Mark your calendar

2009 is going to be a big year for science. It's the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, and the 150th of the publication of his opus, On the Origin of Species. It's the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescope-assisted astronomical observations, the 400th anniversary of Kepler's laws of planetary motion, the 100th anniversary of the Burgess Shale's discovery, etc.

In honor of all of that, the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science has dubbed it the Year of Science, and designated various themes for the different months. The San Francisco Bay Area Kick-off Event! sounds like it'll be a blast:

The San Francisco Bay Area Hub will launch its Year of Science celebration on January 11 at Crissy Field Center, in conjunction with “Family Appreciation Day”—an annual, citywide San Francisco event. Crissy Field Center, a part of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and a COPUS participant, will host a lively day of hands-on science activities for families, linked to the Year of Science 2009. Several hub partners will join the fun, to share excitement about COPUS and promote Bay Area Year of Science 2009 events and activities that will be presented throughout 2009. Based on previous years’ attendance for Family Appreciation Day, we anticipate a terrific turnout for our kickoff event. Thank you, Crissy Field Center!

So be there or be some sort of rhombus.