Tonight is July's Sigma Series Lecture!

 Sigma Series Lectures, presented at the Virginia Air and Space Center in downtown Hampton, provide the latest, up-to-date information related to science and technology. 

Earn Mars Mad Money in July 

& spend it in August!

Look What's Coming in  IMAX!!!

The Amazing Spiderman 3D

Premiers July 3 at 12:01 a.m.

Tickets On-sale now!

 

One of the world’s most popular characters is back on the big screen as a new chapter in the Spider-Man legacy is revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man™. Focusing on an untold story that tells a different side of the Peter Parker story, the new film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Irrfan Khan, with Martin Sheen and Sally Field. The film is directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay written by James Vanderbilt, based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach are producing the film in association with Marvel Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, which will open in theaters everywhere in 3D on July 3, 2012.

The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

The Dark Knight Rises

Opens July 20

Tickets On-sale now!

Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ “The Dark Knight Rises” is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

Leading an all-star international cast, Oscar® winner Christian Bale (“The Fighter”) again plays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, as Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy, as Bane; Oscar® winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), as Miranda Tate; and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as John Blake.
Returning to the main cast, Oscar® winner Michael Caine (“The Cider House Rules”) plays Alfred; Gary Oldman is Commissioner Gordon; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) reprises the role of Lucius Fox.

The screenplay is written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. The film is produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven, who previously teamed on “Batman Begins” and the record-breaking blockbuster “The Dark Knight.” The executive producers are Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull, with Jordan Goldberg serving as co-producer. The film is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman created by Bob Kane.

Behind the scenes, “The Dark Knight Rises” reunites the director with several of his longtime collaborators, all of whom worked together on the “The Dark Knight.” The creative team includes director of photography Wally Pfister, who recently won an Oscar® for his work on Nolan’s “Inception”; production designers Nathan Crowley and Kevin Kavanaugh; editor Lee Smith; and Oscar®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming (“Topsy-Turvy”). In addition, Paul Franklin and Chris Corbould, who both won Oscars® for the effects in “Inception,” supervised the visual and special effects, respectively. The music is composed by Oscar® winner Hans Zimmer (“The Lion King”).

In helming the film, Christopher Nolan employed IMAX® cameras even more extensively than he did on “The Dark Knight,” which had marked the first time ever that a major feature film was partially shot with IMAX cameras.
The film’s shooting locations spanned three continents and include the American cities of Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles, as well as sites in India, England and Scotland.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Film by Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Opening in theatres and IMAX on July 20, 2012, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Sigma Series Tonight June 5, 2012

FREE & Open to the Public! 

The 13th Annual 

Blackbeard Pirate Festival

June 1 - 3, 2012

Party Like a Pirate

at the Grand Pirates Ball 

http://www.blackbeardfestival.com/

Destination Station

Opens May 26, 2012

Explore the International Space Station and discover the real and potential impacts of the station on our everyday lives. 

What is the International Space Station (ISS)? The ISS is an internationally-developed research facility located in earth's lower orbit. It is the largest space station ever constructed. It serves as a research laboratory where astronauts from around the world conduct experiments in human health and exploration, technology testing for enabling future exploration, research in basic life and physical sciences, and earth and space science. 

Now you can step aboard the ISS with this new hands-on traveling exhibit that offers an insiders look at this incredible laboratory.

Dark Shadows Now in IMAX!!!

 

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles. Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

Marvel's the Avengers is 

Now Showing in IMAX 3D!

Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson, and written and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble in summer 2012.

This Just In!

Hunger Games 

Returns to IMAX 

for ONE Week Only!

Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains.

Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, with a screenplay by Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray, and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 23.5 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following. It has spent more than 160 consecutive weeks/more than three consecutive years to date on The New York Times bestseller list since its publication in September 2008, and has also appeared consistently on USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.

A Weekend Packed Full of Fun 

is Heading Your Way!

To the Arctic 3D opens in IMAX 4/20 

 

Earth Day 4/21 - 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

Saturday Summer Street Fest Returns 

Featuring The Fighting Jamesons! 

4/21 - 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Wrath of the Titans Opens Tomorrow in IMAX!

Don't Miss Out on Our 

NEW LIVE Science Demos 

Every Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday!

Experience LIVE Science Every Week!


Real Science
Every Saturday • 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Perform real science experiments from Magnetic Magic to Alka-seltzer Rockets.

Math Madness
Every Sunday • 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Explore just how fun math can be.

Artistic Adventures
Every Wednesday • 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Take an artistic approach to basic science principles.
 
LIVE Science is included in regular exhibit admission.

Hunger Games in IMAX!

Opens March 23, 2012

Special One Week Only

Don't Forget it's FREEdom Days 

at the Virginia Air & Space Center!

Sigma Series Lecture Tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Sigma Series is FREE and Open to the Public

The Lorax Opens in IMAX this Friday - 3/2!

Dr. Seuss fans come and celebrate Read Across America Day, the environment and the opening of The Lorax 3D in IMAX at the Virginia Air & Space Center on March 2 & March 3, 2012.  Along with the new IMAX film The Lorax 3D, a variety of themed, hands-on activities will be available. Receive $5 off any combo ticket to experience The Lorax 3D in IMAX, participate in activities and see the Center’s exhibits. The $5 discount is good for Saturday only.

Attention Budding Engineers!

Sign up to participate in our annual EGG Drop taking place TOMORROW!

See the Daytona 500 FREE in IMAX 2/26!

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary 

of John Glenn's Space Flight

2/20/12

Journey 2 3D 

Opens in IMAX 

2/10/12

Check out this behind the scenes interview with Dwayne Johnson "The Rock"

Sigma Series Lecture Tonight at 7:30 p.m. 

Featuring James West

Historical Contributions by Underrepresented Minorities to Improving the Quality of Life through Technology

James E. West

TUESDAY: February 7, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. at the Virginia Air and Space Center in downtown Hampton, Virginia. FREE (no reservations).

Abstract

Throughout history people of color have made substantial contributions to the technology success on this country, yet the world and the black community in particularly is mostly unaware of the life of both past and present Black scientist and technologist who have make in many cases earth shattering changes in the way we live and enjoy life. We are aware of some hall mark names such as George Washington Carver, Lewis Latimer, and Elijah McCoy, but even here literature is often misleading about their work. Carver is well known as the peanut man but we seldom hear about his crop rotation program that prevented the south from becoming the dust bowl that rendered the mid-west agriculturally unproductive for many years. There are many other examples that I will mention in this talk. Induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame is one measure of the significance of an invention or scientific discovery. Major requirement for consideration for induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame is that scientific contributions and patents must truly change the world. To date 18 Black men have been so honored. I will talk about these men and their contributions and a bit about their lives. I will also discuss two programs for children aimed at improving knowledge of science and technology.

Speaker

James E. West is currently Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering (2002). He was formally a Bell Laboratories Fellow, at Lucent Technologies. His pioneering research on charge storage and transport in polymers (the electrical analogy of a permanent magnet) led to the development of electret transducers for sound recording and voice communication. Almost 90% of all microphones built today are based on the principles first published in the early 1960s. This simple but rugged transducer is the heart of most new telephones and can be found in most microphone applications from toys to professional equipment. West holds more than 50 U.S. and about 200 foreign patents on various microphones and techniques for making polymer electrets and transducers. He was inducted into The National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1999 for the invention of the electret microphone. West is a member of the National Academy of Engineering; a Fellow, and past President, and past member of the Executive Council of Acoustical Society of America (1998-2001), and a Fellow of the IEEE. West is a member of the Board of Directors of The National Inventors Hall of Fame, past member of the National Academy of Engineering’s Committee on Diversity in the Engineering Workforce and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of The International Symposium on Electrets. West is the recipient of the Acoustical Society of America's Silver Medal in Engineering Acoustics (1995), an honorary Doctor of Science degree from New Jersey Institute of Technology (1997). In 2002 he was the Audio Engineering Society Richard C. Heyser Memorial Lecturer. West was awarded the Mexican JOHN WILLIAM STRUTT, 3rd Baron of Raleigh 2003 Award, presented by the Mexican Institute of Acoustics, the Acoustical Society of America’s Gold Medal (2006), an honorary Doctor of Engineering from Michigan State University (2006), the National Medal of Technology (2006) and the Franklin Medal in Engineering (2010)..

Distribution Flyer

To view a (near) full-size image of the flyer distributed to advertise this Sigma Series Lecture, click on the miniature version of the flyer below.

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For more information, contact Julie Williams-Byrd, x4-1629 (julie.a.williams-byrd@nasa.gov). Last Updated: January 23, 2012 10:00 AM EDT.
http://shemesh.larc.nasa.gov/Lectures/sigma/s-120207.htm

Rockets to Racecars this Saturday!!!

 2-11-12

Journey 2 opens in IMAX 

2/10/12!

Four great events coming up in February!!!

Underworld Awakening opens in IMAX 1-20-12

All Tickets $7 Monday - Thursday!

When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind.

Visit www.vasc.org for show-times.

Space Enthusiasts! 

Hubble 3D is Back in IMAX 3D for only $5