Science can be seriously funny! We have the evidence to prove it**
**not really
Every year we train a cohort of scientists, technologists, engineers, mathematicians, physicians (anyone STEM-adjacent) in the art of stand-up comedy. The result? A live stand-up show where normal science & technology professionals tell jokes about their work and studies.
Laugh! Maybe learn something!
Come to the Show!
Support your local scientist as they do something *way outside* the box!
Our first show in 2024 will be at Zoo Atlanta on March 21st.
Tickets – Via Sci4Ga – this event sold out last year, Get your Tickets early!
$25 Regular Admission
$10 Students
A Huge Thank You to Zoo Atlanta for Providing the Venue!!!
Getting There (this information directly from the Zoo Atlanta website)
Public Transit info:
Some route availability has changed. Visit itsmarta.com for current info, or download MARTA’s On the Go App for scheduling information, real-time bus and rail information, service alerts and connecting bus route(s) information.
Parking info:
Parking is conveniently located in the lot on Cherokee Avenue.
Cherokee Avenue parking lot: 800 Cherokee Avenue, S.E., Atlanta GA 30315
These are public parking lots and are the property of the City of Atlanta. The lots are managed by AAA Parking, under contract with and under the purview of the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority. Rates will be $3 an hour for a maximum of $12 a day. To aid you in your planning, we estimate the program will be between 2 and 3 hours.
In addition to using the pay-on-foot machines in the Cherokee Avenue lot, you can expedite your parking using the ParkMobile app, a free app available for both iPhone and Android devices, using your smartphone. Upon downloading the app, you may pay for your parking using the zone number posted on stickers and signs around the pay station. Select your desired time needed, and click “Start Parking” to begin your session. If during your Zoo visit you would like to extend your time, provided your time has not expired, you can do this easily via the app without needing to return to the meter.
After hours zoo access is via the gate at the south end of the Cherokee Ave Lot.
Meet the Comedians!
“Eco-Influencer” is a recent term educator Tasha Messer was introduced to, and humbly embraces as an embodiment of her students’ reactions to the content she teaches. Inspiring the next generation of Eco-Activists is her greatest joy. Whether delighting in sowing seeds to cultivate edible and pollinator plants, or expanding perspectives through binocular gazes during an exploratory and meditative learning activity she coined “Bird Walks and Whispers”…creating student-led moments where curiosity abounds has become her signature. Present and past accolades to her credit include: Southeastern Trust for Parks & Land Board Member (STPAL) , Georgia Beloved Naturalist Leader (GBN), EcoRise Teacher Ambassador, Georgia Master Gardener Association (GMGA) District Director-NW3, Birds Georgia Master Birder, Georgia School Master Gardener, Edible Schoolyard Academy Alumnae, and Captain Planet Project Learning Garden Liaison. Hobbies she partakes in are: learning new things, recreating celebrity chef recipes, domestic and international traveling, birding, gardening, roller skating, crafting, playing tennis (noncompetitively), and anything related to fashion and beauty. This year she turns 50! During a year-long celebration of her and her husband’s overlapping milestone birthdays; they plan to experience even more new and exciting things. Being selected as a Science For Georgia: Jazz Hands cohort member qualifies as one of those things : )
Cora Keber (B.S. University of Kentucky 2001, Masters in Nonprofit Management and Leadership, University of Georgia 2019, Ph.D. candidate, UGA College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences) is the Director of Education at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Her responsibilities include program development, planning, coordinating, implementing, facilitating, and evaluating for adults, children, families, university students and community alongside the garden team and Learning by Leading™ students, a student engagement program providing university students experiential learning and service learning projects. Her research focus thus far pertains to exploring skill development through an experiential learning leadership program. In true Aries form, she is fiery and loves life a little outside of the box.
Sêv Nômina tried to go to college after high school but it didn’t work out for them. Instead, they worked for a decade in various roles in restaurants and hospitality. During their last years in the service industry, Sêv slowly self-studied computer programming.
They learned enough fundamentals to land a part-time opportunity teaching coding classes to K-12 students in after-school programs. Inspired by the experience, Sêv enrolled in a software development bootcamp to fully transition their career.
Sêv now works as a software engineer and mentors people who want to work in the tech industry without a college degree. Additionally, Sêv likes to dance with their friends at goth clubs and is a haunted house actor during the Halloween season.
Melody Roberts puts the D in STEM. She earned a bachelors in American Studies from Yale University and a Master of Design degree from the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech. These unrelated credentials made her the perfect choice for work assignments ranging from naming toothbrushes for Johnson & Johnson and teaching design thinking at Stanford to workshopping intelligence reporting with the National Security Agency. She spent a decade under the golden arches, redesigning the McDonald’s service model and incubating digital ordering experiences now scaling globally. Today she helms Liv Labs, a consumer healthtech startup backed by the NIH, NSF and Y Combinator. Jazz Hands is Melody’s standup debut and the byproduct of failing to ask enough questions before signing up for something recommended by her neighbor Jessica. However game she is to act funny, she’s super serious about helping the 78 million American women who worry about leaking pee in public. Learn more at livlabsfitness.com.
Ranjana Ramchandran – Ever since I sat in the front of my accounting 101 class at Wharton, I knew this is where I would Excel. Accounting just made sense – it’s algebra. 20 years later, I’m a subject matter expert on forensic accounting, investigations, and compliance matters. When companies are in crisis, I solve problems. While that pays the bills, I’m also passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion. I’m President of the Ascend Southeast Chapter, a forum for pan-Asian professionals in North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. At EY, I serve as an executive champion of the Atlanta Pan-Asian Professionals Network (PAPN) and as a member of the grant selection committee for EY’s Social Justice Fund.
Oh, and while I’m saving the day, I perform improv comedy at Whole World Improv Theatre and dabble in stand-up to keep my mind sharp and creativity flowing. I specialize in explaining math to lawyers, following the rules, and amplifying your voice, preferably with laughter.
Allison Louie has a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Emory University and M.A. in Mathematics from Penn State. She was a college math professor for 7 years before transitioning over to coding, where she is now Director of Analytics and Automation at Coca-Cola. Outside of work, Alli is an NCAA gymnastics judge. She also performs and teaches improv at Whole World Improv Theatre.
As an Air Force child, Mark LaRue was raised all over the world. He served 8 years in the U.S. Navy as a Cryptologist and obtained a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Texas at Dallas. He worked in private consulting and retired from the U.S. EPA Wetlands section in 2019. He resides in McDonough GA with his wife and two dogs. He owns Biotics Environmental Consulting and has formed a non-profit – the Walnut Creek Watershed Coalition.
A nerd from birth, Hugo Collantes (He/Him) spent a good portion of the last century cavorting in the wilds of Perú. A graduate degree in ecology from UGA, and various research stints later, Uh-goh channels his inner Sagan-Dawkins hybrid to enhance the public understanding of science, and to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He currently serves as Senior Lecturer of ecology and environmental science at the University of North Georgia, while missing dearly his former life as puppeteer and children nature educator at the State Botanical Garden. Improv best describes his approach to life, so why not give it a try to entertain and share a bit of wonder about the natural world with YOU.
Be a Comedian!
We are recruiting scientists to be part of our comedy cohort. No comedy experience necessary, just a willingness to talk about something sciencey that you enjoy.
Over 4 sessions we will provide you with communication training, comedy training, and tons of positive energy as you turn your passion into something funny.
In return – you get to perform at least one show during the year.
The events are live only – NO videos will be taken unless you ask, because we know you all have day jobs.
We have closed registration for the 2024 cohort. Use the form below to let us know your interest and we’ll email when the next training opens up.
