Oceanographer David Gallo at Berkshire Museum
Pittsfield — On Wednesday, May 4, at 3 p.m., the Berkshire Museum and the Lenox Garden Club will present oceanographer David Gallo in a talk entitled “Deep Ocean, Deep Secrets: What Do the Oceans Mean to Us?” at the Berkshire Museum.
David Gallo is a senior advisor at Columbia University‘s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory and was previously the director of special projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Gallo was one of the first scientists to use a combination of robots and submarines to explore the deep seafloor, and he recently co-led an expedition to create the first detailed and comprehensive map of the RMS Titanic. He is a member of James Cameron’s Deep Ocean Task Force, the XPrize Ocean Advisory Board, the First Lego League Global Advisory Team, a participant in the Aspen Challenge, and is a proud member of the Nifty Fifty. He received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in geology from the State University of New York at Albany and a Ph.D in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island.
Admission to the talk is included with regular Museum admission, Museum membership, or Lenox Garden Club membership. Seating is limited and reservations are recommended; call (413) 443-7171 ext. 360 for more information or to reserve a seat.
–E.E.
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Free Admission Day: Pleasant Valley Sanctuary
Lenox – Berkshire County residents are invited to visit Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary for free on Wednesday, May 4. The sanctuary is open dawn to dusk, and the office and gift shop will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to explore seven miles of beautiful trails and learn about the Sanctuary’s education programs.
A valid license or ID is required for admission. For more information, call the Sanctuary at (413) 637-0320.
–E.E.
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Journalist Michael Blanding at Williams College
Williamstown — Michael Blanding ’95, author of “The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps,” will discuss his book as part of Williams College’s “Tuesday Teas” series on Tuesday, May 3, at 4 p.m. in the Sawyer Library Archives/Chapin Instruction Room 452.
Once considered a respectable antiquarian map dealer, E. Forbes Smiley spent years doubling as a map thief until he was finally arrested slipping maps out of books in the Yale University library. Through a series of exclusive interviews with Smiley and other key individuals, “The Map Thief” delves into the history of the high-stakes criminal and the inside story of the industry that consumed him.
Blanding is a Boston-based investigative journalist whose work has appeared in WIRED, Slate, the Nation, Consumers Digest, the Boston Globe Magazine, and Boston Magazine. He is currently a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University and a staff writer at Harvard Business School. Blanding has also co-written several travel guides to New England destinations for Moon Handbooks, and has taught journalism at Emerson College, Northeastern University, and Grub Street Writers. “The Map Thief” was named a New York Times bestseller, an NPR Book of the Year; and a New England Indie Bestseller by the New England Independent Booksellers Association.
For building locations on the Williams campus, consult the online map or call the Office of Communications at (413) 597-4277.
–E.E.
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BFMC to offer film production assistant workshop
Lenox — The Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative (BFMC) will offer the workshop “How to be a Production Assistant” on Saturday, May 7, from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. at Shakespeare & Company’s Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.
The course will be taught by professional production assistant and Second Assistant Director Alexa Green, Limelight Productions owner and IATSE Local 481 union representative William Beautyman, and BFMC Executive Director and independent film producer Diane Pearlman. Covered course topics will include job responsibilities, proper film set etiquette and dress, production paperwork, definitions of film departments and crews, union vs. non-union productions, using walkie-talkies, how to find work, and potential career paths. Participants who complete the course will be listed on the BFMC website’s crew database.
The cost of the workshop is $75. For additional information or to register, call (413) 528-4223 or email Laura Gratz at laura@berkshirefilm.org.
–E.E.
