Eleven years ago in the basement of the Barley House in downtown Concord, a trio of people including a handsome, debonair host (that would be me) put on the first Science Cafe New Hampshire.  

The idea was to establish a Granite State version of events long established in Europe by creating a science-y alternative to trivia nights in your local bar. We chose a topic, invited three informed folks to be panelists, and opened the doors to anybody who wanted to ask questions and listen to a discussion about something from a science or technical perspective.

We chose a bar or restaurant rather than a classroom, and a loose format rather than a set lecture because it was more fun – beer and food! – but also to show that being interested in science is just as much a part of modern life as being interested in sports or celebrities or (ugh) politics.

That night a couple dozen people showed up to nurse drinks and munch food while participating in a Q&A about climate change. (Yes, we were worried about it in 2011.) The night was quite a success and the two science fans who got the ball rolling, Dan Marcek and Sarah Eck, and I congratulated ourselves that we had launched the Granite State into a wise, fact-filled future.

Looking around today, after more than 100 Science Cafes and scores of similar events around the state, I’m not sure we’ve quite met that intellectual goal. But some folks are still at it, even though the handsome, debonair host has bowed out.

Over the year Science Cafe NH moved to Nashua, then returned to Concord where it moved around a bit, then split in two and operated in both cities until COVID came along, when it went virtual.

During the period, institutions from Dartmouth College to Seacoast Science Center, held similar programs, until at one point New Hampshire had the nation’s highest per-capita number of such events. Most of those efforts quickly fizzled out because putting on public events is a lot of work, with a notable exception: The SEE Science Center museum in Manchester has held its Science on Tap series at a couple of different Queen City restaurants for almost a decade.

Now that we’re in the post-pandemic era, if not entirely post-COVID, Science Cafe NH in Nashua and Science on Tap in Manchester are getting back on schedule for their monthly live events.

They gathered together recently at the SEE Science Center to brainstorm topics – artificial intelligence and climate change are likely to be among them – and ponder the future. In June the two groups even held a joint session, their first, at the VFW in Merrimack concerning the science of ice cream (not all topics have to be heavy lifting), and it’s possible there will be more overlap.

When their schedules get released, I’ll include them on the GraniteGeek blog and newsletter. (You do subscribe to the newsletter, don’t you?)

At this point you may be asking: When is Science Cafe returning to Concord?  I certainly get that question a lot.

For a variety of reasons I am not able to restart the program here but I certainly could help others do it. Be warned that it’s a lot of time to find a venue, choose a topic that is interesting and also – this is the hardest part – has knowledgeable panelists who live close enough to swing by for an evening are are willing to participate for free, then run the meeting (Concord TV will probably help) and get ready to do it all again the next month.

It’s a lot of time but a lot of satisfying fun, even if it hasn’t exactly turned New Hampshire into an intellectual utopia.

If you want to try bringing Science Cafe NH back to the Concord area, drop me a line and we can talk.

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