We here at HERS get excited and champion even those things we have to miss. For two and a half more days, The World Science Festival is taking over various locations in Manhattan, and though some of the more alliterative-happy presentations (The Subtle Science of Nothing, Carbon Conundrum, Watching Wilson and Watson), have passed, there are still two more – yes two!- alliterative worthy talks: From Insects to Interstates and Surfing the Solar System! The latter is a talk by Lucy Hawking (yes, daughter of Stephen) on the children’s book she wrote with her pops. Both real-life surfing and reading Black Holes and Baby Universes have always seemed like pretty daunting tasks to me, so this is right up my alley.

Among the many talks, there’s also “Science Faith Religion,” which aims to present a less “polarized picture” of the dialogue between the three, making it a much more democratic experience than family dinners at my house (I plan on taking notes). Another highlight on the agenda is “Move Speak Spin:” a performance that covers everything “from tap dance to the permutations of a single sheet of paper.” What? I’ve been trying to envision what this could possibly look like for a couple minutes now, and all I see is Cirque de Soleilers spinning on those giant ribbons while doing life-sized origami…and tapdancing (again, I plan on taking notes).

A handful of events are sold out (specifically the ones with “Cool Stuff” and “Battlestar Galactica” in their titles, go figure), but the website advises trying to snag some tickets at the door anyway. For the full list of events, check out the site and keep those synapses firing through the sweatier months. — Kayla Morse