AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Events Oct. 17-20: YouTube Mania, Worms From Hell, Women in Hong Kong and Bay Jazz Project

This week, come to an interactive art event, discuss life on meteorites, learn about Women in Hong Kong and take in some live jazz

Joseph Stromberg

October 17, 2011

Come see the Bay Jazz Project perform at the American Art Museum Photo courtesy museum

Monday, October 17 YouTube Mania

ArtLab+, a digital media studio that provides local teens a chance to engage with different forms of art and design, presents this weekly event on video art. ArtLab mentors will show YouTube videos around a different theme each Monday night, with everything from fan videos to mash-ups, remixes and viral video. Teens will have the chance to show their own videos to the audience. Free. Every Monday from 6 to 7 p.m. Hirshhorn Museum, Sunken Sculpture Garden.

Tuesday, October 18 Worms from Hell and Microbes from Space

Come hear Washington Post science writer Marc Kaufman talk about how unusual creatures and extraterrestrials may have formed the original building blocks of life on earth. “Extremophiles,” microscopic creatures that thrive in unusual conditions, have been discovered everywhere from miles below the earth in underground caves to fossilized on the surface of Martian meteorites. Kaufman will be joined by a Princeton professor and a NASA astrobiologist as they discuss the significant implications of extremophiles on the origins of life. This Smithsonian Associates Program is $15 for members, $13 for senior members, and $25 for general admission. 6:45 p.m. Ripley Center, Lecture Hall

Wednesday October 19 American Women in Hong Kong

Join author Stacilee Ford as she discusses her book “Troubling American Women: Narratives of Gender and Nation in Hong Kong.” Ford, who lived in Hong Kong for more than 18 years, has explored the lives of expatriate women in both Hong Kong and Macau and studied how their gender identity has affected interactions with both Chinese life and British colonialism. After the talk, get your own copy of the book autographed by the author. Free. Noon to 1 p.m. National Portrait Gallery, bookstore

Thursday October 20 Bay Jazz Project

As part of the Take Five! series, the American Art Museum welcomes the Bay Jazz Project. Led by pianist Sean Lane, one of the DC area’s most accomplished jazz keyboardists, the group presents a soulful mix of vocals with jazz classics and original compositions. Come for free live jazz and cool art. No tickets required. American Art Museum, Kogod Courtyard

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Online Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.