Science Spotlights: Short of Breath? Here’s a Rock

The museum’s short talk series invites visitors to meet emerging scientists and explore research at the forefront of discovery. In this session, Federica Calabrese, a postdoctoral fellow in the Girguis Lab, explains how living things produce electricity and how certain bacteria can use that electricity to “breathe rocks.” She will discuss how these microbes evolved to survive without oxygen and how their “bioelectricity” may one day be harnessed to power electronic devices.

The program includes a 20-minute talk followed by a 10-minute Q&A. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Regular museum admission rates apply.