Your Science Lesson for Today - 2011 celebrates Marie Curie & Intl Year of Chemistry! (UPDATED Nov 14)

UPDATE NOV 14th: Just saw the play "Radiance: the passion of Marie Curie" at the Geffen Playhouse. Please see this if you can... it's such a wonderful live theater experience


The theater itself is cozy and adds to the intimacy of looking at the real people behind the historical figures. Of course, I couldn't take pics at the performance, but above is the ext of the Geffen Playhouse, and below is the main lobby:

At this production on the stage of the smaller of the 2 interior theaters, the use of lights and projections to make one simple area into many different settings is really impressive. As a huge fan of the Marie Curie story, it was so much fun to see this historical heroes come to life... and to consider the choices made by author Alan Alda about what to focus on .. and what to leave out. Performances run through Dec .. just EXTENDED to Dec 18th! more info at www.geffenplayhouse.com

If you like this post about Marie Curie.. you might also enjoy these older "Your Science Lesson for Today" posts:

"elements are everywhere" from Aug 21, 2009 http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2009/08/elements-are-everywhere-your-science.html

and "Musee Curie video" from Aug 27, 2009 http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2009/08/your-science-lesson-for-today-musee.html

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Here's the rest of the original post from Nov 7th....

It's not too late to celebrate... 2011 is the International Year of Chemistry (IYC)! Google reminds us today with this image...(because Nov 7th was Mdme. Curie's b'day... and FYI, she was awarded her 2nd Nobel prize 100 years ago in 1911... for her work in Chemistry ... She shared her first Nobel Prize (in Physics) with Pierre Curie & Henri Bequerel)

Learn more about the world wide events for Year of Chemistry at

http://www.chemistry2011.org/

Read more about Marie Curie at

http://www.curie.fr/en/Curie-museum

My favorite book about her is "Madame Curie: a biography" by Eve Curie

http://books.google.com/books/about/Madame_Curie.html?id=abHJGxj8ZRwC

Eve Curie was on the cover of Time, Feb 12, 1940
The Madame Curie classic Hollywood film is available on DVD...
This photo shows the typical lab Marie Curie worked in... she did all her amazing discoveries with such limited and crude supplies...

In the Los Angeles area???? Go see the world premiere of the stage play "Radiance: the Passion of Marie Curie" now at Geffen. Its great!

http://geffenplayhouse.com/more_info.php?show_id=140&hide_calendar=1

Here's author Alan Alda talking about the play:

and the cast discusses their own "best scientific achievement" and compare them with that of their famous-scientist characters in the play (pretty funny:)