ILLUMINATE: A NIGHT AT THE MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER

The Michigan Science Center is encouraging families to stop by the evening of Saturday, October 22, 2016 from 7 to 11pm for a special fun-filled after-hours party. ILLUMINATE: A NIGHT AT THE MICHIGAN SCIENCE CENTER will provide an electrifying experience as it highlights its newest exhibit "Creatures of Light: Nature's Bioluminescence" and provides opportunities for attendees to be entertained by activities that revolve around the theme of "light." Guests can witness fire breathing and juggling performances by Sunshine Fire Entertainment, interact with touch tanks from Sea Life Aquarium, and more during this event.

The Creatures of Light exhibit allows people to discover the world of bioluminescence - the generation of light by living things. Travel through summer meadows, visit the deep sea, explore other-worldly environments, experience a custom soundscape, and encounter amazing organisms. This exhibit is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York in collaboration with the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada, and The Field Museum, Chicago. The exhibit is divided into six sections --  Woods: Mushrooms; A Summer's Night: Fireflies; A Mysterious Cave: Glowworms; A Sparkling Sea: Dinoflagellates; Sea Shores: Corals, Jellies & Fishes; and Deep Ocean: Predators & Prey.  Creatures of Light includes interactive experiences, larger than life models, video presentations and even some live animals.

There will also be special hands-on activities taking place throughout the evening that include:

Painting with Light: Light up the night and write a message in the dark at our Light Painting station. Light painting is a photography technique using slow a shutter speed to draw in the air with light. With our supply of various sources of light, we are sure you will have some bright ideas!

Technology Hologram: Witness a larger-than-life hologram image and create your own mini version to take home, using your smart phone and a few simple supplies!

Bling Bar: Transform into one of our Creatures of Light by making an LED angler fish headband or a fire fly pin!

Diffraction Glasses & Spectrum Tubes: Design and create Diffraction Glasses, then chase rainbows as these sassy specs separate and diffract the light around us. Put them to the test in during the Planetarium show: Cosmic Colors!

Paint by Numbers Throwies: Learn about electricity by creating an LED circuit and then throw your creation to create a piece of bioluminescent art, which will be showcased in the Creatures of Light exhibit.

Thermal Mapping: Did you know your body can light up too? See where your skin is radiating the warmest heat waves with our infrared camera!

Perler Beads: Use beads to create unique glow-in-the-dark designs.

Glow Slime – Make oozy slime that glows in dark!

Live Demo (Luminol): Learn how energy produces visible light through chemical reactions. We think it’s pretty brilliant! ·

Fluorescing Bubbles: Make ordinary dry ice into vibrant bubbles that glow under ultra violet light!

Desserts will be provided and a cash bar will be available for guest 21+. Tickets can be purchased here. Tickets for ILLUMINATE are $40 per adult and  $15 for each child.  CLICK HERE to purchase tickets. 

The Michigan Science Center is located at 5020 John R Street in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  CLICK HERE for directions and parking information.

About the Michigan Science Center

The Michigan Science Center is a hands-on museum that inspires curious minds of all ages to discover, explore and appreciate science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in a creative, dynamic learning environment. The Science Center features five theaters, including Michigan’s largest screen at the Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre; the Dassault Systèmes Planetarium; the Toyota Engineering 4D Theater; the DTE Energy Sparks Theater; the Chrysler Science Stage; a 9,800 square-foot Traveling Science Hall for special exhibits; hands-on exhibit galleries focusing on space, life and physical science; Kids Town just for pint-size scientists; along with, education and outreach programs. The Michigan Science Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and does not receive any money from the city of Detroit or the state of Michigan. For more information, please call 313.577.8400 or visit the website, www.Mi-Sci.org

Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek's premiere on television by participating in the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Experience at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.  From July 9 through October 31, 2016 visitors to the 12,000 square foot exhibit will be immersed in the experience of being a cadet training for a crew spot on a Star Trek space ship.  Do you have what it takes to be assigned to NCC-1701, the Starship Enterprise?

Entering the exhibit you are provided a wrist band that is coded to your admission ticket.  You'll be greeted by a hologram of a Vulcan training instructor who advises you on your assignments. Throughout the experience you'll need to scan your band against identified panels in order to participate in various training sessions.

How will you do in a phaser shootout? What are your linguistics skills when it comes to speaking Klingon?  Can you diagnose an illness or injury with a tricorder? How will you fare in the legendary Kobayashi Maru training simulation?  How you score in all of these scenarios will determine which specialty you are assigned at the conclusion of your cadet training - language, medicine, engineering, navigation, science or command.

In addition to these interactive training sessions, the exhibit also features models, props, and costumes from various Star Trek television shows that are really interesting to see first hand.

Another highlight is being able to take facial features from a variety of the aliens featured in the television shows and transform yourself into your own unique Star Trek persona.

The best part of the experience for me was the Transporter Room which simulates people being teleported just like in the television show.  People stand in a tube off to the side of the room and a hologram of the person is projected onto a transformer pad set in the stage set located at the middle of the room.  Your hologram than appears to transport your image with the same special effects from the Star Trek television shows.  I tried to get some pictures and video but they don't do justice to watching the effects live in front of you.

The exhibit wraps up with a mock up of the bridge of the Enterprise from the Star Trek: The Next Generation television show.  There are terminals around the edge of the room that allow you to engage in the Kobayashi Maru simulation while you wait to get a photo op in Captain Picard's bridge command chair.

Leaving the Star Trek: The Star Fleet Academy Experience you are provided a report card based upon how you excelled during your cadet training.  Of course I was identified as having Command potential!

Turn in your wrist band and you'll have emailed to you a copy of your Starfleet Academy report card, your Star Trek alien portrait, and a video showing you in the transporter room which make for nice souvenirs.

For more information, visit IntrepidMuseum.org/StarTrek.

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