Thanks to everyone for a great event!

SkeptiCamps are open, participatory events that focus on distributing knowledge within communities of skeptics. We encourage each attendee offer a short talk on a topic related to science or skepticism, but giving a talk is not required to participate. At the very least we ask that everyone be actively engaged, asking questions during the talks.

This summer we're gearing up for our fourth annual open event! Much has been happening behind the scenes to get things going for this "lean-and-mean" SkeptiCamp event. Follow news and developments on Twitter and Facebook. See below for details on registration and how you can get involved!

When and where is the event?

Location of Event

When: Saturday June 26th, 8:30am - 5:00pm
Where: CU-Boulder Campus, Duane Physics Building, Room G125 (main) and E126 (smaller)

Streaming Video

Via Ustream: Live broadcast!

Directions to CU-Boulder campus can be found on the Campus Map. Google Directions may also be useful.

If walking from the ($3/day) parking lot immediately East of the Duane building, enter the building, turn immediately right, and head up one flight of stairs. You will enter a longish hallway and hopefully see people to greet you.

Register to attend!

This is the official signup page for this event. There is no cost to attend.

Instructions to register

• This event has a limit of 80 participants. Please do not register as a "maybe" as your absence may deprive someone else of an opportunity to participate.
• We strongly encourage you to offer a talk, but you are not required to do so to participate. See the "Participate by giving a talk" section below for details on sign-up.
• You're welcome to include details of your Twitter, Facebook, blog, podcast, etc. alongside your name.
• Edit the list below to add your name.
• Once you've added your name, please promote your participation in this event (in your blog, Twitter, Facebook, word-of-mouth, etc.) directing people to this page.
• If you're not comfortable editing wiki markup, that's okay. Feel free to send your registration details to skepticamp5280@gmail.com and someone will make sure you're added.

Registered participants

to add your name (individuals only please!) click the 'edit' link to the right and add yourself to the end of the list

1. Reed Esau (Communications Organizer & Co-Lead) - An Illustrative Account (blog), @reedes (twitter)
2. Rich Orman (MC & Co-Lead) - Dogma Free America (podcast), @richorman (twitter)
3. Rachael Acks (Scheduling Czarina) - 4.5 Billion Years of Wonder (blog), @katsudonburi (twitter)
4. Janiece Murphy - Hot Chicks Dig Smart Men (blog), @janiece65 (twitter)
5. Chris Bossom - My Tumblr (blog), @chrisbawesome (twitter)
6. Stuart Robbins (Location Contact / Doorman) - "Exposing PseudoAstronomy" Blog, personal site
7. Mike Smith (Token Hominid) - @M1k303 (twitter)
8. Amy Phillips (Site Committee)
9. Frank Haskett
10. Nigel Aves - Rational Alchemy - Rational Alchemy Radio Show and Podcast
11. Brian Walsh - Host - Rational Alchemy - Rational Alchemy Radio Show and Podcast
12. Bryan Hineser - Amateur Skeptics (Podcast) Amateur Skeptics (Facebook)
13. Matt Young - Colorado School of Mines, Panda's Thumb (blog)
14. Kimberly Saviano
15. David Richards
16. Karen Mohler - Evil Mommy (blog), @spyderkl (Twitter)
17. Micah Chambers (Scheduling Czar) @ramblinnerd (Twitter)
18. Joe Anderson (Official Bartender & Pilot) - theBIOT (stale blog), @joeanderson (twitter)
19. Erik Oscarson
20. Jeff Forsberg
21. Alan Eliasen - Developer of Frink programming language / calculating tool - [1]
22. Ryan Farmer
23. Jennifer Fallon Amateur Skeptics (Podcast)Amateur Skeptics (Facebook)
24. Duff McDuffee - Beyond Growth (blog), @duffmcduffee (Twitter)
25. Jessica Stevens
26. Ian Brazee-Cannon Amateur Skeptics (Podcast) Amateur Skeptics (Facebook)
27. Tristan Havelick
28. Scott Little - (Official Unofficial Atlanta Skeptics mole) - igetpissed (Blog), @scott_little (twitter)
29. Don Lacey, AZAtheist, CU and Colorado Skepticamp 3 Alumnus, [2]
30. Nancy Lacey, Denver born and Colorado Skepticamp 3 Alumnus
31. Jack Hanley (was Academics and Skeptics Team from the TV show "Colorado X: Case Files of the Paranormal")
32. Chuck Wilcox
33. Bryan Bonner (RMPRS)
34. Baxter (RMPRS)
35. Larry Leeds
36. Laura Leeds
37. Julia Havelick
38. Kim Zerbe
39. Suzy Lewis
40. Rich Ludwig - Fund for Thought (non-profit) @skepticalcowboy
41. The Nitor - comp copies of Skeptic Magazine care of M.Shermer
42. Amanda Dove Waller
43. John P. Kole Facebook, @jpkole (twitter)
44. Morgan Levy http://www.morganlevymd.com
45. Arthur Ketcham
46. Jennifer Frazer The Artful Amoeba
47. Don Smith @yozhe (twitter)
48. Ted Burnham
49. Bill Snow
50. Katie Hoff
51. Kai Haswell
52. Carla Selby (arriving at 10am or 1pm)
53. Amy Maass
54. Ed Beeman
55. Stacey Whala
56. Jenn Roche
57. Jeff Davis
58. (removed by request)
59. Amanda Parry - Facebook, Youtube
60. Terra Yost
61. Mike Cornwell
62. Varis Carey
63. Orson Olson - unable to make it before 12 noon!
64. Tanya Higgins - Daisies and Shit Blog, Daisies and Shit Comic, @daisiesandshit (twitter)
65. Steven Groesbeck - @backin15 (twitter)
66. David Harmer - dcharmer@xxxxx
67. Kyle Kelly
68. Arthur Wilderson
69. Geremy George - geremy@xxxxx
70. Karen Stollznow
71. Zachary N
72. Keegan Little
73. Cris Zambrano
74. Steve Billester
75. Hans Cox - hans.cox@xxxxx
76. Tania Mar
77. Richard Juday
78. Carter Kalchik

Those with a number over 80 are officially on the waiting list. Because we expect a few no-shows on the morning of the event, we will admit those in the waiting list in the order that they appear in the list.

What needs to be done?

These are collaborative, community-organized events. We need many people involved to make this event happen, such as to offer talks, to help recruit good speakers, to man the registration table and especially to help promote the event.

Final open planning meeting

When: Tuesday June 22 at 7pm
Where: Tokbox video conferencing (Watch the Twitter account @skepticamp5280 for the URL)

Join us at the next planning meeting. There should be no registration required or fee involved to use Tokbox. Webcam is optional. Audio headset is recommended but not required. See Planning Meeting Agenda for what we plan to discuss.

How you can help

Consult the Planning Meeting Agenda to see what needs to be done. You can volunteer for tasks and suggest ideas for speakers to recruit.

At the very least please promote your participation on your social media networks (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

Participate by giving a talk

Atlanta SkeptiCampers send friendly greetings (photo by Chris Nicoll)

As SkeptiCamp is about sharing knowledge, we strongly encourage each participant to offer a short talk on a topic related to science or skepticism (though giving a talk is not required to participate.)

Streaming Video

Via Ustream: Live broadcast!

June 26 Current Schedules

Updated on: June 17 - schedule has been rearranged to completely fill the large room and condense the small room

• The Randi Room (aka "the big room")
• The Sagan Room (aka "the little room")

Afterwards (5:45) at Walnut Brewery - 1123 Walnut - ask for Skepticamp back room and be sure to bring cash for your drinks!

Scheduling

• Time will be scheduled in 15 minute blocks.
• Speakers may sign up for either one or two of these 15 minute blocks, for a maximum of 30 minutes per speaker.
• If there is an extremely compelling reason that you think you deserve more than 30 minutes, you may contact the scheduling czars (Micah and Rachael) at coskepticampscheduling@gmail.com and request more time. The most likely answer to such a request will be "no," however.
• Your time of either 15 or 30 minutes to speak MUST include setup/teardown, such as distributing any materials you have brought or loading a presentation on your computer. Realistically, in a 15 minute block of time you will only actually be speaking for 10-12 minutes, and in a 30 minute block of time you will only have about 25 minutes.
• The schedule will be strictly enforced by the time keepers, so make sure your presentation will fit in the time you've signed up for!
• More information about scheduling will be available once the venue/date/times are nailed down. Any questions can be directed to the scheduling czars at coskepticampscheduling@gmail.com.

Room layout and A/V setup

Because we're running this event "lean-and-mean" with minimal sponsorship demands, there won't be any free shirts as in previous years, but those interested can order one from http://shops.cafepress.com/skepticamp

• Main room, G125, is where the conference will start. It seats ~80 people in auditorium-style seating with fixed desks. Projector and white boards are in the front.
• Break-out secondary room, E126, is for parallel sessions in a more intimate setting. Room seats ~30-40 people and has 3 projectors, audio, and whiteboards.
• Having an electronic presentation is not required.
• Both rooms will have a projector, laptop and bare bones speaker setup which you're welcome to use for your presentation.
• If you bring a laptop, you'll be able to hook it to the projector. But be aware that configuration may cut into your presentation time.
• As a backup, bring your presentation in PDF form on a thumb drive. This will cut down on setup time and avoid any sort of compatability issues.
• We don't expect that we'll have microphones or a PA system.
• The "main room" will have all presentations recorded and hopefully live streamed over a site like ustream.com. By putting your presentation in the main room, you are consenting to having the presentation recorded and made available over the internet by both live streaming and having recordings made available on YouTube or other sites. If you do not want your presentation live streamed or made available on the internet, you must request that your presentation take place in the smaller room. For the smaller room, any video recording, audio recording or streaming of your presentation by event organizers will be strictly opt-out. If you don't want any photos or recording of the event, you'll have to preface your talk with that request.

Presentation content and tips

• See Session Ideas to get a flavor of what topics are in scope.
• Please provide a descriptive title of your talk. Note that attempts at bait-and-switch on your topic are subject to being derailed by an attentive audience who can ask pointed questions during your talk.
• If you're offering video clips, please keep them brief. This is an interactive event.
• No abusive, dangerous or disruptive behavior (or content) will be tolerated. The MC (or other organizer) will cut your talk short and kick you out at their discretion.
• The SkeptiCamp format relies on interaction as quality control. You must take questions during your talk.
• Move your main points to the start of your talk in case you run out of time due to questions and discussion.
• Most presentation formats are welcome, and attendees will appreciate creative and innovative presentations!
• That said, Powerpoint and similar programs are ubiquitous. So are bad Powerpoint presentations. The Seven Deadly Sins of Powerpoint is a good place to start. After previous experiences, Czarina Rachael asks that particular attention is paid to sins #4 and #6.
• While you can safely assume your audience is science literate (for the most part) don't be too quick to assume individuals are non-religious or identify as skeptics.

Instructions to sign-up to speak

• This is an open event. Anyone is welcome to sign-up to offer a talk.
• You choose your topic, but please provide a descriptive title.
• IMPORTANT: ensure you have added your name under the Registered Participants above.
• If you plan to offer a talk, indicate your name below along with your potential talk topic (if known)
• Indicate whether you prefer the larger or smaller room (or no preference) PLEASE NOTE: Talks in the big room will be recorded and streamed. Talks in the small room will be recorded for upload later. If you wish to opt out of recording, please request the small room.
• Indicate a 15 or 30 minute time block.
• Indicate whether you want your talk to happen "Early", "Middle" or "Late" in the day, or if you would like to sign up for a time "Day of"
• You will be placed into a time slot in a schedule at a later time, but BEFORE the day of event, by the Scheduling Czar and Czarina.
• If you're not comfortable editing wiki markup, that's okay. Feel free to send your talk details to coskepticampscheduling@gmail.com and someone will make sure it's added.

Registered talks

to add your talk click the 'edit' link to the right and add it to the end of the list

1. Stuart Robbins - "Apocalypse 2012: Death by the Mayans, Pole Shifts, or Galactic Alignments?" - large room - 30 minutes requested
2. Reed Esau - 15 minutes - small room - early - "The Rationale for Open Events in Skepticism" - a preview of a talk that I plan to give at a "Grassroots Skepticism" workshop at TAM8 the following weekend
3. Rich Orman- Skeptical Trivia Challenge.
4. Amy Phillips-"Why you keep getting the annoying emails with urban legends in it" and launch of research project on how skeptics use information-15 minutes requested-Morning please
5. Mike Smith - "Ouija boards and related conjouring techniques." - either room, 15 minutes - Summary: What is the origin of the Ouija Board? How does it work? Why is the mystique surrounding it so persistent?
6. Frank Haskett - "9/11 - Truth or Fiction" - either room - 15 minutes
7. Alan Eliasen - "Skepticalculations" - Learn to effortlessly debunk crazy claims, to understand the world better, and to make yourself look (even) smarter with a tool Alan developed called Frink. Some "paranormal" claims will be analyzed and shown to be laughable with simple math. Large room, late, 30 minutes requested.
8. Duff McDuffee - "What Happened to the Stars of The Secret?" (covering the scams, frauds, and other weirdness in the lives of the "stars" of the movie The Secret since its release) - request the big room and 30 minutes if possible
9. Don Lacey - "Tetris and Knowledge" 15 minutes, powerpoint presentation - A discussion of a knowledge model based on the video game "Tetris" (this talk was presented on The Amazing Adventure 5: Skeptics of the Caribbean)
10. Skeptics and Academic Team from the upcoming Television Series "Colorado X: Case Files of the Paranormal"- "Wielding Occam's Razor: A Skeptical Retort to TV Paranormal Investigators". 30 Mins / Powerpoint and Panel / Any Room.
11. Chuck Wilcox - The Shakespeare Conspiracy: Did He Really Write The Plays? - 30 min
12. Rocky Mountain Paranormal Research Society
13. Morgan Levy, MD - CONSTITUTIONAL SEX - 30 min. - large room - anytime during the day - Read the book for free at: http://www.morganlevymd.com/morganlevymd.com/constitutionalsex/cover2_NEW.html
14. Morgan Levy, MD - PLACEBO MEDICINE - 30 min. - large room - anytime during the day - Read the book for free at: http://www.morganlevymd.com/morganlevymd.com/placebomedicine/cover3.html
15. Jennifer Frazer - "Avoiding Death by Mushroom Myths" -- 15 minutes, either room, *prefer 4 p.m. or later*. There are a lot of folk rules about eating wild mushrooms, and pretty much all of them could get you (or your uninformed neighbors) killed or seriously sickened. We'll take a brief look at what they are, then at the real ways to avoid dying of mushroom poisoning, and then at some of the guilty parties in Colorado.
16. Matt Young, Why Evolution Works (and Creationism Fails), 30 min, either room. Short talk about why we wrote the book with that name, followed by discussion. Yes, I will have some copies on hand. (I will bring a Jump drive, presume you will have a computer.)
17. Kimberly Saviano, End of Digital Thinking - 15 minutes, small room, whenever. I want to talk about false dichotomies and the spectrum of truth.
18. Bryan Hineser, Brian Walsh, and Brazee-Cannon - Podcasters Panel, discussion about podcasting 30 min. samll room
19. Orson Olson - "The Global Warming Crisis and Climategate in the UK? - The Two Narratives Since 2009" - [3] - 15 min - LATE
20. Orson Olson-"IPCC Global Warming 90% Certainly Man-Made?--A Natural Test"-15 minutes - MIDDLE [not before noon-but preferably 1PM or later]
21. Rachael Acks - "Genesis of the Green Mountain Kimberlite, Or: possibly more than you ever wanted to know about a local geological feature" - 15 minutes
22. add your name and descriptive talk title here
23. add your name and descriptive talk title here

External links

• Colorado SkeptiCamp on Twitter - follow us on Twitter (registered participants list)
• Colorado SkeptiCamp on Facebook - our news page on Facebook - you can post here!
• SkeptiCamp on Twitter - follow the daily tip feed as well as news of other events globally
• SkeptiCamp at Cafe Press - shirts with the event logo

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