Join us on Thursdays this summer for a picnic on the lawn beginning at 5:30pm, followed by the viewing of an engaging TED talk and time for open response. We'll conclude each evening with a beer tasting. Boys and Girls Kids’ Club meets as well.
June 25, The Shared Wonder of Film
- TED video Movies have the power to create a shared narrative experience and to shape memories and worldviews. British film director Beeban Kidron invokes iconic film scenes — from Miracle in Milan to Boyz n the Hood — as she shows how her group FILMCLUB shares great films with kids.
- Handout: "Questions to Ask a Film"
July 2, The Power of Vulnerability
- TED video Brené Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.
July 9, The Brain in Love
- TED video Why do we crave love so much, even to the point that we would die for it? To learn more about our very real, very physical need for romantic love, Helen Fisher and her research team took MRIs of people in love — and people who had just been dumped.
July 16, Chimps have feelings and thoughts. They should also have rights
- TED video Chimpanzees are people too, you know. Ok, not exactly. But lawyer Steven Wise has spent the last 30 years working to change these animals' status from "things" to "persons." It's not a matter of legal semantics; as he describes in this fascinating talk, recognizing that animals like chimps have extraordinary cognitive capabilities and rethinking the way we treat them — legally — is no less than a moral duty.
July 23, Learning from Dirty Jobs
- TED video Mike Rowe, the host of "Dirty Jobs," tells some compelling (and horrifying) real-life job stories. Listen for his insights and observations about the nature of hard work, and how it’s been unjustifiably degraded in society today.