Throw horns for history and rush the stage* for statistics riffs at the bar show where the nerds are the rock stars and smart is punk af.

Cue it up: Three experts. Dozens of cheeky slides. A bar full of former gifted kids gone feral who love special interest deep dives. This is Nerd Nite DC.

*okay maybe just do this in spirit. Nerds are wild creatures who can be easily spooked by sudden movements.

Nerd Nite DC has been DC’s favorite irreverent lecture series since 2009.

Your host this month is Nerd Nite legend Rae Pendergrass, joined by our three wildly entertaining and wickedly smart speakers who are all postdoc fellows with the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, giving three must-see talks:

— Dr. Sarah Leventhal, “Jurassic Park-émon: Gotta Catch ‘Em All!”

Where did Pokémon developers come up with the subset of critters known as Fossil Pokémon (which are obtained by reviving their fossils)? Some, like Aerodactyl and Omanyte, are pretty similar to real-life prehistoric creatures whose fossils we’ve seen in museums. But others (Lileep, anyone??) are far less obvious. A real-life paleontologist pulls back the curtain on the inspirations for some of our favorite ‘mons!

Sarah is a paleontologist at the National Museum of Natural History! In her spare time she loves playing Pokémon games, collecting Pokémon cards, and baking cookies (that are not yet Pokémon shaped – but she’s getting there).

— Dr. James Mulqueeney, “How a Sea Creature Became a Love Symbol”

What do The Birth of Venus, medieval pilgrims, and your Valentine’s Day decorations have in common? This talk explores the surprising cultural history of the scallop, tracing how a humble shellfish became an enduring icon of love, beauty, and symbolism.

James Mulqueeney is a paleobiologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History who spends his days studying evolution, extinction, and what dead marine animals can tell us about life on Earth. Somehow, this has led him to giving public talks about the romantic history of scallops.

— Dr. Kat Turk, “Earth Had a Dune Phase (Except the Worms Were Cannibals With Donut-Shaped Brains)

500 million years before David Lynch soft launched Twin Peaks in space, Earth’s apex predators were cannibalistic, goo-secreting “penis worms” that breathed through their butts and had brains wrapped around their throats. While probably not facilitators of interstellar travel, these weird worms and their hot new behaviors were potentially responsible for such important paradigm shifts as to usher in our modern “age of animals” — thus setting the stage for everything from dinosaurs to buzzsaw sharks to eight-foot-long millipedes to even, yes, you.

Dr. Kat Turk received a PhD against her will and once ran the world’s largest living colony of penis worms out of a German parking lot. Becoming a Bene Gesserit wasn’t a super feasible option in this economy so she is instead currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where she spends most of her time irradiating rocks for both business and pleasure.

DOORS 6PM | 21+

Nerd Nite DC
https://dc.nerdnite.com/
https://www.facebook.com/NerdNiteDC/
https://www.instagram.com/nerdnite_dc/

Doors open at 6, show at 6:30. Talks are 15 minutes with a 5 minute Q&A, and during the breaks, you can play along in our “alternate talk titles” competition to try to win a free drink on us. It’s rowdy, interactive, and the most fun you’ll have learning something all month.

The show is on the second floor of DC9 and is mostly standing room with limited seating available on a first-come, first served basis.

Nerd Nite DC is produced by Rae Pendergrass, navi, and Diva Darling.