Mycelium and Muse - Interactive Science Class

We often equate creativity with making art. Picasso was creative. Beethoven was creative. Van Gogh was creative.But what about the person who first picked up a piece of charcoal and scribbled on the wall of a cave, hoping the people in the next cave would get the message? Or the bowerbird who spends an entire season collecting blue bottle caps and flowers to decorate a little stage for a mate?And what about a fungus? This one is literally brainless, yet it sends out electrical signals that, when connected to a synthesizer, play out like music.So if creativity shows up in organisms without brains, it is far older than us, isn't it? That's the question we'll sit with over coffee: where creativity really begins on the tree of life, and what that means for those of us who have spent years saying "I'm just not the creative type."Along the way, you'll hear a mushroom play music, and you'll make something that is deliberately, wonderfully bad. You don't need any science background to join in.Just come, grab a coffee, and let's get some creativity brewing. Because, tell you what, I'm not sure a creative life is a happier one. But I'm pretty sure it's a far more meaningful one.About the Speaker:Bitasta Datta is a microbiologist by training, an educator by profession and a science storyteller by passion.For over 10 years, she has been turning science into stories for school learners and curious adults. She started at the National Digital Library of India, went on to co-found The Synapse, led curriculum and learning experience design at BYJU'S and Tutopiya, and tinkers with content at Khan Academy.