. 

Programming for Families and Children
Tues.- Fri., Feb. 19, 20, 21, 22, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Vacation Workshops: Robots
Students in grades 1-3 explore the exhibition and then work on creating their own robot projects.  Members $5, non-members $7, per child, per day. Includes all materials. Reservations are required for each day by calling the Museum (203) 869-0376. These programs are inclusive and suitable for students of all abilities.

Tues: Grabbing Robot Claw

Wed: Rolling Cup Robot

Thurs: NASA Nanorover

Fri: Big Box Robot

Fri., Feb. 22, 8 p.m.
Family Movie Night at Greenwich Library.
Forbidden Planet
Co-sponsored by Friends Friday Films. Join us at the Greenwich Library for a special screening of the classic 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet, which featured a number of groundbreaking special effects and the first screen appearance of the famous Robby the Robot! Show time is 8 p.m., doors open at 7:40 p.m., Cole Auditorium, 101 West Putnam Avenue.  This series is made possible by contributions from the Friends of Greenwich Library. Free admission.

Robotics Family Days
Sun., Feb. 24, 1- 4 p.m.
Robotics for Families.
Fun, educational activities for the whole family include making robot masks and an exploratory gallery hunt through the exhibition. At 3 p.m., James McLurkin of Kid-in-the-Box Consulting and graduate student at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab presents his lively, educational program  “What Do Robots Do?”  This interactive program starts with Hollywood robots and progresses to real, working robots culminating in a live demonstration of the SwarmBots, a mass of autonomous robots!  All activities are suitable for people of all abilities and are free with paid Museum admission.

Sun., April 20, 1- 4 p.m.
Robots Family Day.
Fun, educational activities for the whole family including making robot masks and a gallery hunt through the exhibition.  See a robot in action with a CT FIRST Robot team, which will demonstrate their 2007 competition robot. All activities are suitable for people of all abilities and are free with paid Museum admission.

Lecture Series
Three lectures presented by robotics research scientists, specialists and authors offer insights and impacts of robots on today’s society. Lectures are free to Museum members, $5 non-members at the door. Advance reservations are strongly recommended; call the Museum at (203) 869-0376.

Sun., March 2, 3 p.m.
“Robots at Work” by William “Red” L. Whittaker,
Fredkin Professor of Robotics, The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Professor Whittaker discusses his current projects at the Institute including his team’s winning entry in the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, in which driverless, robotic vehicles competed against one another on city streets, and the Lunar Rover Initiative, a pair of mobile robots for the first privately funded lunar mission with telepresence for public participation and education.

Wed., April 2, 7:30 p.m.
“Exploring Mars with Spirit and Opportunity”
by Diane Bollen.
Diane Bollen, Research Support Specialist, Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, has been involved with the NASA Mars program for the past 10 years. Ms. Bollen is part of the rover tactical operations team, planning the day-to-day activities of the rovers, and is a member of the Pancam imaging team, whose function it is to calibrate and evaluate images taken by the rovers. January 2008 will mark the 4th anniversary of the Mars exploration rovers Spirit and Opportunity landing on the surface of Mars.  Join us to hear what scientists have learned from the data collected over the past 4 years by these robotic geologists. View the breathtaking landscape panoramas from the eyes of the rovers. Co-sponsored by the Astronomical Society of Greenwich.

Sun., April 13, 3 p.m.
“Almost Human:  Making Robots Think”
by Professor Lee Gutkind.
Professor Lee Gutkind is an author, editor and founder of the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, and Professor of English at University of Pittsburgh. Prof. Gutkind speaks about his latest book, Almost Human: Making Robots Think, which goes behind the scenes at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, offering a remarkable, intense portrait of the robotic subculture and the challenging quest for robot autonomy. Copies of his book will be available in the Museum Store.