Tom Noddy’s Bubble Magic
November 7th and 8th, Times TBA
Part of a Free Celebratory Weekend for the Exploratorium’s 40th Anniversary
Other Weekend Special Events Include Behind-the-Scenes Tours,
Science, Crafts, DIY Demos and Films

Tom Noddy blows bubbles inside of bubbles. Smoke bubbles. Inside-out bubbles. Caterpillar bubbles. Yin-Yang bubbles. And, on November 7th and 8th, 2009, at three shows daily (times TBA), Tom Noddy will present Bubble Magic at the Exploratorium, as part of the Exploratorium’s 40th Anniversary celebration. In 1983, the Exploratorium held its first Bubble Festival, an event that presented the bubble in all its fragility, evanescence and beauty. Visitors explored bubbles in their various natural forms from the human cell to the holes in Swiss cheese, and from inside rocks to inside wine; in its various properties from surface tension to light diffraction; and in its wondrous manipulations as performed by some of the world’s leading bubble-ologists, including Tom Noddy.

Thirty-seven years ago, Noddy bought some dime store bubbles as a source of cheap entertainment. He has since become a bubble troubadour, traveling around the world to learn all there is to know about the art and science of blowing bubbles. He talks to physicists, mathematicians, chemists, biologists, architects, magicians and kids. It was Tom who
discovered Eiffel Plasterer in Indiana, the now deceased blower of long-lived bubbles. It was Tom who was summoned to perform for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show, as well as to London and Paris for similar performances. Clearly, scientists are not the only people fascinated by bubbles. Noddy says, “I have the same rapt attention whether I show my art at a logger’s bar on the Olympic Peninsula, at the Santa Cruz County Jail, at a child care center or at a university. The fascination is universal. Bubbles touch the child that each of us carries within.”

[Show as slideshow]

This free weekend will also feature 40 exhibits specially chosen by staff for their playfulness, depth and historical significance. The public can also:

— Take special behind-the-scenes tours with key staff, including Machine Shop Tours, where all the exhibits are made, and more
— Science demos led by Explainers, such as the ever popular Electricity and Cow’s Eye Dissections, to name only a few
— Crafts demos, such as violinmaker, blacksmith, and other DIY artisans
— A special 40th anniversary film screening of Zea (1981, 5 min.), by Andre and Jean-Jacques Leduc — a visual tour-de-force that transforms the commonplace, first screened at the original Bubble Festival in 1983. McBean Theater, Screens at various times throughout the day.
— Free commemorative brochure/program

Check out http://www.exploratorium.edu/40th/