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The Kanbar Forum
The Kanbar Forum, our 3,600-square-foot venue, is a multidisciplinary theater space fitted with a Constellation acoustic system, one of the most advanced in the world, from Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc. With this equipment, we can change the Forum’s acoustic properties with the press of a button, from a nonreverberant recording studio to an immersive concert hall. There are only a few places in the Bay Area with this setup; one of the others is TRI Studios in Marin, an experimental “playpen” for musicians like owner Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead.
The Forum can be configured in lots of ways, from a traditional theater seating setup to a caberet-style grouping of tables and chairs. It will be used for film screenings, After Dark events, live music, lectures, training sessions, and a variety of special events, including an upcoming series called Resonance, which explores the technology, culture, and perception of sound.
Accessibility Please note that a wheelchair lift and assistive listening systems are both available in the Forum.
Upcoming Programs
Exhibits Plus Explainer Demonstrations
Thursday, September 29, 2016 • 6:00–10:00 p.m.
Experience hundreds of exhibits plus a variety of Explainer-led demonstrations: Drawing Board, Speaker Dissection, Cow Eye or Flower Dissection, and Magic. Also, grab dinner and drinks by the Bay, and explore.
Ways of Knowing: Nina Katchadourian in Conversation with Marina McDougall
Saturday, October 1, 2016 • 2:00 p.m.
Exploratorium Artist-in-Residence Nina Katchadourian will describe her two-year process of investigating themes of memory, patience, and boredom; culminating in the new work Floater Theater debuting at the museum this week.
Saturday Cinema: Made to Persuade, Part II
Saturday, October 8, 2016 • 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 p.m.
Investigate merry ways animation has been drafted to deliver targeted messages, from questionable paeans to industry to the patriotic—and occasionally subversive—WWII adventures of Donald Duck.
Cinema Arts and Everything Matters
Thursday, October 20, 2016 • 6:00–10:00 p.m.
Learn the novel and nefarious uses of phosphorus at Everything Matters, or take a look at revolutionary visual storytelling from the ’60s and ’70s in the Cinema Arts program Seasons of Unrest: Activist Filmmaking in the Vietnam Era. Also, enjoy our pitch-black Tactile Dome and an array of demonstrations.
Saturday Cinema: Eye Sight
Saturday, October 22, 2016 • Noon and 2:00 pm
Explore optical mechanisms through our classic Explainer-led demonstrations—creating your own pinhole camera and viewing a cow eye dissection—and a short film that revels in the aesthetic wonder of light and sight.
Full-Spectrum Science with Ron Hipschman: Science Fiction Turned Fact
Sunday, October 23, 2016 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
If you’ve ever wondered where your flying car or rocket belt is, or why you don’t yet have a robot servant, find out at Full-Spectrum Science.
Cinema Arts and Full-Spectrum Science
Thursday, October 27, 2016 • 6:00–10:00 p.m.
Join us for a Cinema Arts shorts program—outside on the Embarcadero. And if you’ve ever wondered where your flying car is, find out at Full-Spectrum Science. Also, explore our pitch-black Tactile Dome and an arry of demonstrations.
Members-Only Screening: Spooky Celluloid
Saturday, October 29, 2016 • 11:00 a.m.
Accordionist Rob Reich plays along with classic animations to set the mood for Halloween mischief. Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, and others appear in stories filled with fright as well as delight.
Saturday Cinema: Spooky Celluloid
Saturday, October 29, 2016 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
Get ready for some Halloween mischief! Experience the classics with your kids as Felix the Cat, Betty Boop, and creepy characters appear on in stories filled with fright and delight.
Gibson + Recoder: Powers Of Resolution
Friday, November 11–Sunday, December 18, 2016 • See below for viewing hours
Lightplay—a series of artists engagements focused on light interventions—begins with Gibson + Recoder: Powers of Resolution, which celebrates the elusive and delicate beauty revealed through immersive experiences with light.
Everything Matters: Sulfur
Thursday, November 17, 2016 • 6:00–10:00 p.m.
Be in your elements with Exploratorium host and scientific raconteur Ron Hipschman. Follow tales of intrigue and invention, join in dynamic demonstrations, and uncover fascinating connections between individual elements and our collective human experience.
Full-Spectrum Science with Ron Hipschman: Making Color
Sunday, November 27, 2016 • 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.
Explore ways to make color—from neon signs to oil slicks to rainbows and more. Learn all about light, how it is made and interacts, and take home materials to build your own spectroscope.
