Illinois Science Council (“ISC”) is an independent 501c3 organization that engages, educates, and entertains the public about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in our everyday lives. ISC serves as the adult complement to student-focused science efforts, and the science & tech counterpart to the region’s arts & culture offerings by raising STEM understanding and appreciation.

ISC explores a wide variety of topics with a fun, non-stuffy approach. We create engaging programs (aimed at adults and accessible to teens) such as: hands-on chemistry (Chemistry of… Beer, Chocolate, Whiskey, Coffee, Honey, etc.); panel discussions on science subjects in the news (Your Brain on Happiness, on Creativity, on Addiction, on Exercise, etc.); author talks (Lisa Randall, Mary Roach, Randall Munroe of XKCD); film screenings (“The Atom Smashers”), plus the Chicago Science Festival; and more.

Carl Sagan observed:

“We live in a society exquisitely dependent upon science and technology in which hardly anyone understands anything about science and technology.”

ISC is certainly working to change that.

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Featured Events

Here are upcoming and most recent ISC events. Or visit our main event calendar below for lots of science events happening citywide. Full Event Calendar
science cocktail party 2019

Science Cocktail Party 2019

D.I.R.T.T. Environmental Showroom, 325 N. Wells Street, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654

Chemistry of Beer

Metropolitan Brewing Tap Room, 3057 N Rockwell St, Chicago, IL 60618
Beaker Cocktail with Syringe

Chemistry of The Cocktail

Koval Distillery, 5121 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL 60640

Science Unsealed

A blog about the science of everyday life...and some from out of this world. View More
Hand holding cell phone with lines indicating internet connectivity

The History of the Internet: From ARPANET to 5G

Leave a comment Ben Marcus

Register here to see George Kontos, CEO of Marshmallow Streaming, give a talk, “The Science of the Internet,” on Tuesday, Sept. 22, during lunch, 12:00pm – 1:00pm, on Zoom.

In 1957, after the Soviets’ launched Sputnik 1, the US Congress responded by creating the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA; now DARPA), whose mission it was to build satellites and develop other advanced technologies that would show up the Russians. NASA took over the space projects a year later, and ARPA used their resources on a new project: creating the first computer network.

Continue reading “The History of the Internet: From ARPANET to 5G”

Author(s)

  • Ben Marcus is a public relations specialist at CG Life and a co-editor-in-chief of Science Unsealed. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Chicago.

There is No Biological Meaning for ‘Race’

Leave a comment Selin Ege Yalcindag

Science has had a complicated history with the word “race.” In the 19th century, Dr. Samuel Morton believed humans could be divided into five races following a specific hierarchy of intelligence. He assumed he could measure their intelligence based on measurements of their skull capacity, which is a line of thought now seen as the origin of scientific racism.

Continue reading “There is No Biological Meaning for ‘Race’”

Author(s)

  • Ege Yalcindag is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Chicago studying biology and French who hopes to attend medical school after college. Along with cuddling newborns in the NICU, she loves singing with her a cappella group, painting, and drinking tea. She can be found on Twitter (twitter.com/ege_yalcindag) or LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/selin-yalcindag-13bb80164).

about the great lakes

What Makes the Great Lakes So Great?

Leave a comment Marianna Karagiannis

Sitting on the shores of Lake Michigan, with the Chicago skyline to my left and endless blue ahead of me, I find myself glad to be alive in this moment. The Great Lakes are sources of beauty and inspiration and part of what defines home. For me, they are also a source of questions and a reminder of the incredible, slow moving, natural processes that shape our world.

Continue reading “What Makes the Great Lakes So Great?”

Author(s)

  • Marianna Karagiannis is an environmental science student at the University of Chicago interested in how chemistry, physics, ecology, and society interact. She is passionate about conservation and environmental solutions through a social justice lens, and is happiest gazing out at Lake Michigan from Promontory Point in Chicago. Outside of academics, Marianna can be found dancing, mushroom foraging, and trying new recipes.

Gallery

For a sense of our events and all the great people who make up our science-loving community, check out this gallery of photos from ISC events. View More