Science Cafe
Hot Topics, Real Science
Get ready to talk science face-to-face with actual scientists.
Our Science Cafés address the latest hot science topics in casual settings like pubs and coffeehouses. The events are open to everyone 21 and older.
Using plain language, an easygoing atmosphere and inclusive conversation, these interactive events are welcoming and comfortable for people with no science background. Each presentation is followed by a question-and-answer period.
Upcoming Speaker
Eileen Hebets, PhD
“Sex, Silk, and Eight Legs: The Wild World of Spiders”
October 27, 7 p.m. @ Rathskeller Bier Haus
Eileen Hebets is the George Holmes Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she studies animal behavior, communication, and sensory biology, with a particular fondness for spiders and other arachnids. Her research has explored everything from elaborate wolf spider courtship displays to how spiders use vibrations, vision, and other senses to navigate their world. More recently, she has turned the lens around to ask how humans perceive spiders—including what our eye movements can reveal about our attention to, and avoidance of, these often-feared animals.
Hebets is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Animal Behavior Society and a former president of the Animal Behavior Society. She is also passionate about science communication and has spent much of her career creating opportunities for people of all ages to experience spiders and other arachnids up close. Her work has convinced her that the more closely we look at these remarkable animals, the harder it is not to be fascinated by them.
This Science Cafe is presented by UNMC, UNO Alumni and the Great Plains IDeA-CTR Network.
