NHM FIRST FRIDAYS Connected: April

FIRST FRIDAYS Connected 2021  

The virtual series First Fridays Connected returns with a new format bringing you lively discussions, DJ sets, and live music performances wherever you may be. Hosted and Moderated by neuroscientist and science communicator Dr. Yewande Pearse (February, March) and biomedical scientist and international advocate for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) inclusion Dr. Knatokie Ford (April, May, June). This season we'll explore Los Angeles at the Intersections.

2021 Season: Los Angeles at the Intersections

Los Angeles at the Intersections is a celebration of science and culture. Neighborhood murals reflecting this city’s state of mind, climate activism across all communities, the transforming habitats of humans and animals, and cuisines of the city as L.A.’s cultural signifiers, we’ll find that the ties that connect the city together are strongest at the intersections. 

TO JOIN THE CHAT, GO TO THE NHM YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE.

April 2: Climate Crisis

Urgent and real, there is no denying that we are in a climate crisis. Why do people overlook the proof? How can a consensus on the crisis be achieved? How are climate change and environmental issues affecting communities of color? How can we all effect change? Who are the change makers?

Featuring Music Performance by 

Sudan Archives

Schedule

5:30 pm | Zoom Webinar (Members-only)
Secrets From the Vault 

6:00–8:00pm | NHM YouTube Channel Live
Intro (6:00pm) > 10 Minute Cocktail (6:05pm) > DJ Lounge (6:15pm) > Discussion (6:45pm) > Music Performance (7:30pm)

Host/Moderator (Apr/may/jun): Dr. Knatokie Ford

Dr. Knatokie Ford is Founder and CEO of Fly Sci® Enterprise, an education and media consulting organization focused on leveraging the power of storytelling to promote social change. As a biomedical scientist and social entrepreneur, she is an international advocate for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) inclusion. Dr. Ford previously served as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Obama White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Secrets from the Vault  |  5:30 pm  |  Zoom Webinar (MEMBERS ONLY)

Join NHM’s Betty Uyeda, Collections Manager of History/Seaver Center, to learn about the collection she oversees and discover details hidden in plain sight. Each month features a different expert to uncover the big mysteries, strange oddities, and untold stories from NHM.

Introduction  |  6:00pm  |  NHM YouTube Channel Live

10 Minute Cocktail  |  Elle Nucci  |  6:05pm

Elle Nucci, owner of EN Events, will be giving you a 10-minute tutorial on how to make the First Fridays Connected monthly cocktail. Elle will be sharing recipes from Los Angeles-based mixologists.  

Don't forget to gather your ingredients in advance!  

April Cocktail: CENTRAL AVENUE
Ingredients: Gin, St. Germaine, Lemon Juice, Agave, Ginger Beer, Sparkling Rose 

Recipe from L.A.-based Mixologist Jackie Pember 

DJ Lounge  |  fRANCESCA HARDING  |  6:15pm

Francesca Harding is a music supervisor, Dj and radio host based in Southern California. She currently works at an ad agency, pitching music for Film and TV trailers while music supervising for indie projects that she has a passion for. Her Dj mixes have been featured on Jay Z’s blog, Life and Times with her mixtape 'Ciao Verano' as well as Seattle’s 90.3FM KEXP. You can catch Francesca on air, every fourth Thursday of the month, for ArtForm Radio on Worldwide FM. 

Discussion  |  Climate crisis  |  6:45pm

Urgent and real, there is no denying that we are in a climate crisis. Why do people overlook the proof? How can a consensus on the crisis be achieved? How are climate change and environmental issues affecting communities of color? How can we all effect change? Who are the change makers?

Panelists
 

Leah Thomas is an intersectional environmental activist and eco-communicator based in Southern California. She’s passionate about advocating for and exploring the relationship between social justice and environmentalism and identifying the ways in which injustices happening to marginalized communities and the earth are interconnected. In 2020, Leah launched Intersectional Environmentalist, a platform for resources, information and action steps to support intersectional environmentalism and dismantle systems of oppression in the environmental movement. Leah and has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Teen Vogue and more. She has collaborated with brands such as Dove, West Elm, and All Birds.

Nick Shapiro is an assistant professor of biology and society at UCLA. He is a multidisciplinary environmental researcher focused on environmental and climate justice. His work ranges from building openly-licensed technological interventions into environmental problems with impacted communities to assessing the environmental hazards of prisons, jails, and detention centers.

Music Performance  |  Sudan Archives  |  7:30pm

Violinist and vocalist, Sudan Archives writes, plays, and produces her own music. Drawing inspiration from Sudanese fiddlers, she is self-taught on the violin, and her unique songs also fold in elements of R&B, and experimental electronic music. She honed her at-home style after moving to Los Angeles aged 19 to study music technology, and after a chance encounter at a Low End Theory party with Stones Throw A&R and Leaving Records owner Matthewdavid, she signed with Stones Throw. At the very start of her musical career, she's already won plaudits from the likes of the New York Times and Pitchfork, and played live at experimental festival Moogfest.