After Dark: Poison

Schedule 

Presentations

Toxic Relationships: Detox or Toss?
With Heike Winterheld
7:00 p.m.  |  Bechtel Gallery 3, Webcast Studio

Have you ever been in a relationship—romantic or not—that started out intoxicating and then turned toxic? Although these relationships can be (literally) hazardous to your health, there's good news: vicious cycles can be broken and healthy connections built. Exploratorium staff social psychologist Heike Winterheld discusses how negative relationship dynamics develop and how they can be changed, why certain personalities don't play well with others and how to handle them, and what you can do to detox your love life (without donning a hazmat suit).

Everything Matters: Arsenic
With Ron Hipschman
8:00 p.m.  |  Bechtel Gallery 3, Webcast Studio

Known as the "poison of kings" for its role in palace coups and the "king of poisons" for its effectiveness, arsenic is one of the world's most notorious poisons—yet it surrounds us in the natural world and has appeared in medical and cosmetic contexts for thousands of years. Investigate our complex relationship with the 33^rd element with Ron Hipschman.

Ongoing

Nematocyst Poison
With Dana Carrison-Stone
6:30–9:30 p.m.  | Gallery 4, Bio Bar

Cnidaria—anemones, corals, and jellyfish, among others—aren't supervillains; they're just trying to eat. But it's all the same to the victims of their nematocysts, or body parts that inject poison into their prey. Learn about nematocysts with marine biologist Dana Carrison-Stone.

Spider Venom
With Evolab
6:30–9:30 p.m.  |  Gallery 4

Spiders aren't poisonous, but some of them are venomous. What's the difference? The spider experts of UC Berkeley's Evolab can fill you in—and tell you about the role of venom in spider mating, how venomous spiders evolved, and how it feels to milk spiders for their venom every day at work.

Sonaqua
With Scott Kildall
6:30–9:30 p.m.  |  Gallery 4, near tidal walls

You know the sound of running water—but can you hear what's in the water? Artist Scott Kildall's installation Sonaqua uses an algorithm, a simple Arduino circuit, and samples of river water from around the world to produce sonifications—data-driven orchestral arrangements that express the makeup and purity of each sample through sound.