After Dark: Beneath the Bay (The Exploratorium)

Submitted by the Event Organizer

San Francisco Bay is a dynamic, active system that supports all sorts of ocean organisms. Dive below the surface at tonight’s After Dark and see what’s living underneath. Meet the algae and creatures that live underneath our data collection buoy during this once-a-year dry-docking. Find out what historical records of ocean data tell us about the health of the planet, learn about the possibilities of restoring underwater ecosystems, and even take home your own pressed sample of kelp!

On loan to us from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), our carbon dioxide (CO2) buoy has been anchored between Piers 15 and 17 since April 2013, collecting data on water temperature, salinity, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere and in San Francisco Bay.

Food and drinks will be available to purchase in our Seaglass Restaurant and at the outdoor bar in Gallery 5 to enjoy in those designated spaces during After Dark. Please note that there is no drinking or eating allowed elsewhere in the museum at this time.

Curious about what to expect during your visit? Check out our current safety protocols and guidelines.

Just for Tonight
Ocean Record Keepers
With Dr. Emily Miller
7:30 p.m.
Bechtel Gallery 3, Phyllis Wattis Studio

How can dried seaweed help ocean conservation efforts? To understand the future of the ocean requires an understanding of the past. To date, historical data has been largely limited to instrument records and observations that begin around 1950. Research technician Emily Miller shares how kelp and other marine algae from herbaria repositories, and the female scientists who collected them, are helping extend historical records all the way back to 1878. With this data, Emily offers a new perspective on upwelling cycles and documents these patterns to help understand the shifts in the foundation of the food web of Monterey Bay.

Kelp Need Help!
With Francesca Koe
8:30 p.m.
Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6

Scientists and divers have noticed North Coast kelp ecosystem collapse over the last few years. Learn how community science projects banded together to help the forests recover through urchin removal and how they support the kelp forests through monitoring and taking an active role in their restoration.

Algae Pressing
With Sue Lisin
6:30-8:00 p.m.
Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6

Start your own algae herbarium with this make-and-take activity. Using algae samples taken from the underside of our buoy and some professional plant preservation supplies-we’ll provide them!-you can press and preserve your own piece of seaweed.

Plankton Drag Demo
With the Explainers

Look into the sea by gathering the ocean drifts with a net. See the charismatic and beautiful life under the microscope.

NOAA Buoy
6:00-10:00 p.m.
Gallery 5

Check out the underside of our NOAA buoy during its once-a-year cleaning and maintenance window on the deck of our outdoor gallery.

DJ Red Corvette
From Hip Hop for Change
6:30-7:45 and 8:15-9:30 p.m.
Gallery 4

Get ready to dance your way through the night as DJs from Hip Hop for Change set the vibe and keep the party moving all night! Tonight San Francisco native Red Corvette enlivens After Dark. As one of the Bay Area’s top DJs, she’s played across festivals, nightclubs, tours, branded events and much more. Red Corvette has rocked everything from Trillectro and Electric Forest to some of Cali and NYC’s most popular night clubs and bars. She is also the COO + co-founder of Women Sound Off and the founder of Black Biz Bay Area.

Hip Hop for Change is an Oakland-based nonprofit that uses grassroots activism to educate people about socioeconomic injustices and advocate solutions through Hip Hop culture.

Exemplary Exhibits:
Cinema Arts: Stories from the Sea
6:00-10:00 p.m.
Gallery 4

Oceans support an incredible diversity of life, both in the water and along the shore. These cinematic observations offer visual immersion into a range of oceanic narratives-from the microscopic lives of plankton to the complex relationships between humans and the world beneath the waves.

Baby Squid, Born Like Stars by Steve Haddock and Brad Seibel (2006, 6 min.)
Ray: A Life Underwater by Amanda Bluglass (2011, 7 min.)
Pacific Drifters by Nannette van Antwerp (2011, 5 min.)
Whale Fall by Sharon Shattuck and Flora Lichtman (2011, 4 min.)
Life by the Tide by Joshua Cassidy (2009, 7 min.)

Adults Only (18+)

Note: The Tactile Dome is currently closed.

URL:
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/847822-0?pid=4342

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.