After Dark: Tinkerers' Ball

Join us as we celebrate night one in a series of adults-only summer programming inspired by The Art of Tinkering exhibition. Accessorize inventively by creating beautiful headdresses and light-up cuffs and corsages. Play with food to create whimsical faces-plus admire work by the virtuoso who's mastered this uncommon art. Experience an extravaganza of unique, handmade musical instruments, and see what can happen when you embrace your inner tinkerer!

We invite you to dress the part! Tinker with your wardrobe and wear your inventions on your sleeve, so to speak.

Image courtesy of Ferris Plock

Food Faces
With Ferris Plock
6:30–9:30 p.m.
Crossroads

Go ahead, play with your food! Tonight, the Bay Area's finest food-face maker, Ferris Plock, will serve up a smorgasbord of silliness with his fantastic Food Faces. Once you're full of inspiration, cook up your own artful invention using a selection of stylish snacks. Will the face you create be scary, silly, or just plain scrumptious?

 
Amped-Up Accessories
With Sahrye Cohen and Hal Rodriguez
6:30-9:30 p.m.
Osher Gallery 1

Amp up your outfit with illuminated accessory-making. Sahrye Cohen and Hal Rodriguez will guide you in making specialized cuffs and corsages to activate your attire. Bring a tinkerer's eye to familiar materials and affordable lights, and you'll leave glowing-literally.

Photo Booth!
With SnapFiesta
6:30-9:30 p.m.
Osher Gallery 1

Strike a pose and commemorate your night with a snapshot!
 

Handmade Headdresses
With Judi Henderson-Townsend and Kyana Holzman 
6:30–9:30 p.m.
Osher Gallery 1

Crown yourself ruler of the Tinkerers' Ball! Use zip ties, gems, tiny lights, and festive flowers to craft a showstopping headdress. Judi Henderson-Townsend and Kyana Holzman from Mannequin Madness will help you create your crown. For inspiration, check out their very own collection of regal headdresses on display.

Draw with a Rover
With Tinkering School
6:30–9:30 p.m.
Crossroads

Team members from the Tinkering School Mars Mission invite you to get creative with a prototype Mars rover. Select drawing materials and wheel types to attach to your rover, then see what doodles and designs develop in a large-scale collaborative illustration. From dots to dashes, flowers to spirals, will the outcome be what you expect?

Tinkering School is a San Francisco–based educational program dedicated to youth-centered making and tinkering. As part of their Mars Mission, a team of young people ages 14-20 built an educational, hands-on experience operating prototype rovers in a simulated Martian lava tube.

Hand-Built Instrument Petting Zoo
With Bryan Day, Bart Hopkin, and Sudhu Tewari
6:30–9:30 p.m., performance at 8:00 p.m.
Osher Gallery 1, Kanbar Forum

Stroll through a showcase of unique, hand-built musical instruments from Bryan Day, Bart Hopkin, and Sudhu Tewari. Each artist takes a unique approach to their craft, constructing pieces that range from sculptural sound-makers to small-scale objects. They'll invite you to get hands-on with some of the pieces, experiment with how they work, and maybe even create your own composition.

At 8:00 p.m., gather to hear Day, Hopkin, and Tewari share solo and collaborative performances!

King Drums: Streetbeats
With John F. King II
7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
Bechtel Gallery 3, Wattis Studio

When John F. King realized that his entire collection of percussion instruments had been stolen, he got creative. With a tinkering mindset and a tenacious spirit, the versatile musician took a look around his home and found everything he needed right there in his kitchen. Learn how he reconfigured his drum set using pots, pans, pressure cookers, and more. And of course, get ready to dance to a high-energy performance!

DJ Cutso
From Hip Hop for Change
6:30–7:45 and 8:15-9:30 p.m.
Bechtel Gallery 3

Get ready to dance your way through the night! DJ Cutso always takes his listeners on a wild ride out of the atmosphere. The San Jose–based producer, remixer, and DJ is a cornerstone of the Bay Area DJ community, a member of the group the Bangerz, and a host on Wild 94.9.

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.

Food and drinks will be available to purchase and enjoy in our Seaglass Restaurant 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 (https://www.exploratorium.edu/visit).

Adults Only (18+)

Note: Free for members and donors-only a membership card and ID required for entry. The Tactile Dome is currently closed.

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Category: Arts | Visual Arts | Museum