Arts a la Carte, a new children’s arts discussion series at the Featherstone Center for the Arts, will kick off this Thursday with a bang: a Molly Bang, that is.

One of the most accomplished paleoanthropologists of our time, Donald C. Johanson, will give a talk called What’s New in the Last Few Million Years tomorrow, July 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center on Centre street in Vineyard Haven.

Dr. Johanson has produced some of the field’s groundbreaking discoveries, including the most widely known and thoroughly studied fossil find of the 20th century — the Lucy skeleton.

His program is appropriate for children as young as fifth or sixth grade, and the cost is $15.

ISLAND LIFE: A CATALOG OF THE BIODIVERSITY ON AND AROUND MARTHA’S VINEYARD. By Allan R. Keith and Stephen A. Spongberg. Published in cooperation with the Marine Biological Laboratories, Woods Hole, Mass. 2008.

Computers and Art

Computers have been used to analyze works of art and have helped clear up controversies in the study of art.

David G. Stork, a computer and image scientist at Stanford University and with Ricoh Innovations, presents When Computers Look At Art, a free talk on Thursday, July 10, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Chilmark Public Library.

Mr. Stork gears his talk to non-scientists who are interested in learning more about computer image analysis and our understanding of art.

Hop in With the Kids

Frogs and Their Habitats, a crafts and nature activity for kids at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, is the first in the Edgartown Public Library’s series of summer reading programs. Children will learn about frogs, including the Vineyard’s own famous pinkletinks, in this program, and in the crafts activity they’ll learn to fold paper frogs that actually jump. The afternoon will also feature an “infotainment” program, How to Dress Like a Frog.

Friday Conversation

On July 11, Jim McLaurin, a member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, will speak in the Friday Conversations program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Oak Bluffs Senior Center. He will show a video about the group’s service in World War II. More information is available by calling 508-693-9771.