The Fleet Science Center to host the fourth annual Impossible Science Festival, featuring 20+ hands-on demonstrations of how the impossible can be made real with science

San Diego, CA—Join the Fleet's Curator of Impossible Science, Jason Latimer, as he hosts the fourth annual Impossible Science Festival at the Fleet Science Center on August 11 and 12, 2018.

The Impossible Science Festival is a unique, interactive event that explores the science behind the seemingly impossible. Visitors will have the opportunity to turn objects invisible, explore levitation, play with the science of mind control, discover how to bend lasers and experience what it feels like to walk on a skyscraper beam in a new virtual reality interactive. The festival will examine the question, "What is possible?" and encourage visitors to find the answer through curiosity and knowledge.

"The goal of the Impossible Science Festival is to promote education through curiosity," says Latimer, host and designer of the Impossible Science Festival. "By exploring subjects that seem impossible but which can be made possible through science, visitors will have an experience that will blow their minds!"

The Impossible Science Festival is based upon four themes: invisibility, levitation, animation and transformation. Each theme incorporates demonstrations that festival attendees will be able to observe or try for themselves.

For invisibility, attendees will be able to use the refractive properties of Pyrex to make objects disappear in corn oil. They can also learn how to manipulate light—a precursor to invisibility—using a laser pen and water to “see the invisible” with a homemade laser microscope.

To experience levitation, visitors can investigate how concepts like the Bernoulli principle can make objects such as ping pong balls appear to levitate.

At the animation stations, demonstrations include how surface tension can make relatively heavy objects float on water and how sound waves can be manipulated to make a toothpick move across the top of a wine glass. Visitors can also learn how a battery, a magnet and a screw can be used to make a small motor.

The transformation stations will show attendees how to make a square bubble, as well as how to make a balloon fireproof. Finally, visitors can harness their own super powers when they create energy from pennies.

In conjunction with the Impossible Science Festival, the Fleet Science Center welcomes the return of Jason Latimer’s science and magic show: Impossible Science LIVE, for four performances only in the Heikoff Giant Dome Theater. This incredible stage show combines Jason’s jaw-dropping illusions with physics, psychology, chemistry, mathematics and technology. Visitors will witness light being bent, water being shaped and countless other illusions, all rooted in applied science, in this enlightening and entertaining family-friendly show that will leave attendees questioning everything. The show times for Impossible Science LIVE are 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12.

"The only thing separating magic from science is the understanding of the situation. Anything we don't understand is magic ... which is why the right question changes everything," says Latimer. "The world was not shaped by its answers; it was shaped by its questions—and that next question could come from any of us."

If Jason Latimer looks familiar, it's because he has an impressive resume. In addition to being the Fleet’s Curator of Impossible Science, he is a host of SciJinks on the Science Channel and was one of the judges, along with Penn & Teller, on Syfy's magic competition TV series, Wizard Wars. As a physicist and three-time World Champion of Magic, Jason's research and university lectures on the topics of invisibility, teleportation, transformation and making other "impossibilities" possible through applied science have gathered recognition in science and education communities around the world.

"At the Fleet, our vision is to connect people of all ages to the possibilities and power of science to create a better future," says Dr. Steven Snyder, CEO of the Fleet Science Center. "We look forward to inspiring countless scientists and aspiring scientists of all ages to imagine how they can apply science to make today's impossibilities into tomorrow's realities."

Admission to the Fleet on Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12, includes access to all of the Impossible Science Festival activities, as well as the Fleet’s interactive exhibits, and one IMAX^® film or Jason Latimer’s Impossible Science LIVE show. Tickets are $24.95 for adults, $22.95 for seniors and $21.95 for children ages 3–12. Children 2 and under receive free admission.

The Impossible Science Festival is sponsored in part by Francis Parker School.

For more information about the Impossible Science Festival, please visit fleetscience.org/events/impossible-science-festival.

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Media Interviews

To schedule a media preview or live, in-studio demonstration by Jason Latimer or a representative from the Fleet, please contact Fleet Science Center Communications Manager Karla Nafarrate at (619) 685-5743 or knafarrate@rhfleet.org.

About Jason Latimer:

Jason Latimer has spent his entire life pondering one question: "What is possible?" In the pursuit of answering that childhood question, Latimer's ongoing education spans multiple fields of science, including mathematics, applied physics, chemistry, perceptual psychology and economics. Jason's research, work and performances have ushered in an entirely new genre of magic and illusion for the 21st century, rooted in applied sciences. Today, Latimer has stolen the spotlight as "the greatest magician working today" (Parade Magazine). His current role as host of the Science Channel’s SciJinks and previous role as a judge on Syfy's Wizard Wars, allows him the opportunity to reach millions of people all over the world. Jason Latimer’s lectures, keynote speeches and TEDx Talks inspire countless minds to "see beyond the illusion of knowledge." As a magician, Latimer's resume includes 17 consecutive championship titles and awards for his work, including the highest honor the world of magic can bestow on an individual: The Grand Prix “Best Overall” World Champion of Magic. Latimer also won the championship of the BBC One's six live specials, "The Magicians." As a scientist, Latimer's work inspires education through wonder and curiosity. With numerous international television specials and appearances, Latimer's infectious love for the unknown is inspiring millions around the world to join in and ask, "What is possible?" For more information, visit jasonlatimer.com.

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Additional Links

Video Preview of the Impossible Science Festival is available at: https://youtu.be/pq2oL44Pq1Q

Jason Latimer’s “Wonder Changes the World”: https://youtu.be/pjQfHd-v7Ns   

Jason Latimer’s home page: http://www.jasonlatimer.com