Editor's note: photo shows Rudy L. Ruggles, Jr. and his wife Sally in March 2017 standing at the grave site of renowned polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton in South Georgia, Antarctica.
The Ridgefield Library will be celebrating the boundless human capacity and desire to explore, learn and discover with special programming for all ages this fall. The Curious Mind: Exploration and Discovery is the title for this year’s Scholarly Series, the Library’s annual in-depth examination of a topic or author supported by funding provided by the Friends of the Ridgefield Library.
Some of the highlights of The Curious Mind series are listed below – all programs will be held in person at the Ridgefield Library, unless otherwise noted:
Thursday, September 12 at 7 p.m., Ridgefield resident and opening keynote speaker Rudy L. Ruggles, Jr., will present “Curiosity and Where It Took Me,” discussing the role curiosity has played in a career that has had him at the forefront of national security affairs, high-speed computing and international strategic relations.
Saturday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m., “Invention Adventure” features Rudy Ruggles III leading children in grades 3-5 on a hands-on, creative problem-solving adventure.
Sunday, September 15 at 2:00 p.m., Ted Zalewski brings Vincent van Gogh’s “Postman,” Joseph Roulin, to life for a dramatic examination of creative expression and discovery.
Saturday, September 21 at 2:00 p.m., “Dream Up!” celebrates National Dream Big Day with children in grades K-5 meeting local young inventors and creating their own drawing robots.
Tuesday, September 24 at 7:00 p.m., Peter Sooy from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland will talk about the building and launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2021. He will also cover an overview of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s next flagship observatory that is scheduled to launch by May 2027.
Dr. Mark Schenker, recently retired Senior Associate Dean at Yale College, will present a series of online lectures this fall on novels that engage the themes of curiosity and exploring: Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land on September 25; Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God on October 23; and Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson on November 20.
Thursday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m., “The James Webb Space Telescope: What We’ve Learned and What Is Still to Come” will be presented by Dr. Heidi B. Hammel of NASA, who will highlight some of the most exciting science results from the Webb Telescope’s first two years and look ahead to the future of astronomy.
Saturday, October 26 at 2:00 p.m., “Touch the Arctic” features Arctic expert and environmental advocate Moki Kokoris in a discussion of life in the Circumpolar North.
Tuesday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m., “Exploring Consciousness” with Ridgefield resident Dr. Peter Bancel, an exploration into the microscopic world as well as the world of human experience and how they link together in surprising ways.
Thursday, December 5 at 7:00 p.m., “The Science, The Engineering, The Art of Change!” As the closing keynote talk of this fall’s scholarly series The Curious Mind: Exploration and Discovery, join us for a call to action from technology industry legend and Ridgefielder Nick Donofrio as he shares his insights on how our human curiosity leads to innovation and to positive change
There will also be many fun, curiosity-inspired programs for children and teens taking place this fall, and a very special hands-on genealogy project using resources in the STEAM Corner of the Library’s Donofrio Family Technology Center.
To register for any program or for more information visit https://ridgefieldlibrary.org/ or call 203-438-2282.