Bill Nye the Science Guy spoke to a packed Stephens Auditorium on Friday night, Sept. 21. His talk, “You Can Change the World,” attracted so many spectators the managers of Stephens Auditorium had to turn some patrons away.

Nye’s overall theme was how people are contributing both negatively and positively to the environment, how society is consuming resources, and what changes we can make to make the world a better place to live.

He explained these things to the audience while keeping the presentation of the subject matter characteristically entertaining.

Nye began by talking about his parents. His mother was a codebreaker during World War II and his father was a sundial enthusiast.

Nye spoke at length about sundials and the importance of society being able to tell and track time.

“Clocks and calendars have changed society more than wheels have,” Nye said.

He also spoke about the recent landing of the Mars Rover, Curiousity, and the importance of exploring space and other planets in the solar system and beyond in order to find out more about ourselves.

Nye predicted: “It is not impossibly impossible that in the next two years the Mars Rover would drive up Mt. Sharp and find fossils.”

Nye explained many alternative ways to possibly generate, store and use power.

“We could send power all over America and, dare I say it, change the world,” he said.