Art of Illusion NightLife

Take a closer look at how people and animals create illusion—from special effects to art and camouflage. Check out a pop-up exhibit by local artist Thom Nguyen, whose work transforms under varied light sources. Meet the Academy’s visualization studio team which uses special effects techniques honed in Hollywood to produce scientifically accurate, award-winning content for the planetarium. See how the creative folks at Obscura Digital use technology to create immersive and interactive experiences on any surface. Illusionist Patrick Martin will host an illustrated talk on how illusions affect the mind, and roam through the museum performing sleight of hand tricks to challenge your sense of reality. Try your hand at a variety of DIY optical illusions, and don’t miss Academy icythyologist Dave Catania discussing how fish use camouflage and mimicry to survive. Music by Grown Kids Radio with DJ's B Maj, EricBoss, Spinnerty, Cyclyst, Diversify, and Peter West.

Event Schedule

6-8pm Rainforests of the World (Last entry at 7:45pm)

6-9pm Science Love Stories: Marine Mimicry and Camouflage with Academy Icythyologist Dave Catania/ Project Lab

6-10pm Optical Illusion Pop-up Exhibit by Artist Thom Nguyen/ Coral Reef

7-9pm Illusionist Patrick Martin/ Throughout

6-10pm Grown Kids Radio DJs/ Coral Reef & Piazza

6-10pm Art of Illusion Cocktail Tour/ Bars Throughout

6:30pm Universe Update/ Planetarium

7pm Meet the Academy’s Visualization Studio/ East Pavilion

7:30 & 8:30pm Obscura Digital Demonstration/ Forum

7:30 & 8:30pm Life: A Cosmic Story/ Planetarium

8pm Revealing the Science of Magic with Illusionist Patrick Martin/ East Pavilion

Buy Tickets to NightLife on May 17th

Revealing the Science of Magic with Patrick Martin

Show at 8pm East Pavilion

Are Intelligent People Easier to Fool?

“The bigger the brain, the harder it falls!” So says Illusionist Patrick Martin, who shares how the art of magic affects the mind at the California Academy of Science during 'Nightlife' San Francisco's popular cultural nightspot in Golden Gate Park. “Logical minds jump to conclusions, and so respond better to the psychology that makes magic work”, explains Martin, who will be featured at the Academy’s ‘Art of Illusion’ themed event on Thursday May 17th from 6pm to 10 pm. Martin exposes the structure of trickery and how politicians, Madison Avenue, the CIA and other governments use the techniques of deception. After his talk, which also includes interactive optical illusions, Martin will roam throughout the museum performing sleight of hand miracles to challenge viewer’s sense of reality.

An Internationally acclaimed performance artist; Patrick Martin has entertained on television, for the White House and at the Olympic Arts Festival. Martin has also lectured on the Science of Magic for NASA at Moffet Field, for the International Arts Symposium in Shanghai, China, and for the Sage Center for the Study of the Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Obscura Digital Demo

7:30 & 8:30pm Forum

See Barry Threw and Bill Galusha from Obscura Digital reveal the technology behind projection mappings and off screen digital art.

From mapping video onto nearly any surface to building large-scale, multi-touch displays, Obscura Digital delivers groundbreaking immersive and interactive experiences. Part technology lab and part creative agency, we are continually generating new forms of experiential marketing for Fortune 500 clients around the world. Our team of technologists, creatives, and strategists have been shaping the future of advertising for over a decade. We blend award winning design with bleeding edge technology to ignite the sparks of imagination and excitement in consumers' minds. When you experience an Obscura innovation, it's magic.

Grown Kids Radio

6-10pm Coral Reef & Piazza

Eclectic, thoughtful and early-adopters are some words that come to mind when Grown Kids Radio is present.  Comprised of several San Francisco-based, forward-thinking creatives, this crew has conjured a unique recipe for the freshest of musical stews each serving as an audio entree. B Maj, Spinnerty, Diversify, Cyclyst, Peter West, and EricBoss all bring forth their own niche to the show, riding the soundwaves of all forms of music, from every imaginable step of life. With over 40 episodes in the bag and features from Chico Mann, Mono/Poly, Natural Self, Dibiase, Grillade, Jay Scarlett, Maus Haus, and Jeremy Ellis to name a few, the kids are officially Grown!

DJ Lineup:
B Maj, EricBoss, Spinnerty, Cyclyst, Diversify, and Peter West

Also in the coral reef, enjoy an optical illusion pop-up exhibit by artist Thom Nguyen. Featured in FlashBang SF, Thom’s paintings transform into completely different images under different light.

Meet the Academy's Visualization Studio

7pm East Pavilion

Learn how the the Academy’s Visualization Studio uses special effects to create unique programming for our planetarium such as the research and development that led to recreating the 1906 Market and California intersection and Ferry Building for the upcoming Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet planetarium show. Also see the techniques behind the opening shot of Life: A Cosmic Story – the entry into a redwood leaf down to the molecular level.

Art of Illusion Cocktail Tour

6-10pm

Lobby Bar
STRAWBERRY BASIL COLLINS (ORGANIC)
Featuring Kanon organic vodka infused with organic basil, fresh local strawberries, lemon juice, local honey, soda and a mist of rhubarb bitters.

Swamp Bar
Minted Watermelon Fizz
Featuring Skyy vodka, fresh watermelon, lime juice, local honey and soda. Served tall over ice with mint and a mist of absinthe.

Aquarium Bar
Supernatural Sangria
Featuring fresh fruit, local wines, hibiscus-infused vodka and fresh ginger.

Planetarium Bar
Cracker Jack
Featuring Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey, ginger-ale, fresh lime and Angostura bitters.

3rd Floor/ VIP Bar
Dirty Trick Martini
Featuring Kanon organic vodka and organic olive juice. Served up with organic olives.

Planetarium

Enjoy the following planetarium shows this week at NightLife:

Science Tonight: LIVE @ 6:30pm Universe Update

Take a tour of the Universe with a sprinkling of the hottest news stories from astronomy and the space sciences!  Ryan Wyatt, Director of the Morrison Planetarium, pilots you through the stars and beyond the galaxies, explaining the latest space headlines in easily-digestible terms, and returns you safely to Earth in less than an hour.

7:30 & 8:30pm Life: A Cosmic Story

How did life on Earth begin? This tantalizing question forms the basis of the second all-digital planetarium show produced by the Academy for the Morrison Planetarium’s 75-foot diameter dome. WINNER of the “Best Fulldome Program” category at the 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival! 

Passes to planetarium shows are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  Pick up your pass at the Planetarium Kiosk.

BridgeFest NightLife

Celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge with a night of swing music and reflection on San Francisco’s beloved icon. When the bridge opened in 1937, a gallon of gas cost 10 cents and swing music was all the rage as the Great Depression wore on. Today, it remains one of the world’s most recognizable landmarks and has been crossed by nearly 2 billion vehicles. During NightLife, peruse a pop-up exhibit of the Kinter collection of photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge construction, and check out a scale acrylic model of the Golden Gate Bridge crafted by students of sustainable design at California College of the Arts. Tour History on the Move, Wells Fargo’s mobile museum about the history of stagecoaches, the Gold Rush, the Golden Gate Bridge and more, and test your skills as a Pony Express rider on “Lightning” the horse simulator. In the planetarium, look back at how much astronomers have learned over the past 75 years at 6:30, followed by two screenings of Life: A Cosmic Story. Enjoy live performances by the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra, which draws inspiration from the great bands, performers and composers of the Jazz Age and Swing Era. Additional swingin’ music to transport you back in time by DJ Tanoa, a.k.a. "Samoa Boy."

Buy Tickets to NightLife on May 24th

Royal Society Jazz - Live with Carla Normand

Performances at 8 & 9pm Piazza

Drawing inspiration from the great bands, performers and composers of the "Jazz Age" and "Swing Era," Don Neely and the Royal Society Jazz Orchestra affectionately and authentically recapture the excitement and fascination of that musical heyday.

DJ Tanoa "Samoa Boy"

6-10pm East Pavilion

DJ Tanoa "Samoa Boy": host of "Get with the Beat" Tuesdays 2pm-4pm on 87.9fm, radiovalencia.fm, spins 33 and 45pm, 1930s thru 1960s Toe Tappin Twistin', Hip Shakin, Soul Strollin', Jive Boppin' records...Rockabilly, Classic Country, Jump Blues, Doo Wop, Swingin' Jazz, Boogie & Surf... Music for your dancing, drinking & listening delight... Dj Tanoa Samoa Boy will be spinning a special 1920 thru 1941 pre-war swingin' jazz set! 

Planetarium

Enjoy the following planetarium shows this week at NightLife:

Science Tonight: LIVE @ 6:30pm 75 Years of Astronomy

As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge, how has astronomy change since 1937?  Back then, astronomers believed there were different numbers of planets and moons in the solar system than the know today, they didn’t know anything about quasars or black holes, and they had several ideas about how the Universe started.  As we celebrate our city’s most famous landmark, discover how our knowledge of the Universe has grown.

7:30 & 8:30pm Life: A Cosmic Story

How did life on Earth begin? This tantalizing question forms the basis of the second all-digital planetarium show produced by the Academy for the Morrison Planetarium’s 75-foot diameter dome. WINNER of the “Best Fulldome Program” category at the 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival! 

Passes to planetarium shows are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  Pick up your pass at the Planetarium Kiosk.

80s Quake Party NightLife

Seismic matters, and this week NightLife is all about earthquakes! Be among the first to see the Academy’s newly opened Earthquake exhibit and planetarium show, complete with shake table, live ostriches, and an all-digital recreation of the 1906 earthquake. Enter an Earthquake Sundae-eating competition organized by Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop. Experience soundQuake, a unique visual and acoustic representation of Bay Area earthquake data from 1973 to present day which combines geo-located data with graphics and banjo chords. Meet experts on earthquake science and preparedness from the US Geological Survey and SPUR (San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association). Share your own story of where you were during the Loma Prieta earthquake that rocked San Francisco in 1989. Plus live music presented by Noise Pop: catch Weekend, whose power-gloom guitar fuzz blends a post-punk sound with noise-pop mayhem; and Violens, whose cool emotionalism on stage is reminiscent of the mid-'80s U.K. indie scene. Additional music by New Wave City DJs Shindog & Andy T., organizers of the city's top 80s dance party.

Buy Tickets to NightLife on May 31st

Earthquake - New exhibit!

6-10pm West Pavilion

Walk-through Earth
Enter through an oversized crack into a 25-foot-diameter model of the Earth to find touchable geology specimens and interactive stations explaining the basics of plate tectonics.

Life Drifts
The same earth processes that cause destructive earthquakes in the human timescale can also provide constructive conditions for life in the geological timescale. Live ostriches, ancient fossils, plants, and mounted marsupials (mammals with pouches) illustrate the shared legacy of India, Antarctica, Australia, South America, and Africa, which were once joined together.

San Francisco Shakes
The Shake Table is back. An earthquake simulator resembling an old Victorian home in San Francisco transports you back to 5:04 pm on October 17, 1989 – the date and time of the infamous Loma Prieta earthquake. A sudden sustained tremor, followed by a brief aftershock, will give you a sense of what this ground-jolting event felt like. 

Weekend

San Francisco post-punks Weekend have been touring hard behind their debut album Sports since it arrived on Slumberland Records in November 2009. Between seeing their track “End Times” promote the Showtime hit Dexter, touring with Wire, and suffering a van breakdown of panic-inducing proportions on the road with label-mates the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the noise-pop trio found time to pause and reflect. The result: a five-song EP titled Red.

Durkan and Johnson first began experimenting on music together when they were just 12 years old, as bassists in the middle school band. “He had no clue how to play it, and neither did I, really,” Durkan laughs, so they messed around with Sex Pistols bass lines while the rest of the class worked on marching tunes.

After high school, both musicians attended the San Francisco Art Institute, where drummer Abe Pedroza was Durkan’s roommate. The trio bonded over their love for music and their background playing in punk bands.

Weekend are:
Shaun Durkan – Vocals/Bass/Baritone
Guitar Kevin Johnson – Guitar
Abe Pedroza – Drums

Violens

Violens' forthcoming album, ‘True’, finds the Brooklyn three-piece further amplifying their innovative songwriting with a palette of exquisitely crafted sound. The band’s music eludes classification, expertly blending percussive guitar work and silky harmonies, seeking the silver lining yet to be discovered between the sounds we know and love. With a wash of 90s sonic pop drawn from artists like Pale Saints, Cocteau Twins and McCarthy, Violens paint soft watercolor notes across their compositions, adding crucial emotional depth via layered vocal harmonies.

Violens was formed in 2007 by Jorge Elbrecht (a producer, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of the art company Lansing-Dreiden). Their debut album ‘Amoral’ was self-recorded, self-produced, and is best understood as digital collage; a dark, guitar and synth-pop voyage of melodic and rhythmic collision.

Earthquake Sundae-eating Competition by Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop

The Earthquake Sundae - Eight scoops of ice cream, eight delicious toppings, finished with fresh bananas, whipped cream, chopped almonds, decadent chocolate chips and cherries. Sound delicious? Six contestants will be selected to battle and the first to finish will win an awesome prize provided by Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop!

More details to come...

Also, be sure to stop by Ghirardelli's table to sample some of their fine chocolate. Thanks Ghirardelli! 

Planetarium

Enjoy the following planetarium shows this week at NightLife:

6:30, 7:30 & 8:30pm (Limited Capacity)

Earthquake: Evidence of a Restless Planet - New show!

Starting at Point Reyes in Northern California, the show flies south along the San Andreas Fault until it reaches San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge fades away as the clock rewinds to 1906. The audience experiences an all-digital recreation of the 7.9-magnitude earthquake, followed by a scientific dissection of the event—including views of the underground fault plane and the propagation of seismic energy waves based on supercomputer simulations. Guests then embark on a high-speed tour of the past 200 million years, witnessing the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, flying over the cradle of humanity in Africa’s Great Rift Valley, and visiting sites of historic earthquakes in India, China, and Japan—including the 9.0-magnitude Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. A planetarium presenter will bring audiences even more up-to-date during a live portion showing the latest seismic events happening around the planet—earthquakes big and small occur almost constantly. The show ends with a look at the modern building strategies used by scientists and engineers for a safer and better prepared future.
 
Scientific advisers and partners on the show include Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Geo Hazards International, San Francisco State University, Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The show will play several times daily. 

Passes to planetarium shows are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  Pick up your pass at the Planetarium Kiosk.

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What everyone is Twittering right now...

• Got any great #NightLife pics to share with us? Post them on our @Flickr group page! http://t.co/7eaCfenY 3 days ago
• Next Thurs we're taking a closer look at how people & animals create illusion-from special effects to art & camouflage. http://t.co/yYbYOXjV 3 days ago
• Awesome! RT @paulawirth: Had fun @calacademy#nightlife viewing #Venus&#Saturn from the rooftop garden http://t.co/eqlWCMm7 3 days ago
• Love. RT @faynesamantha: Saw Venus, touched a starfish and sea cucumber, and walked through the rainforest. Great night @calacademy_nl nl! 3 days ago
• Performing Arts Mag | VRPerformers! is out! http://t.co/WLLmD3MX▸ Top stories today via @newyorkhistory @calacademy_nl @jadeleonard 3 days ago

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NightLife VIP Tour

Want an entirely different NightLife experience? Join us on our NightLife VIP Tour. Tickets include admission to NightLife, a one-hour behind-the-scenes tour with a private viewing of the Academy's renowned gem and mineral collection and interaction with Academy researchers in the lab, express entry into the building, an open bar in a reserved cocktail area prior to the tour, VIP access to the Rainforest, and a reserved pass for the 8:30 Planetarium show.

$59.00/person – limited tickets available each week

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm (building closes at 10:00 pm)

For more information, please click here.

NightLife Private Lounge

Looking for a great space to celebrate landing that big account, throw a birthday party, or just gather with all your old friends, all while enjoying San Francisco’s most exciting Thursday night event?  Rent out the NightLife Private Lounge. You’ll get early access to a premium private room with catering and bar service and access to our Thursday NightLife event. For more booking information contact Dan Kalin at (415) 379-5837 or dkalin@calacademy.org.