Science Cabaret: Alzheimer’s

Science Cabaret will highlight the latest Cornell research on Alzheimer’s disease, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at Coltivare, 235 S. Cayuga St., Ithaca. The free program is open to all ages. No science background is required.

The program, “Go With the Flow – A Promising New Approach to Treating Alzheimer’s Disease,” features recent work in the Schaffer-Nishimura lab at Cornell that has led to the discovery of the mechanism for reduced blood flow in the brain among Alzheimer’s patients.

The research, so far conducted only on mice, also has shown that restoring blood flow improves cognitive function and slows the progression of the disease. Participants also will be introduced to a new citizen-science opportunity, EyesOnAlz, a game designed to help scientists working on Alzheimer’s research.

Global lens

The Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, 170 Uris Hall, is displaying entries in its 2016 photo competition through Dec. 16.

The annual competition and exhibition are intended to highlight the diversity of international student research and showcase the people and beauty of the places visited by Cornell students, for the benefit of the greater Cornell community.

Historic ‘Humbug’

Civic Ensemble presents “Bah Humbug! A Rhiner Commedia Carol,” Dec. 15-17 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 4 p.m. at The History Center in Tompkins County, 401 E. State St., Ithaca. Tickets are pay-what-you-can (flexible prices $5, $10 and $15), seating is limited and ticket reservations are recommended at http://humbug.bpt.me/. Free tickets will be available beginning a half hour before each performance.

Conceived and directed by Freddy Villano, the play takes its inspiration from local history and Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” in particular the connections between the Rhiner community of Ithaca’s West End and Dickens’ Victorian-era concerns about poverty and social injustice. It will be performed in the masked acting style of Commedia Dell’Arte.

Actors include Sherron Brown, Sarah K. Chalmers, Alyssa Duerksen, Heather Duke and Susan Lin. Godfrey Simmons, Cornell visiting professor of performing and media arts, is the producer. Emily Goldman ’05 is vocal director, Liz Kitney is costume designer and Ella Carr is assistant director and stage manager.

For more information, call 607-241-0195.

Japan, video exhibits ending

Five fall exhibitions at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art will close Sunday, Dec. 18. “Japonisme: The First Wave and Beyond,” “American Sojourns and the Collecting of Japanese Art,” “JapanAmerica: Points of Contact, 1876-1970” and “We Went to the Fair: Works From the Collection Shown at American World’s Fairs” all explore the appreciation and role of Japanese art and design in Japanese-American relations. “Signal to Code: Video Art from the Rose Goldsen Archive of New Media Art” also ends Dec. 18.

A gallery talk on “Human Origins in Art,” Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. with museum educator Carol Hockett, will cover a range of artworks from ancient Egyptian sculpture to contemporary painting, as part of “Ithaca Explores Human Origins.”

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will be closed Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. Admission is always free. For information, email museum@cornell.edu or call 607-255-6464.

New exhibitions will open Jan. 21, including “Empathy Academy: Social Practice and the Problem of Objects,” in conjunction with a spring semester course and the 2016 Cornell Council for the Arts Biennial, “Abject/Object Empathies.” 

Being human

Tompkins County Public Library is one of 19 libraries across the United States to host the national traveling exhibition “Exploring Human Origins: What Does It Mean To Be Human?” – a glimpse into the complex field of human evolution research.

Smithsonian Institution

A traveling exhibition on human origins at Tompkins County Public Library through Dec. 22 is accompanied by artifacts from Cornell anthropology and library collections.

Organized by the American Library Association and the Smithsonian Institution, the exhibit includes interactive kiosks, hands-on displays and videos, through Dec. 22.

The exhibit seeks to foster positive dialogue and respectful exploration of science, and welcomes different religious and cultural perspectives on evolution. Complementing the traveling exhibition are the interactive installation “You Are Here” and work by 10 local artists in “On Being Human,” both through Feb. 28; and display cases with artifacts loaned by Cornell’s Department of Anthropology, Cornell University Library and Primitive Pursuits.

The library, at 101 E. Green St., Ithaca, is open Monday to Saturday, but is closed Dec. 9 for staff development. For information, call 607-272-4557.

The communitywide “Ithaca Explores Human Origins” offers lectures, films and other related programs through February, including during Discovery Trail Weekend, Dec. 17-18; and the Paleontological Research Institution’s Darwin Days, Feb. 12-18.

Wonders of the deep

Father-and-son 19th century German glass artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka’s “perfectly true to nature” study models of marine invertebrates, and related fields of scientific inquiry on ocean life, are explored in the three-part multimedia exhibition “Exploring a Sea of Glass,” through Jan. 13 in Mann Library.

From the artists’ key sources and influences – the Challenger expedition of 1872-76, leading to the modern study of oceanography, and lithographs by nature illustrator Philippe Henry Gosse – to photos of the glasswork, text from professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Drew Harvell’s book “Sea of Glass,” and the award-winning documentary “Fragile Legacy,” the exhibition tells a story of art, science and history and highlights the need for ocean conservation.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with “Fragile Legacy,” through Jan. 7 at the Corning Museum of Glass, featuring many of the 570 Blaschka glass models in Cornell’s teaching collection, curated by Harvell. For Cornell researchers, the collection obtained in 1885 is a time capsule of ocean life then, and a guide to seek out and document what remains of it today.

Soup and Hope

The 10th Soup and Hope series will feature talks by individuals who have been involved in the program since its beginning in 2008.

The 2017 series begins Thursday, Jan. 19, at noon in Sage Chapel with the series’ founder, Janet Shortall. Free hot soup and bread will be served courtesy of Cornell Dining, along with special treats.

Speakers in the series are Cornell staff, faculty, students, alumni and community members who share their experiences of hope, courage, change and challenge. Soup and Hope is cosponsored by Cornell Dining, Cornell United Religious Work and Gannett Health Services.

‘Islam in Asia’

The world of Islam is neither monolithic nor limited to the Middle East. With a variety of different sects, beliefs and traditions, Asia is home to 65 percent of the world’s Muslims.

Cornell University Library’s Division of Asia Collections has curated “Islam in Asia: Diversity in Past and Present,” on display through March 3 in the Kroch Library entrance hallway during library hours. The exhibition explores the diversity of Islamic heritage in Asian history and today, including the spread of religion along the ancient Silk Road and how religion itself was affected by the wide variety of cultures and traditions found in Asia.