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Caltech Events

Name: Caltech Events
Address: 1200 E. California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, 91106, US
Telephone: +1 626-395-4652
Rating: 4.8

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Caltech Events

Caltech Events proudly serves as a gateway to world-class scientists, artists, and speakers. Connect with Caltech. Join us online and in person.

From lectures and student performances to film screenings and literary conversations, we invite the public to engage with breakthrough research and explore the intersections of art, engineering, and science.

01/05/2026

A look back at 2025—a year of curiosity, conversation, and community at Caltech.

From spring conversations helping our region understand the science behind the devastating Los Angeles fires and post-fire recovery, to summer programs celebrating the International Year of Quantum, to the Watson Lectures launching its 103rd season this fall—2025 was full of moments that sparked discovery and connection.

Thank you for being part of it.

12/10/2025

The Curiosity rover, shaped by more than 50 years of planetary science and engineering research and 3.5 million lines of code, landed on Mars 13 years ago to answer the question: Was life ever possible on the Red Planet?

At last month’s Watson Lecture, Ashwin Vasavada (PhD ’98), project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), shared stories and discoveries from Curiosity, the most sophisticated spacecraft JPL had ever built at the time.

Watch the full talk to learn how Caltech scientists at JPL and on campus solved mission-defining challenges millions of miles away: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuuLJB_HldE

JPL is managed by Caltech for NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

12/04/2025

Earlier this month, Caltech aeronautics graduate student Alejandro Stefan-Zavala took families inside the world of flying robots. By building and using wind tunnels, Alejandro studies how different kinds of winds affect the way robots fly around cities—and even on Mars, where the atmosphere is just 1/100th as dense as Earth’s.

Before his talk, families explored hands-on educational booths during the preshow—a first for the Science Journeys series. These activities introduced the basics of flight and robotics, giving young learners context to better follow Alejandro’s journey.

Watch his talk, Flight School for Robots, on Caltech’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK3cNSRTMEk

12/02/2025

As the year draws to a close, we’re reflecting on the public events that brought thousands of community members together on campus over the past twelve months.

In the spring, Caltech hosted conversations to help our region make sense of the science behind the devastating 2025 Los Angeles fires and post-fire recovery.

Over the summer, Caltech joined Southern California institutions to engage the public in quantum science during the International Year of Quantum.

And this fall, the Watson Lectures entered its 103rd season, drawing audiences eager to explore topics ranging from the mysteries of antimatter to the 13-year journey of the Mars Curiosity rover.

Thank you for joining us. We look forward to another year of conversations, discoveries, and moments that spark curiosity across our community.

Check out December Public Events: https://caltech.short.gy/December-2025-Events

11/20/2025

This weekend, the Caltech Theater Club EXPLiCIT presents The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde’s enduring comedy of wit, identity, and truthfulness. First performed in 1895, the classic comedy remains as sharp and entertaining as ever.

Where: Dabney Hall, Caltech

Performances:
🎭 Fri, Nov 21 at 7:30 p.m.
🎭 Sat, Nov 22 at 7:30 p.m.
🎭 Sun, Nov 23 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets available at the door: $15 general; $5 for Caltech students.

Learn more: https://explicit.caltech.edu/

11/17/2025

Here’s a fact that’s bananas: Bananas naturally produce about one positron (a particle of antimatter) every hour! 🍌

11/14/2025

In August 2012, the Curiosity rover, part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, left for the Red Planet to answer the question: Could Mars have once harbored life? 13 years and 22 miles later, the rover continues to search for clues.

At this month’s Watson Lecture, Ashwin Vasavada (PhD ’98), project scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which Caltech manages for NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will discuss what he and his team of 500 scientists have learned from Curiosity’s journey.

Advance registration for Vasavada’s public talk is at capacity, but non-ticket holders are invited to attend the preshow before his talk and join our standby line. More information at the link in bio.

11/06/2025

Since 1998, the Junior Watson Program has invited high-achieving local students to campus for a glimpse of life at Caltech. Before each Watson Lecture, participants tour the speaker’s lab, dine at the Athenaeum, and attend the evening talk and Q&A.

At the first Watson Lecture of the 103rd season, eight students from Bosco Tech’s Biological, Medical, and Environmental Technology (BMET) major joined Caltech students for a behind-the-scenes look at the Hutzler Lab. Following the lecture, the group had the opportunity to ask Watson speaker and Caltech professor Nick Hutzler questions sparked by his talk. Their visit showed them how fundamental research connects classroom curiosity to the discoveries shaping our understanding of the universe.

“Everyone left with a better understanding of how science can help answer the biggest questions about the universe and with a deeper appreciation for research. Who knows? Maybe one of them could be defending their thesis on this topic one day!” said Bosco Tech student Andy Cao.

Do you know a school interested in a Junior Watson experience? Contact Cara Stemen at [email protected]

Image credit: Peter Holderness/Caltech; Bosco Tech

11/03/2025

Bananas, quantum science, and the origin of the universe—what do they have in common?

They all came up at last week’s Watson Lecture with Nick Hutzler (BS ’07), assistant professor of physics. Hundreds of community members packed Beckman Auditorium to explore one of the universe’s greatest mysteries: If energy creates matter and antimatter in equal amounts, why is there virtually no antimatter in the universe?

The talk mixed deep questions with moments of humor, including the fact that bananas naturally emit a tiny bit of antimatter (just one positron per hour). Don’t worry, they’re perfectly safe! 🍌

Watch Hutzler’s talk now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG4Ovi4z_b0

11/01/2025

Curiosity takes flight this November with Caltech Public Events.

🚀 Explore what we’ve learned from the 13-year journey of the Mars Curiosity rover.

🌌 Scan the cosmos with the soon-to-be world’s most powerful radio telescope with Caltech Astro.

💨 Learn how Caltech aerospace student Alejandro Stefan-Zavala teaches drones to navigate windy skies.

And more: https://mailchi.mp/caltech/caltech-events-for-november-2025

10/31/2025

For 89 years, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory—founded by Caltech, which now manages it for NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration—has pushed the boundaries of exploration and innovation.

JPL’s breakthroughs reach far beyond learning about other planets. Technologies first developed for space exploration, like the imaging sensors that now power billions of devices worldwide, have transformed life on Earth. Each mission reflects how Caltech/JPL research drives progress that benefit society.

Experience that spirit of discovery at the next Watson Lecture on November 19, where Ashwin Vasavada (PhD ’98), project scientist for the Mars Science Laboratory, will share what 13 years with the Curiosity rover have revealed about Mars’s past.

Learn more about Vasavada’s talk: https://caltech.short.gy/ztMHol

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Address

1200 E. California Boulevard
Pasadena, CA
91106

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	10am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	10am - 4:30pm
Thursday	10am - 4:30pm
Friday	10am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+1 626-395-4652

Website

https://events.caltech.edu/

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Our Story

For over 50 years, Caltech's public events program has offered the Caltech family and the community at large a gateway to world-class scientists, artists, and speakers, making the Institute one of Southern California's acknowledged cultural centers. Science lectures, performing arts, folk music, chamber music—CaltechLive! offers top-flight events at multiple locations on campus. Caltech enjoys a unique relationship with the community of Pasadena and surrounding cities. As part of its commitment to being an active institutional citizen, Caltech provides multiple outreach programs that benefit students, educators, community partners, local businesses, local government, and campus neighbors. Each collaboration Caltech undertakes with community members is driven by the individual engagement of participants from Caltech. Their personal passion is the key ingredient to the history and traditions that distinguish Caltech's presence in the community.