Masks and vaccinations are recommended. Plan your visit
Field of View and Full-Spectrum Science
Thursday, September 28, 2017 • 6:00–10:00 p.m.
Buy Tickets
$15 General
$10 Members; Free for Lab Members
Adults Only (18+)
Note: Some programs have limited seating and will be made available to visitors on a first-come, first-served basis.
Take a VR journey to the homeland of indigenous elder Nyarri Morgan and the Martu tribe in remote west Australian at Collisions. Consider wholly new universes at Field of View: Play. And examine whether you can age slower than your twin at Full-Spectrum Science: Time.
Featured Programs
Collisions
Part of the Field of View Series6:15, 7:15, 8:15, and 9:15 p.m.
Black Box
Included with museum admission, but a reservation is required.
Note: Capacity for each screening is extremely limited. You can purchase your ticket and reserve a seat for Collisions by selecting your preferred date and time here.
Collisions, directed by artist and filmmaker Lynette Wallworth, is a poetic virtual reality (VR) journey to the homeland of indigenous elder Nyarri Morgan and the Martu tribe in the remote Western Australian Pilbara desert. The Martu lived largely untouched by Western culture until the 1960s. Nyarri's first contact with Western culture came in the 1950s via a dramatic collision between his traditional world view and the cutting edge of Western science and technology when he witnessed firsthand, and with no context, an atomic test. Nyarri offers a view to what he saw and, reflecting on this extraordinary event, shares his perspective on the Martu way of caring for the planet. Through the use of immersive VR technology in combination with Wallworth’s world‐class storytelling, Collisions invites participants to experience an alternative understanding of long‐term decision-making through the perspective of one of the world’s oldest cultures. Rooted in tradition and historical context, the story shared in Collisions is one of deep urgency as we struggle to develop a meaningful response to the human‐induced climate change of our shared planet.
Collisions was produced by four-time Emmy nominee Nicole Newnham, a Bay Area–based producer and documentarian.
Lynette Wallworth is an acclaimed Australian artist and director whose immersive installations and films reflect connections between people and the natural world, and explore fragile human states of grace. Her work uses immersive environments, interactive technologies, and narrative long-form film to engage viewers. She often pursues stories with emerging technologies. Previous work includes the interactive installation Evolution of Fearlessness, a moving portrait of 11 women who lived beyond the state of fear, and the fulldome feature Coral: Rekindling Venus, which has an accompanying augmented reality poster collection. Her work has shown at the World Economic Forum; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; the American Museum of Natural History, New York; the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art; the Smithsonian; and many film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival, London Film Festival, Glasgow Film Festival, and Sydney Film Festival. Foreign Policy magazine named Wallworth one of the “100 Leading Global Thinkers of the year.”
Read Wallworth’s Artist Statement for Collisions here.
Collisions is part of the Field of View series.
Photo © Piers Mussared.
Field of View: Play
Note: Some virtual reality experiences have very limited capacity. First come, first served or via timed tickets distributed at the experience.6:30–9:30 p.m.
As emerging technologies find their footing, artists and enthusiasts are often early adopters and boundary pushers. Playful and artful projects can be the impetus for pushing technology further and informing developers as to the unexpected ways creative spirits will approach their designs. And the technology can be the key for an artist realizing a complex project. Tonight, we consider this playful landscape in which wholly new universes have been crafted to prompt creativity, observation, inclusion, education, and, occasionally, designed confusion. From self-driven artist collectives researching the future of the office to new, cooperative worlds crafted by users, we will tour the inner and outer edges of new media experiences.
Read about the presenters and ongoing experiences here.
Play is part of the Field of View series.
Photo © Can Buyukberber, Morphogenesis.
Full-Spectrum Science with Ron Hipschman: Time
8:00 p.m.
Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery
Join Exploratorium scientist Ron Hipschman for colorful explorations of the physical world.
You know what time is because of your daily experience, but what seems constant and unchanging is not. In 1905, Albert Einstein threw a monkey wrench in our perception of time and space. Join us as we examine a few of these quirks on a conceptual non-mathematical level. Yes, you can age slower than your twin!
Since joining the Exploratorium in 1971, Ron Hipschman has worked as an exhibit developer, author, teacher, and webcast host. He currently works on the Exploratorium’s Environmental Initiative, implementing and maintaining a collection of environmental monitoring sensors and developing visualizations for the Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery’s super-resolution media wall. In addition to Full-Spectrum Science, Ron hosts the monthly After Dark series Everything Matters: Tales from the Periodic Table.
Learn more about the series, Full-Spectrum Science with Ron Hipschman.
Explainer Demonstrations
Drawing Board
Ticketing at 6:00 p.m., first come, first served
Bernard and Barbro Osher West Gallery
Draw hypnotically flowing patterns with a swinging table, and watch friction cause the patterns to slowly shrink along a spiral path. Pick up a ticket to reserve your spot in line for this popular activity.
Speaker Dissection
Bechtel Central Gallery
Tune in to surrounding sounds by experimenting with strings and vibrations, and use electromagnets to build a basic speaker. Learn how to listen with your bones, and explore the workings of the inner ear.
Cow Eye or Flower Dissection (alternating)
East Gallery
Do cows see color? How does a lens work? Examine the intricate structure of a cow eye to learn about similar structures in our own eyes, as well as some key differences.
Stigma, stamen, pistil, anther, style: Uncover the beautiful architecture of flower anatomy, and gather some surprising strategies that plants use to reproduce.
Magic Demonstration
Bernard and Barbro Osher West Gallery
Everything is not as it seems—at first. Pick a card, any card, and watch the Explainers reveal some surprising aspects of human perception.
