After Dark: LASERs

Everyone knows that Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation puts on a good show, but what else can it do? This 60-year-old technology started out as “a solution looking for a problem,” but it continues to enable scientific breakthroughs in communication, medicine, and observations of events light-years away. Focus on the history of LASERs along with live demonstrations of their potential and power to wow. Plus, aim your LASER focus on the cultivation and delicious uses of one of California's key crops at Pairings: Grapes. 

Full Spectrum Science: Lasers With Ron Hipschman
7:00 and 8:30 p.m.  | Osher Gallery 1, Kanbar Forum

In 1960, the laser was known as “a solution looking for a problem.” Now we can hardly imagine life without them. Learn what’s special about laser light, how it’s made, and how it’s used in everything from DVD players to eye surgery to fusion energy research. Join Exploratorium scientist Ron Hipschman for colorful explorations of the physical world at Full-Spectrum Science.

Pairings: Grapes  With Jerrel KeyAuthor, Anita Oberholster, and Clay Reynolds 
7:00 p.m.  | Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6

Note: To reserve a seat and something to eat, pick up free tickets onsite at the Observatory starting at 6:00pm. Seating is limited to 120.

From lunchboxes to fine wines, grapes offer practically endless variations of flavor, texture, and use potential. Discover the wide world of grape varietals and unusual ways to prepare them carbonated, pickled, and dried into raisins with Exploratorium chef Jerrel KeyAuthor. Join Dr. Anita Oberholster for the latest research on increased wildfires and their impact on the West Coast’s wine grape-growing regions. And follow beverage guru Clay Reynolds back to the Gold Rush for a history (and a taste) of Pisco Punch, the San Francisco cocktail that “tastes like lemonade, but comes back with the kick of a roped steer.”

LaserImage  With Cinema Arts
7:00 and 9:30 p.m.  | Bechtel Gallery 3, Wattis Webcast Studio

LaserImage, by Ivan Dryer (1972, 11 min.)

You may know Ivan Dryer as the originator of commercial laser light shows, but before that fateful time, he was  an aspiring filmmaker. In the early 1970s, Dryer partnered with Dr. Elsa Garmire, a California Institute of Technology physicist, to create an hour-long show for the Griffith Observatory Planetarium in Los Angeles. As a pitch, Dryer shot LaserImage, an 11-minute 16mm film that attempted to capture the beauty and fluidity of laser lights. Shooting against a black background, he filmed colorful laser lights and synchronized their movement to instrumental music, and gave us the laser light show we know today. Don’t miss this groundbreaking moment in film.

Laser Image: The Origin Story of Laserium  With Kathleen Maguire
7:30 p.m.  | Bechtel Gallery 3, Wattis Webcast Studio

Arts programmer and archivist Kathleen Maguire shines a light on the groovy history of the seminal laser light show, Laserium. Beginning with an experimental collaboration between filmmaker Ivan Dryer and physicist Dr. Elsa Garmire on a short film, the laser light show leapt from the movie screen to a large-scale, visual-musical spectacle that revolutionized planetarium attractions in the 1970s. Learn the history of the laser light show though its colorful ephemera and the first-hand experiences of the staff who helped support it. 

Laser Lights and Metamaterials  With Jay Lofy
9:00 p.m.  | Bechtel Gallery 3, Wattis Webcast Studio

Cloaking and bending the speed of light isn’t science fiction it’s possible here and now. Learn about photonics and metamaterials that can reverse the speed of light and offer insight into the nature of time. Explore this new world of solid-state physics and laser light with Exploratorium Explainer Jay Lofy