San Diego—Join the Fleet's Curator of Impossible Science, Jason Latimer, as he hosts the first ever Impossible Science Festival, taking place at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center on August 22 and 23, 2015, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Impossible Science Festival is a unique, hands-on, interactive event that explores the science behind the seemingly impossible. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn how to turn objects invisible, explore levitation, play with the science of mind control, discover impossible figures and even learn how to walk on water. This event will examine the question "what is possible?" and use visual and interactive experiences to show how the seemingly impossible can become possible through curiosity and knowledge.

"The goal of the Impossible Science Festival is to promote education through curiosity," said Jason Latimer, host and designer of the Impossible Science Festival. "By exploring subjects that seem impossible but showing how they can be made possible through science, visitors will have a memorable, hands-on learning experience that will blow their minds!"

The event will be based around five themes: invisibility, levitation, animation, transformation and super powers, and 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 tonic water, and make the invisible come to life with a homemade laser microscope.

To experience levitation, visitors can investigate how concepts like the Bernoulli principle, static electricity and air pressure can make objects like ping pong balls, tinsel or even screwdrivers appear to levitate!

At the animation stations, festival attendees will use static electricity to make tissue paper dance, surface tension to make objects scoot along a water surface and sound waves to make a toothpick dance across a wine glass. They can also learn how a battery, a magnet and a screw can be designed to make a small motor.

The transformation stations will show attendees how to make a square bubble or a fireproof balloon. And visitors can harness their own super powers when they create energy from pennies or simulate walking on water with liquid Oobleck.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the upstairs galleries of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. In all there will be more than 20 interactive demonstration stations for visitors to experience and five "make it, take it" stations where attendees can make their own impossible science creations to take home.

"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," said 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 is 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.

"For more than forty years, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center has been a place of inspiration for countless San Diegans," said Dr. Steven Snyder, CEO of the Fleet Science Center. "Now with the Impossible Science Festival and Jason as our Curator of Impossible Science, we look forward to inspiring countless others to imagine how they can apply science to make today's impossibilities into tomorrow's realities."

Admission to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center on August 22 and 23 will include access to all of the Impossible Science Festival activities, as well as the Fleet's interactive exhibits, including CIRCUS: Science Under the Big Top, and one IMAX® film. $21.95 adults, $19.95 seniors and $18.95 children 3-12. Children ages 2 and younger receive free admission.

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More information about the Impossible Science Festival:

http://www.rhfleet.org/events/impossible-science-festival

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To schedule a media preview or live, in-studio demonstration by Jason Latimer, or to arrange for media tickets to the festival, please contact Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Public Relations Manager Nathan Young at 619-685-5743 or nyoung@rhfleet.org.

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Select Videos of Demonstrations Featured at the Festival

Invisibility: Explore optics and principals of refraction with wine glass optics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfYMSdHV4_4

Levitation: Screwdriver levitation using air pressure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fceUcRfbCcQ

Levitation: Seal water in an upside down container with a ping pong ball.

https://instagram.com/p/3O3ZYZg0r9/?taken-by=fleetscience

Animation: Experiments show how surface tension can cause objects to move.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsksFbFZeeU

Animation: Animate a toothpick using sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JPJHYLEviA

Transformation: Create square bubbles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Ac4rdDTSg

Super Powers: Walk on liquid with Oobleck.

https://youtu.be/D-wxnID2q4A?t=20s 

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Videos of Jason Latimer

Jason Latimer escapes from being handcuffed and submerged in the Thames River in London:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YQLOdlFwcc

Jason Latimer performs a disappearing card trick on ice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIA-MEddNs0

Jason Latimer levitates his assistant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEHoO0ijYHM

Jason Latimer performs a world-record card trick with David Hasselhoff:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7bRgh1yVQY

Jason Latimer shapes water into solid objects:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS_qa46FET4

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About Jason Latimer

Jason Latimer has spent his entire life wondering about 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 twenty-first century, rooted in applied sciences. Today, Latimer has stolen the spotlight as "the greatest magician working today" (Parade Magazine). His current role as judge alongside the extraordinary Penn & Teller on Syfy's "Wizard Wars" allows him the opportunity to reach millions of people all over the world, while his lectures, keynotes, and TEDx Talk inspires countless minds to "See Beyond the Illusion of Knowledge." As a magician, Latimer's resume includes seventeen consecutive championship titles and awards for his work, including the highest honor the world of magic can bestow on an individual, the title of "The Grand Prix 'Best Overall' World Champion of Magic" and recent championship win 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 www.jasonlatimer.com.