School-Age Kids

Open gaming at Panera! New players welcome. We have many games on hand or you can bring your own. We are happy to teach or learn one of yours.

Barn Dance from 1-3pm in the Bumper Car Pavilion, Glen Echo, MD. Caller: **Kim Fory** Music: **L'Adoré Fiddlers** The L’Adoré Fiddlers are led by Elizabeth Cunha (Stringlights Music) & Sarah Foard; featuring John Relf (guitar), Chris Ousley (bass), Sargon de Jesus (piano) & guest fiddlers Paul Carlson & Mari Carlson. Admission: Free! (no need to register, just show up at the door) Come join us at the barn dance! This fun-spirited dance event is suitable for all ages and ability levels and features live music and calling. There will be circle dances, ceilidhs, and a variety of mixers. This dance fits the bill for families with preschool children just as well as older groups of tweens and teens. Our intergenerational community is what makes this dance unique and fun. So grab a friend or your kids and come join us! Covid Info: masks and vaccination are encouraged but not required

Let's enjoy a delicious Egyptian lunch! From the beginning, Fava Pot kept their eyes on the prize: serving the best of healthy, home-style Egyptian cuisine in an atmosphere that would make their customers feel like they were amongst a family. They do this by sourcing high-quality ingredients to cook their authentic meals. That means serving locally sourced foods such as chicken and game hens that are antibiotic-free and succulent meats that are grass-fed. And they also offer what more and more of our customers were asking for: delicious vegetarian and gluten-free options. Their motto has always been Eat Healthy for a Good Cause -through every purchase you make, they give back to Egyptian orphans in need. There is lots of free parking!

***Please join us as we continue a course of study on the spelling of the Hebrew letters. Our 11th session will be the spelling of Kaph (Kaph Peh) relating to Tarot Key 10. We will be exploring ideas about the spelling of Kaph to illuminate our understanding of The Wheel of Fortune.*** ***No prior preparation is needed and membership in B.O.T.A. is not required. We'll be providing handouts.*** ***Looking forward to sharing in the Ageless Wisdom as we grow in Understanding together!*** ***Fraternally yours in L.V.X.,*** ***Roger***

Let's get together to play some competitive quads and doubles volleyball. **COST**: FREE **Court Type**: Outdoor grass **Minimum Skill Requirements**: Intermediate (click [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/mobilebasic) for details) Attention: 1. This event is **NOT on a first come-first serve** basis and players with higher skill level and players who can bring a net/ball will get priority over others on the wait list. 2. Since skill levels are **self-reported**, some new attendees may not meet the expected level. For doubles, we encourage you to choose a partner you can enjoy the game with, and since this a competitive event, it is okay if you make a strong team and win all the games. 3. Each person must help set up and take down one net, leaving some nets unset for latecomers. 4. Please answer all questions, so it's helpful for us to organize the event. **Smiley Social documents:** 1. [Group Rules](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HrG35p_0M08leRvCp8XWG3CMkr_GL928XFabl5T6Dvg) 2. [Smiley Social Volleyball Levels](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PojSi4qdlRsv1msCHhvpQ43iDc4FfzQwpWCc3kafVMY/edit) 3. [Good doubles partner](https://docs.google.com/document/d/14weEw-P52XKx0P8K2l-ZOFtYU61wmfdkSkopbG5avro/) 4. [Liability Waiver](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W2mq-7m99lmvd7gdWYaSUFtvVg4UGnzV6koafAbHmco)

🥂 SUNDAY BRUNCH SINGLES SOCIAL Meet, Mix & Mingle with Local Singles Ages 30–49 ❤️ Stop Swiping. Start Connecting. What if your next great connection wasn't behind a screen? Join Spark Vibe for a fun, relaxed Sunday Brunch Singles Social where local singles come together to meet, mingle, laugh, and make real connections face-to-face. No endless texting. No wondering if you'll ever actually meet. Just real people, genuine conversations, and the possibility of meeting someone special. Whether you're looking for a relationship, friendship, or simply a more enjoyable way to meet new people, this event was designed for singles who are ready to get off the apps and connect in real life. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎟️ RESERVE EARLY & SAVE ❤️ Early Bird Admission — $10 Limited quantity available. Tickets : ❤️ General Admission — $15 Available after Early Bird tickets sell out. ❤️ Last Chance / Door Admission — $20 Only available if capacity allows. ⚠️ Most Spark Vibe events sell out before the event date. Reserve your spot early and save. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🥂 WHY SUNDAY BRUNCH? Because meeting someone special should feel natural. There's something different about Sunday mornings. People are relaxed. Conversations flow more easily. The atmosphere is lighter, friendlier, and more authentic. Grab a drink, enjoy brunch, and spend your Sunday surrounded by local singles who are looking for the same thing you are: genuine connection. You never know which conversation could change everything. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❤️ SPARK VIBE Where Strangers Become Stories. In a world of endless scrolling and dating app fatigue, we're creating opportunities for real-life connection. No algorithms. No fake profiles. No endless messaging. Just authentic conversations, genuine chemistry, and meaningful possibilities. Many attendees arrive alone. Almost everyone leaves having met someone new. Some leave with a match. Others leave with friendships, new connections, and memorable experiences. Everyone leaves glad they came. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🌟 WHAT TO EXPECT 🍸 Relaxed Social Mixer Start the event by casually mingling with local singles in a welcoming, low-pressure environment. No awkward introductions. No pickup lines. Just easy conversation and good vibes. 💬 Guided Conversations We've done the hard part for you. Fun conversation prompts and icebreakers help keep things flowing naturally, while our host makes sure everyone feels comfortable and included. ⚡ Quick, Real Connections Meet multiple singles throughout the event in a way that feels fun, natural, and effortless. You'll spend a few minutes with each person—just enough time to get a feel for their personality, energy, and vibe before moving on. It's everything you wish dating apps felt like—but in real life. ❤️ Discover Real Chemistry The best part? You never know where a conversation might lead. A friendship. A future date. A new connection. Or maybe something extraordinary. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔥 PERFECT FOR SINGLES WHO ARE ✅ Tired of dating apps ✅ Looking for meaningful connections ✅ New to the DMV area ✅ Interested in meeting local professionals ✅ Ready to meet people face-to-face ✅ Open to friendship, dating, or a serious relationship ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🌟 WHAT ATTENDEES LOVE "Much better than another night of swiping." "The conversations felt natural and genuine." "I met more quality people in one afternoon than I had in months online." "The atmosphere was welcoming, fun, and surprisingly comfortable." ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎟️ WHY YOU SHOULD RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW Our events are intentionally kept intimate to create better conversations and a balanced experience for everyone attending. When tickets are gone, they're gone. Every event starts with strangers. The best ones end with new connections. Reserve your ticket today. Because the best relationships don't begin with a swipe. They begin with a conversation. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ✨ ABOUT THE AGE RANGE The age range listed in the title is intended as a guideline rather than a strict requirement. If you feel you'd connect well with this group, you're welcome to join us. Our goal is always to create a well-balanced crowd where meaningful connections can happen naturally. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏰ IMPORTANT INFORMATION • Please arrive 10–15 minutes early. • Check-in closes 15 minutes after the event start time. • Late arrivals may not be accommodated. • Dress casually stylish and bring positive energy. • Most attendees come solo. • Tickets are limited and often sell out in advance. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❤️ Stop Swiping. Start Connecting. Reserve Your Spot Today.

We are going to talk about the books we read—any books, from any genre. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, classic literature or something modern, everyone is welcome to share their thoughts, impressions, and favorite passages. It’s a relaxed and friendly conversation where we can discover new ideas and enjoy each other’s perspectives.

**Advance ticket sales have ended but plenty of additional tickets remain available at the door.** [Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Lafayette’s Long Fight for Liberty,”** a look at the life, struggles, and legacy of America’s favorite fighting Frenchman, with Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland and author of *The American Revolution and the Fate of the World.* [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-lafayette](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-lafayette) .] When the Marquis de Lafayette returned to the United States in 1824, Americans greeted him with a frenzy of affection unmatched by anything the nation had ever shown a single individual. Crowds filled streets, towns held ceremonies in his honor, Congress showered him with gifts, and parents named children for the French aristocrat who had helped win the American Revolution. Explore the extraordinary life behind that adulation with historian Richard Bell, whose excellent past talks have earned him a big following among Profs and Pints fans. Professor Bell will take Lafayette far beyond his familiar role as George Washington’s young protégé and the hero of Yorktown. You’ll learn how Lafayette became one of the Atlantic world’s most persistent champions of liberty—fighting for constitutional government, religious freedom, prison reform, press freedom, antislavery, and independence movements from Greece to Poland. You’ll also hear how Lafayette’s ideals repeatedly put him in danger, making him a target of kings, radicals, imperial powers, and revolutionaries who regarded him as “the most dangerous man of all.” Professor Bell will show how Lafayette’s life was full of contradictions: a nobleman who challenged aristocratic privilege, a centrist caught between monarchy and mob rule, an antislavery advocate whose efforts fell short, and a dreamer whose causes often failed in his lifetime. Yet Lafayette never stopped trying to make liberty universal. Come learn why Lafayette’s name still graces hundreds of American towns, parks, counties, schools, rivers, and lakes—and why his most important monument might be not any statue or place name, but the freedoms he helped generations of people imagine, demand, and defend. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: From an 1834 portrait of Lieutenant General Lafayette painted by Joseph-Désiré Court (Palace of Versailles / Wikimedia).

Come to the Silver Spring library to play games some chronically ill friends! Members are adults who suffer from conditions including POTS, ME/CFS, long covid, MCAS, rheumatoid arthritis, Ehlers Danlos, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, autoimmune kidney disease, and more. We usually play a couple casual games, and we also have coloring books. Feel free to bring your own favorite games too! We'll in SMALL ROOM 1 on the third floor of the Silver Spring library, just outside the elevator. We ask that everyone wears a mask. There is free parking across the street in the Wayne Avenue Garage.

Germany is one of the most successful national teams in international competitions, having won four times: 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014. Do they have what it takes to win it a sixth time?! Come find out when [they take on Curaçao on ](https://www.volosports.com/d/e548af80-9d91-4013-aeac-5d941c8d5724)**[Sunday, June 14th at 1pm at Wunder Garten](https://www.volosports.com/d/e548af80-9d91-4013-aeac-5d941c8d5724).** Curaçao's is making history as the smallest nation by both population and area ever to qualify for the tournament. And if you're a fan of Germany, there's no better place to watch your team than at a German beer garden! **What you can expect:** Great soccer and vibes 🍺 **2 Free** Michelob Ultras **Limited edition World Cup merchandise for the first 20 players** 🔥 Exclusive, soccer themed Volo Pass swag (Members Only, [sign up here](https://www.volosports.com/volo-pass)) Bring your friends, wear your Germany or Curaçao gear, and come ready to celebrate, cheer, and enjoy the game together! Note: General admission and entry to Wunder Garten is free, but the immersive Volo experience and perks are available only this registration.

Come watch Netherlands, currently ranked #7 in the world behind Brazil, take on Japan on **[Sunday, June 14th at 4pm at Wunder Garten](https://www.volosports.com/d/7d26d0e8-3cc9-4460-be7b-89b748d05eff).** **What you can expect:** Great soccer and vibes 🍺 **2 Free** Anheuser-Busch products **Limited edition World Cup merchandise for the first 20 players** 🔥 Exclusive, soccer themed Volo Pass swag (Members Only, [sign up here](https://www.volosports.com/volo-pass)) Bring your friends, wear your Netherlands or Japan gear, and come ready to celebrate, cheer, and enjoy the game together! Note: General admission and entry to Wunder Garten is free, but the immersive Volo experience and perks are available only this registration.

A soft afternoon of movement, creativity, strategy, and connection. Join us for a wellness centered gathering designed to help women slow down, recharge, and meet new people in a low pressure, intentional space. This DC fair will have: 🧘🏽‍♀️ Pilates & gentle movement ♟️ Casual chess + beginner-friendly tables 🎨 Art & creative stations ☕ Light bites, conversation, and community Whether you want to stretch, paint, learn chess, or simply exist around good energy for a few hours, you’re welcome here. For some reason the address wasn’t popping up in meetup but it’s 670 Rhode Island Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002. Send me a direct message on Meetup if you’re having an issue joining the WhatsApp group.

One time Bob scored a goal with his back Bring enthusiasm and a good attitude, plus a light and a dark shirt. No slide tackling, casual play. Warnings, yellow cards, and red cards will be issued based on behavior and play. GENERAL REMARKS Given the huge demand, we had to limit the Meetups to a maximum number of players. To play, you must register for each meetup (on a first come first served basis). Once the Meetups are full, there is a waiting list and you can still get a seat if players cancel. If you are not on the list, please do not drop by, as we can only play with a maximum of players. LATE DROPOFF POLICY: Late drop-offs will incur a 1-week suspension. Repeated late drop-offs may be subject to increased suspension time. All suspensions handled on case-by-case basis. COVID19 MEASURES: IF YOU ARE SICK OR IF YOU HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS, DO NOT SHOW UP. Yellow Cards: Swearing at other player, hostile physical behavior, slide tackling, unnecessarily aggressive physical play (despite warning). RED CARDS: Initiating hostile physical conflict with another player. Repeated offense of the above yellow card behaviors. RULES: 1. Be cordial and nice 2. NO SWEARING AT OTHER PLAYERS 3. NO HOSTILE PHYSICAL ACTIONS (OUTSIDE OF COMPETITIVE TACKLES) 4. NO SLIDE TACKLING 5. YELLOW CARDS: Accumulation of three yellow cards will mean you will not be able to play for a game. 6. RED CARDS: Red card will remove you from the game and you will not be able to play the next game. 7. WAITLISTED INDIVIDUALS: Please avoid coming to the game if you are waitlisted. If players do not make it, the waitlist will be updated based on the time and date of sign up... PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE RULES. By agreeing to sign up, you are waiving us and meetup from liability for any injuries.

**🔥🔥. Please note: start time of event moved to 10:30AM to meet n mingle before we go in at 11:00AM. We will meet outside at the museum entrance at 10:30- please use entrance at 15th St and Madison Dr🔥🔥🔥** **📅 Sunday, June 14th** **🕚 10:30AM – 3:00 PM** **Join us in the spirit of Juneteenth for a meaningful and inspiring visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.** **I’ve visited this museum on several occasions, and every time I walk away amazed by the rich culture, powerful stories, and incredible history housed within this beautiful museum. From historical exhibits to music, art, sports, and cultural contributions, there is always something new to discover and reflect upon.** **This will be a relaxed group outing where we can explore the museum together, connect with one another, and celebrate the significance of Juneteenth through education, culture, and community.** **📍 We will establish a meeting point upon arrival.** **After touring the museum, those interested can join us at the wonderful Sweet Home Café located inside the museum for food, conversation, and fellowship.** **🎟️ IMPORTANT:** **The museum requires FREE timed-entry passes for admission. Please reserve your tickets in advance using the link below: Please be sure to select 11AM time** [https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f](https://tickets.si.edu/nmaahc/events/4561cfa0-226f-6a98-2228-1b72ec70494f) **🚗 Parking & Transportation Options:** **• Limited street parking may be available nearby on Sundays** **• Paid parking garages are available throughout the National Mall area** **• Recommended garages include spots near the Wharf, L’Enfant Plaza, and Federal Triangle** **• Metro is highly encouraged:** * **Smithsonian Metro Station (Blue/Orange/Silver Lines)** * **Federal Triangle Metro Station is also within walking distance** **Whether this is your first visit or you’ve been before, this is a wonderful opportunity to experience one of the most impactful museums in Washington, DC with an amazing group of people.** **We look forward to sharing this meaningful experience together! ❤️**

Join us at Loudoun Station District Park on Sunday for a movie + event! **Movie: Honey, I Shrunk The Kids** Come play giant Jenga and dodge floating bubbles to bring the larger-than-life backyard adventure to life!

Open play Chess Club for Kids. Instructor will not be present. Come play with friends or practice moves on your own with our No Stress Chess boards! The recommended age is 6-12.

All-American Movie Magic & More - **movie + event** Saturdays - 6:30pm to 9:00pm **June 20 - Movie: Honey, I Shrunk The Kids** Come play giant Jenga and dodge floating bubbles to bring the larger-than-life backyard adventure to reality.

It's baby boogie time! Kid-friendly dance music complete with lights, bubbles, and glow bracelets featuring DJ Kat and Ms. Maddy. Designed for ages 0-6 with a caregiver. First come, first served until capacity is reached.

**Our Meetup is off to another hiking adventure! Mt Kilimanjaro, as the tallest mountain in Africa, is included in the 7 Summits of the world.** **It is a bucket-list item for all hard-core hikers and mountain lovers.** We did this trek with Meetup in the summer of 2024 and it was a true experience of a lifetime (see photos below) Let's get to some numbers. It is 5,895m/19,340ft BUT . . . our starting elevation for the trek is 3795m/12541ft As such elevation gain is 2100m/6799ft To compare Everest Base Camp trek, is about 2754m/9035ft elevation change. And Mt Whitney is about 1828m/6000ft elevation change. The key to being able to succeed in this endeavor lays in the route and the support system. We are taking the Lemosho Route via the Northern Circuit. The Northern Circuit route is the longest and newest of the seven established Kilimanjaro routes. It's one of the best routes because it has the best acclimatization profile. This results in one of the highest summit success rates. Add to that stunning views, and comparatively relaxed pace. It is also much less crowded than the other Kilimanjaro routes. As far as our support system: We will be accompanied by experienced guides, porters and cooks. They are certified, ensuring our safety and comfort. Porters will carry our gear. We will have a high ratio of guides to hikers. Our guides will go our pace and support each and everyone of us, regardless of fitness level and pace. In other words...you go your own speed and we all get there safe. More about our trek/trip. As with all our international trips, we picked the best season/time of year to go for weather and wildlife. Lemosho and Northern Circuit is a scenically spectacular and varied route. At the lower elevations it has an abundance of wildlife such as elephant, buffalo, eland and lion which come over to forage during dry season. **Each of our trips is personally crafted to offer the best places and best use of time.** *But I don't have the needed gear?!* You don't need much more than the standard trekker's equipment. We will provide you with a list of what is already included and what can be rented there. *Does this include food?* All meals on the trek potion are included and a cook travels with us! *What is lodging like?* We are sleeping in new and comfortable tents (carried during the day by porters) *I am new at this.* That's OK. We do plenty of prep Zooms before we depart. And in California we have a number of local outdoor day or weekend outings you can test out with us. *How dangerous is this? What if I get sick or hurt?* We will be walking on an established, well used trail the entire time. **Our trip INCLUDES emergency insurance.** We are also Certified Wilderness First Responders and our guides are members of (AMREF) Flying Doctor. **Plain and simple, safety is our primary goal.** *How much does this cost?* **Kilimanjaro Mountain Trek $3950 per person, double occupancy. Land only (airfare not included). Solo supplement $600** Trip Cost includes: \- 9 nights accommodation \- 3 meals everyday on the trek \- All Fees & Entrances and Taxes \- Camping equipment such as tents\, tables\, chairs\. \- Lead Guide\, Assistant Guides\, Porters and Cook *RSVP to this event shows your interest, but does not hold your space.* ***The only way to secure your spot for this trip is a $300 deposit:*** ***[CLICK HERE FOR SECURE DEPOSIT LINK](https://www.paypal.com/instantcommerce/checkout/8P9NUAVQM8UEN)*** *Deposit is refundable up to 90 days before the departure (less PayPal fees).* *IF you need an airfare quote,* [Click here to message Anna](https://secure.meetup.com/messages/?new_convo=true&member_id=131297062) For more information about this or any of our other international events, fill out this form: **[INTERNATIONAL MEETUPS INFO REQUEST](https://forms.gle/cQdqYw74gAYqphXX8)** To see pictures from our Kilimanjaro adventure in 2024 [CLICK HERE](https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPkfkUp6sEZVQ-xse1di_K19d1QVmSb5KOLeIjynRoWGv_XFLXI8wBfT61XxAHavg?key=U2tKajBuOGRiZkxBOUtTUG1GbUVRVmlDaERCeG5n) We do a monthly Q & A Zoom: Meet others attending, be social, or come and get any questions answered. [Click Here to RSVP to our Zoom](https://www.meetup.com/moretoexplore/events/296044209/) The MAIN location where this event is posted: [https://www.meetup.com/moretoexplore/events/302872805/](https://www.meetup.com/moretoexplore/events/302872805/) (RSVP there for any conversation and comments) This events is cross posted to several other groups and the number of RSVPs on each is not reflective. We have a set of sister groups where we post our local free, local/regional camping, and our overseas events too. [Click Here ](https://www.meetup.com/CulturalArts/Events)for our other events: Live the adventure instead of only dreaming it! SOT 200318-10

The [Pedro Sauer Academy of Self-Defense](https://pedrosaueracademy.com/) (PSA) [Youth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program](https://www.pedrosaueracademy.com/kids-jiu-jitsu-herndon-va/) is designed to help children build **confidence**, **coordination**, and **practical [self-defense](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-defense) skills** in a **safe**, **structured**, and **positive environment**. This [Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_jiu-jitsu) (BJJ) class is for students **six** to **thirteen** years of age and runs from **5:15 PM** to **6:00 PM**, providing a **focused**, **age-appropriate training session** that fits well into an after-school routine. Located in [Herndon, VA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herndon,_Virginia), PSA is easily commutable from Oakton, Reston, Sterling, and [Great Falls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Falls,_Virginia), as well as other nearby [Northern Virginia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Virginia) communities. Parents are welcome to **stay and watch** \-\- PSA has a **dedicated seating area** where you can comfortably **observe your child’s progress** during class; parents may also take advantage of the PSA **guest WIFI** if they need an Internet connection. From a parent’s perspective, this class is about more than martial arts: children learn how to **move their bodies with purpose**, **stay calm under pressure**, **follow instructions**, **work with others**, and **build resilience**. Students are taught to apply [Gracie Jiu-Jitsu-based](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_jiu-jitsu) self-defense concepts **responsibly**, with an emphasis on **control**, **safety**, and **respect**. What children will learn in this after-school program: * **Movement** and **coordination** drills * Practical **self-defense techniques** * Standing **takedowns** * **Ground techniques** and **positional awareness** * Position-specific **drilling** * Controlled **sparring** matches (age-appropriate and supervised) * **Games** and **fun activities** to keep kids engaged and motivated Whether your child is new to [martial arts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_arts) or already active, this program offers a balanced mix of **skill development**, **physical activity**, and **confidence-building** \-\- all in a **supportive environment**. A **[free seven-day trial](https://pedrosaueracademy.com/)** is available for non-members.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Can Artificial Intelligence ‘See’?”** A look at how humans and artificial intelligence systems interpret the visual world in fundamentally different ways, with Arryn Robbins, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Richmond and cognitive scientist who researches visual attention, perception, and category learning. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-can-AI-see](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-can-AI-see) .] Artificial intelligence can now identify faces, categorize objects, describe scenes, and outperform humans on certain visual tasks. But does AI actually “see” the world the way that people do? Or does it arrive at correct answers using representations that differ markedly from human perception? Join Arryn Robbins of the University of Richmond for a fascinating exploration of how humans and AI construct meaning from visual information and a look at comparisons between human perception and AI that reveal just how dynamic and context-dependent our own visual systems really are. Dr. Robbins, who previously has given excellent Profs and Pints talks on flaws and biases in human visual perception, will draw from research in cognitive science, visual perception, and AI vision systems. She’ll explain how human perception is not merely a simple recording of the world, but an active process shaped by expectations, context, goals, and recent experience. You’ll learn how humans form flexible mental representations that allow us to recognize objects across changing environments and conditions, and why those representations continuously adapt as we interact with the world. Many AI systems, by contrast, learn visual categories through statistical patterns in data. They can produce impressive results, but sometimes they also produce strange and unexpected failures, and sometimes they classify images in ways that seem strange to us. Dr. Robbins will discuss what these differences reveal about the nature of perception itself, and why the mismatch between human and AI representations matters for technologies like self-driving cars, medical imaging, facial recognition, and automated surveillance. Important for anyone trying to understand the rapidly growing role of AI in daily life, this talk will explore one of the biggest questions in cognitive science and artificial intelligence: What does it actually mean to “see” and understand the world? (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: “Eye Farm” by Nevit Dilmen (Wikimedia Commons).