Get Outta This World With Our Mars Book Club Events

This is a part of our spring Book Club conversation about ‘The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World.’ Want to participate? Join our online community space or record a voice message on the Science Friday VoxPop app.

The Science Friday Book Club is back this spring! This time, we are exploring the past, present and future of the search for life on Mars (and the author’s place within that history as an environmental geoscientist) with Sarah Stewart Johnson’s The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World. The book follows the history of humanity’s fascination with Mars, and what we discovered about its history—and ourselves—when we finally got the chance to see its surface clearly.

The Spring 2022 season kicks off on February 25. Check out and RSVP for all the upcoming events below.

Join us for a SciFri Zoom call-in, where attendees can listen in as the Science Friday team records an interview with science experts. Attendees could be selected to ask their questions live with our guests! 

Virtual Event – Gadgets in Space: The Tech That Could Detect Otherworldly Life

• When: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 6:00pm ET
• Where: Science Friday’s Zoom webinar
• Tickets: Free with RSVP

What does it take to send a microscope and a Petri dish full of microbial life safely to the ISS—and, one day, to Mars? How might COVID-19 research help us understand how to best capture bioaerosols jettisoned into space form Saturn’s moon, Enceladus? What exactly is remote infrared spectroscopy, anyway?

Hear about this amazing technology from our guest experts, L. Miché Aaron, Ph.D. student at Johns Hopkins University who researches sulfates in Martian craters using remote spectroscopy, and Jay Nadeau, associate professor at Portland State University who studies nanoparticles and the development of scientific instruments to detect life elsewhere in the Solar System.

Rewatch March 9 event

• When: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 6:00pm ET
• Where: Science Friday’s Zoom webinar
• Tickets: Free with RSVP

Join producer Christie Taylor in conversation with Sarah Stewart Johnson, author of this spring’s Book Club choice, whose work explores how to detect evidence for past or present life, especially those we might find off-world. We’ll talk about planetary geology, what it’s like to work on rovers before they set out into space and after they reach Mars, and the process of writing about another planet—and we’ll take your questions.

Rewatch March 22 event

Want to meet other SciFri Book Club members, talk about the book so far, and find more resources for deeper learning—all without leaving your home? Our community meetings are the place for you!

Community Meeting: The First Explorers Of Mars

• When: Monday, March 14, 2022 from 7:30–8:30pm ET
• Where: Science Friday’s Zoom meeting
• Tickets: Free with RSVP

This discussion meeting will focus on themes and topics from the first half of The Siren of Mars, or Chapters 1-6. You’re welcome to join us no matter your reading progress—come chat with other science-interested folks about Mars!

Rewatch not available for this event

Community Meeting: The Sirens of Mars Are Calling

• When: Monday, March 28, 2022 from 7:30–8:30pm ET
• Where: Science Friday’s Zoom meeting
• Tickets: Free with RSVP

This discussion meeting will focus on themes and topics from the second half of The Siren of Mars, or Chapters 7-11. You’re welcome to join us no matter your reading progress—come chat with other science-interested folks about Mars!

Rewatch not available for this event

Don’t forget to listen to Science Friday from 2:00–4:00pm ET every week! We’ll be hosting five conversations about this season’s pick throughout the spring.

On Air: The SciFri Book Club On Science Friday

• When:
  • Friday, February 25, 2022 between 2:00–4:00pm ET
  • Friday, March 4, 2022 between 2:00–4:00pm ET
  • Friday, March 11, 2022 between 2:00–4:00pm ET
  • Friday, March 18, 2022 between 2:00–4:00pm ET
  • Friday, April 1, 2022 between 2:00–4:00pm ET
• Where: Your local radio station (or on our website!)
• Tickets: Always free!

Book Club Captain Christie Taylor will be on Science Friday, discussing science topics with experts related to our book choice, throughout the season. Tune into your local radio station, listen live on our website, or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts to hear our interview!

Looking for something that’s the perfect blend between entertainment, education, and interaction? Our gatherings offer something a bit different and are perfect for getting together with family and friends.

SciFri Trivia Night: Book Club Edition

• When: Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 8:30pm ET
• Where: Science Friday’s YouTube livestream
• Tickets: Free with RSVP

SciFri Trivia is a weekly gathering that’s part science-y facts, part dance party, and part pop culture romp, and it’s for anyone looking to bring together teams (or bravely play solo) to win ultimate bragging rights. It’s not all science trivia—and this time, we’ve diving into the topics and ideas explored in this spring’s Book Club pick, The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World.

If you haven’t read the book, you are still welcome to test your Mars knowledge with other space nerds! The winning team will be sent a box full of SciFri merch—plus, we’ll send you copies of our next Book Club pick!

Rewatch not available for this event

The Sirens of Mars: An Evening Skygazing with the Denver Public Library and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

• When: Monday, April 4, 2022 from 7:30–9:30pm MT
• Where: The Denver Museum of Nature and Science
• Tickets: Free with RSVP; capacity is limited

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Public Library are teaming up for a literary look at the red planet, Mars! This outdoor event will feature a presentation on Mars by astrobiologist Dr. Graham Lau and a preview of The Sirens of Mars by Denver Public Library staff. Once night falls, take a look at the skies through telescopes (weather permitting).

RSVP for April 4