The Science of Optimism with Hank Green

Ticket Sales Begin October 14

Join the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for an engaging discussion with Hank Green, well-known science communicator, YouTuber, and novelist.

During this moderated Q&A, we’ll talk to Green about his career, his influence, and how important it is to remain optimistic in a world where distrust in science is becoming more normal.

This program is part of the Linda and Les Vinney Know Your World Lecture Series.

Museum doors open at 6:30pm; the discussion will begin at 7pm. Beverages and grab-and-go items will be available for purchase in Origins Café before the program.

Tickets

Leadership Circle: $20*
Members: $25**
Nonmembers: $30

Early registration for Museum members will open at 9am on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. Tickets will go on sale to the general public at noon. Tickets are limited to four per order. Sign up for our email list to receive updates on ticket sales!

*To learn more about joining the Leadership Circle, please contact Kelly Federico, Annual Fund Manager, at 216.231.4600 x3360 or kfederico@cmnh.org.

**Members: Please log in to your online Museum account to ensure access to discounted tickets. Your member discount will be reflected in your shopping cart.

Parking

Parking is available in the Museum's attached garage; standard rates apply. Find more information on directions and parking here.

About Hank Green

You most likely know Hank Green as the Internet’s science guy. With a combined social media following of over 20 million people, he’s somehow done it mostly with educational content, sharing his excitement about everything from microbes to supernovae.

Hank is also a best-selling science fiction novelist, an astute observer and critic of online media, and the co-founder and CEO of Complexly which produces SciShow, Crash Course, and nearly a dozen other educational YouTube channels. Recently, he also created “The Awesome Socks Club” a charity sock subscription that has over 60,000 paying subscribers and donates more than one million dollars to charity every year.

All of this began when he and his brother, novelist John Green, began making YouTube videos in 2007. Their pioneering project invented many of the forms of online video. Not many of those early creators are still at it a decade and a half later, but John and Hank seem perpetually able to find success in whatever new platform arises. Along the way, they started VidCon, the largest convention for people who create online video, as well as Subbable, a crowd-funding platform for creators that was acquired by Patreon.

Hank loves to speak on science and science communication, education, online video creation, the influencer industry, the societal costs and benefits of social media, running small creative businesses, creative business models, and you probably shouldn’t get him started on pelicans.

Hank lives in Montana with his wife and son, so he can also talk about that!