First Wednesdays

The Aquarium of the Pacific’s First Wednesdays series focuses on animals, nature and conservation efforts. The events bring scientists, authors, and other experts into its Honda Pacific Visions Theater for an illustrated talk paired with book signings or meet-and-greets and cocktail/social hours with music and crafts. The programs are best suited for high school and college students and adults of all ages. Lectures are also live streamed. Tickets are $5 with reservations made in advance or $10 at the door, depending on availability.

May 1

Nursery Earth: The Hidden World of Baby Animals and the Amazing Ingenuity of Life
Presented by Dr. Danna Staaf

It’s time to pay attention to baby animals. From egg to tadpole, chick to fledgling, they offer scientists a window into questions of immense importance: How do genes influence health? Which environmental factors support—or obstruct—life?

Entire ecosystems rest on the shoulders (or tentacles, or jointed exoskeletons) of animal babies. At any given moment, babies represent the majority of animal life on Earth. Their tiny, hidden lives reveal some of nature’s strangest workings: A salamander embryo breathes with the help of algae inside its cells. The spotted beak of a parasitic baby bird tricks adults of other species into feeding it. Mouse embryos can absorb cancerous cell grafts—and develop into healthy adults. At once incredibly vulnerable and incredibly vital, baby animals are not just beings in progress, but beings in their own right. And our planet needs them all: the maggots as much as the kittens!

The presentation will be followed by a cocktail and social hour with music, crafts, and a book signing of Nursery Earth: The Hidden World of Baby Animals and the Amazing Ingenuity of Life in out Art Gallery.

Danna Staaf earned a Ph.D. in biology from Stanford University with her studies of baby squid. She is the author of Monarchs of the Sea and The Lady and the Octopus, and she has written for numerous magazines including Smithsonian, Science, and Nautilus. She lives in San Jose with her human family, a cat, and a garden full of grubs, caterpillars, maggots, and innumerable other babies. Her book Nursery Earth: The Hidden World of Baby Animals and the Amazing Ingenuity of Life is a first-of-its-kind pop science journey into the hidden world of baby animals—hailed as “a gobsmacking delight!” and “as hard to put down as a new puppy.”