Tilde Cafe

Tilde operates on a belief that science is integral to life and the progress of a society. We meet every 4-6 weeks at a local eatery and invite an expert to talk about their work in an informal setting. There is no charge to attend and no restriction on age or educational background. Typical cafes are attended by people ranging between 10 and 80 years. The afternoon is videotaped for the local public access TV channel (BCTV) and subsequently broadcast weekly until the next cafe. To include all those who are interested in the cafe discussions, the video is also posted on the cafe website for global consumption. Tilde is the only science café between Boston and New York City. A science café can fulfill multiple roles as it attempts to demystify science and make it accessible; non-scientists get an opportunity to interact with scientists in a non-threatening environment and are very quickly enthused by the simplicity of some of the questions scientists explore. Science cafés can therefore contribute to the decoration of that vast canvas of human curiosity, and help foster a better informed and vibrant society.