Pencil This In

EVENT: The Secret Science Club is back and holding court at the Bell House tonight. This evening astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson lectures on "the Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, the icy little world known as Pluto" which was demoted to the status of dwarf planet in 2006. Tyson actually received a tear-stained hate mail letter from third-graders when this was announced! Did we mention he's also the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History and host of PBS’s Nova: ScienceNOW? Not to mention one of TIME Magazine's 100 most influential people and People mag's title holder for Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive.

8 p.m. // the Bell House [149 7th St, Gowanus] // $3

TALK: Tonight there will be a moderated discussion on the Twenty-First Century Transit: Second Avenue Tunnel Construction, hosted by the Transit Museum. The experts on hand will discuss "the engineering and construction challenges of building the city's first new subway line in over 50 years, including working in a dense urban environment and building three new ADA-compliant stations during Phase One of the project."

6 p.m. // North East Balcony, Grand Central Terminal // Free

GAME: You may notice there's no music listing here today because all of the bands in the world are in Austin. If you can point out Austin on a map though, you may be ready for a little Geography Bee going down at Chelsea Market tonight. Winners get trophies and, look at that, there will even be a deejay to satiate your sonic craving.

7:30 p.m. // Chelsea Market [75 9th Ave] // Free

THEATER: Set in 1962 in Birmingham, Alabama, The Good Negro explores the personal and political struggles faced by leaders of the civil rights movement, centering on a philandering but politically influential preacher, loosely based on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Besides threats from the FBI and KKK, the black activists in The Good Negro also struggle to overcome their own inner demons, with varying degrees of success. Charles Isherwood at the Times says the play "peels back the righteous sheen to reveal a more complicated truth." And Martin Denton calls it "the most important play of the season." — John Del Signore

8 p.m. // The Public Theater [425 Lafayette St] // Tickets