After Dark: LIVE with the InSight Lander Roadshow and Videons

Videons: Visions Through Time, 1968–2018

7:30 p.m.
Kanbar Forum

Featuring a retrospective and current work of pioneering video artist Steve Beck, we highlight the hypnotic and transcendent visuals created through analogue video synthesizers, live moment, and film/video hybrids. Beck will join us for a conversation about his work, vision, and the convergence of art and technology.

Among the works to be shown are CYCLES and UNION, two video-film fusions recently acquired by The Smithsonian Museum of American Art for their permanent collection of The Moving Image. 

Featuring

Illuminated Music 1 (1972, 7 min.)
SHIVA (1973, 4 min.)
CYCLES (1974, 11 min.), co-directed by Jordan Belson 
Video Weavings (1973–1976, 9 min.)
UNION (1975, 10 min.)
Video Ecotopia (1976 ,7 min.)
Voodoo Child (1982, 8 min.)
The Lone Breaker (1985, 5 min.)
Bieru Nippon Part 2 (2012, 3 min.)
NOOR (2011, 7 min.), part 1 of a trilogy

Excerpts from some of these works can be viewed here. 

LIVE with the InSight Lander Roadshow: Mission to Mars

8:00 p.m.
Phyllis C. Wattis Webcast Studio
Watch live online at 8:00 p.m.

Join NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers and get a sneak peek of the upcoming InSight Mars mission, the first to focus on examining the deep interior of Mars. Launching in May 2018, this lander will be the very first interplanetary launch from the West Coast. The Exploratorium will host the InSight Roadshow with a half-scale model of the lander and an array of instruments.

InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a NASA Discovery Program mission that will place a single lander on Mars. InSight is more than a Mars mission; it’s a terrestrial planet explorer that will address one of the most fundamental questions of planetary and solar system science: what are the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system, including Earth, more than four billion years ago?

By using sophisticated geophysical instruments, InSight will delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as measuring the planet's “vital signs”: its "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow probe), and "reflexes" (precision tracking).

The Roadshow will be at the Exploratorium from April 18 through April 22, 2018.

Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Tactile Dome

6:15–10:00 p.m.
Bernard and Barbro Osher West Gallery

Take an excursion through total darkness in our Tactile Dome. Crawl, slide, and bump your way through the pitch-dark Dome using your sense of touch as your only guide through its chambers and mazes.

Please Note: Due to the nature of this experience, certain restrictions apply. Guests who are afraid of the dark; claustrophobic; have back, neck, or knee injuries; or are in their third trimester of pregnancy should not participate. Guests wearing casts are prohibited. Also, please wear comfortable clothes.

Learn more about the Tactile Dome.

Explainer Demonstrations

6:00–9:45 unless noted
Various locations throughout the museum

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.