What DO People Do at the Science Museum? @Central
w/ Author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and UCMP Scientists!
2026-10-24 11:30:00
2026-10-24 12:30:00
America/Los_Angeles
What DO People Do at the Science Museum? @Central
Celebrate Maggie Tokuda-Hall's new book about science museums and the folks who run them, along with UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology scientists!
Central Library - Children's Non-Fiction Room
Saturday, October 24
11:30am - 12:30pm
Central Library
Children's Non-Fiction RoomCelebrate Maggie Tokuda-Hall's new book about science museums and the folks who run them, along with UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology scientists!
Author Maggie Tokuda-Hall will be here to celebrate her new book What Do People Do at the Science Museum? and joined by Sr. Museum Scientists Ashley Dineen (Invertebrates) and Alex Lowe (Paleobotany Collections)!
Saturday, October 24
11:30am-12:30pm
Central 4th Floor Children's Nonfiction Room
2090 Kittredge St.
Berkeley, CA 94704
About the Book:
A fun, vibrantly illustrated behind-the-scenes tour of the inner workings of a natural history museum and all the incredible people who work there!
Welcome to the Science and Natural History Museum! Here you’ll see all kinds of cool things, from a whole Dunkleosteus skeleton to a tiny dwarf seahorse to a glimpse of the Andromeda Galaxy. You’ll also meet all kinds of cool people—like volcanologists, paleontologists, squid biologists, and many more—who research fascinating questions so that they can answer yours.
But what do these people do all day at the science museum?
Well, there’s only one way to find out! Join a field trip through the busy museum and find out about all the kinds of scientists who work there and each of their incredible fields.
About the Creators:
Maggie Tokuda-Hall is not a scientist, but she does have a lot of questions. She grew up going to the Lawrence Hall of Science, the La Brea Tar Pits, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the Steinhart Aquarium, and the Los Angeles and Oakland Zoos. Once, when she was 12, she even got to visit the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in Japan. Nowadays, she takes her two kids to the California Academy of Sciences. She lives in Oakland, California, with her family and her objectively perfect dog. Learn more about Maggie at prettyokmaggie.com.
Qin Leng is a visual development artist and an illustrator and author of children’s books. Throughout her career, she has illustrated picture books, magazines, and book covers for publishers around the world. Clover/Trèfle, written by Nadine Robert, was the winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for best picture book, and Piper Chen Sings, written by Phillipa Soo and Maris Pasquale Doran, was an instant New York Times bestseller and received three starred reviews. Qin lives in Toronto with her husband and her son. Learn more about her at qinillustrations.com.
About the Scientists:
Ashley Dineen is currently the Sr. Museum Scientist of Invertebrates at the University of California Museum of Paleontology in Berkeley. Her current research includes quantifying marine functional diversity after mass extinction events and resolving food web structure during periods of ecological innovation.
Alex Lowe is the Sr. Museum Scientist in Paleobotany at the University of California Museum of Paleontology on UC Berkeley campus. In this role he takes care of the museum's fossil plant collection and supports researchers who want to study them. He also does research of his own on vegetation and climate in the western U.S. during Earth's most recent major global warming event (the Miocene Climatic Optimum), ~17 million years ago.
AGE GROUP: | Elementary | Early Childhood |
EVENT TYPE: | Sci, Tech, Engineering & Math | Authors, Books & Writing |
Wheelchair accessible. Request sign language interpreter, real-time captioning, materials in large print, braille, or other accommodations by calling 510-981-6195 (Library) or the 510-981-6347 (City of Berkeley TDD line). Please refrain from scented products during public programs.
Many library programs are funded by the generous support of the Friends of the Berkeley Public Library. Thank you, Friends!
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