NASA Expert to Visit Blak Box Theatre

Multi-media & multi-dimensional show culminates with “live” celestial viewing INDOORS!

JOSHUA TREE, CA – On Saturday, January 16th, the stars will align in Joshua Tree as part of a multi-dimensional, multi-media event held at the Hi-Desert Cultural Center’s Blak Box Theatre: “2010 A Space Odyssey - A Celebration of our Joshua Tree Night Skies.” The event will feature a unique “celestial themed” art show, a live interactive theatrical show, a presentation by a NASA expert, and an indoor “star party” featuring live celestial viewing of our Joshua Tree night skies in hi-definition video projected on an indoor screen.

The show will “star” William Owen, Principle Engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs who is responsible for the navigation of many of today’s “astronomical” headlines, including Voyager, Galileo, N.E.A.R., Cassini and, most recently, Deep Impact, where a section of a space probe was collided with a comet’s nucleus in the name of science.

The event begins at 5:00 pm with a special “spacescapes” art exhibit by numerous local and well-known artists featuring their space themed artwork. This portion of the evening is a free viewing and open to the public from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.

A paid admission pre-show will begin at 7:00 pm and will feature a unique space story called “Star Trek Meets the Roadrunner.” This humorous story in the public domain is about a landing party beaming down and encountering one of our native Hi-Desert dwellers, the Roadrunner.

Immediately following, a new family-friendly theatrical, interactive show called “Connect The Dots” will delight audiences of all ages. Presented in 7.1 surround sound, by Dr. Dot, Professor of the Universe (Paul Morehead) and voiceovers by Copper Mountain Broadcasting’s Gary DeMaroney. This show will expose the audience to astronomical concepts presented in “edutainment” format including how ancient civilizations used astronomy to survive, the significance of certain constellations, the effects of current-day light pollution, and more. Audience members can also choose to take the “Ancient Eye Test” which was a test given to ancient Romans to select potential archers in the armies, which required excellent visual skills.

After intermission, the audience will be treated to a special “behind-the-scenes” presentation by guest speaker William Owen. He will emphasize not only the science but the navigational engineering which made the NASA projects possible.

Finally, in response to an upsurge of interest in video astronomy and video astrophotography the last few years, Celestial Center’s Chairman Rick Hiestand will present this new technology first hand. This very special live indoor viewing of our Joshua Tree night skies will use state-of-the-art “video astronomy” to create real-time images from our video astronomer’s telescopes and will be projected in hi-definition on our indoor scrim. Observe live pictures of planets, asteroids, satellites, nebulae and more in the comfort and warmth of the cozy, newly renovated and heated Blak Box Theatre. William Owen, an expert that is responsible for many of today’s astronomical headlines, will provide added narration.

“2010 A Space Odyssey - A Celebration of Our Night Skies” plays one night only on January 16th, 2010, at the new Blak Box Theatre, located directly behind the historic Kaye Ballard Playhouse at 61231 Hwy 62 in Joshua Tree, CA. A free art show will open to the public at 5pm with the paid admission show beginning at 7pm. General admission tickets are $15. Light refreshments will be provided and a cash bar will be available. To order tickets, call the Box Office at 760-366-3777 to talk to a “live” person, or order tickets online at www.hidesertculturalcenter.com using the new, easy to use Vendini ticketing system.