By Melissa Lopata
Its official….it hasn’t just been a figment of my imagination. Science has finally proven that "Baby Brain” is real. It’s been a year since I gave birth to my son. Slowly, the dim veil has been lifting, but for almost 2 years friends and family thoughtfully tolerated my impaired condition. They watched in bewilderment as I lost my house keys 5 times (never to be found again) and scheduled doctor appt. after doctor appt. only to miss each and every one. Pregnancy&Baby.com writes “research is proving what we already knew: That pregnancy turns your brain to mush. According to a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, a woman's memory can be impaired for at least a year after giving birth”. So it turns out my brain shrank approx. 5%. What a relief! I finally have a scientific excuse for all my dim-witted shenanigans. As soon as I determined that I was reaching the tail end of a 2-year odyssey of .…Duh, I set out to find the most entertaining way to flex my brain muscles. I needed a plan. How do I get my brain back? Short of carrying a Sudoku book in the diaper bag or practicing long arithmetic, I decided I needed an outlet to get out. This is because my intellect wasn’t the only faculty that has been hibernating since the baby arrived. I required some serious fun and a sexy night out on the town. The Secret Science Club in Park Slope, Brooklyn was my answer. Who knew science could be sexy!
Curated by Dorian Devins, Margaret Mittelbach, and Michael Crewdson, the co-authors of Carnivorous Nights and Wild New York, The Secret Science Club meets the first Wednesday every month in a concealed location at the Union Hall bar in Brooklyn. “Underground . . .Shrouded in mystery . . .Chock-full of brainiacs . . .The Secret Science Club features”: free mind-bending lectures from respected members of the scientific community. When I asked the co-founders about the Secret Science Club, they told me, “Scientists love it here because they get the rock star treatment”.
Where else can you have a cocktail with astrophysicists and paleoanthropologists? (Btw, I've always had a thing for high IQs, glasses and tweed jackets with elbow patches). Plus, this Weds, August 6th The Secret Science Club opens Union Hall’s “Music at the Bridge” show with experimenter extraordinaire David Maiullo and his hair-raising “traveling physics road show.” Maiullo and his liquid nitrogen will shatter all your expectations… Plus three live bands—the French Kicks, Tiny Masters of Today, and Headlights—with comedian Dave Hill!!
WHERE: Under the tent in the historic Tobacco Warehouse @ Brooklyn Bridge Park
SPECS: Gates open at 6 pm. Rain or Shine.
HOW DO YOU GET TO THE SHOW? It’s easy! Click here for directions to Brooklyn Bridge Park.
CAN’T GET ENOUGH SCIENCE? Head over to Park Slope’s Union Hall (702 Union St. @ 5th Ave.) for a secret science lecture the very same evening. The doors of Union Hall's subterranean grotto will open at 8 pm. Pocket protectors suggested.
The “Secret Science Club” meets Aug. 6th at 8 p.m. in the basement @ Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.) in Park Slope, Brooklyn, p: 718.638.4400 Subway: R to Union St.; F to 4th Ave.; Q, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic For more info check here: Secret Science Club & Union Hall.
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