Spark After Dark: Is There Life Out There(18+)
JUNE 9, 2023 | 6:00 PM - MIDNIGHT

IS THERE LIFE OUT THERE?

SPARK AFTER DARK (18+)

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DATE

June 9, 2023

TIME

6:00 PM - Midnight

COST

General Admission is $26
or included with a Spark Membership

AGES

Adults only 18+
Must have valid photo ID

Blast off into an out-of-this-world adventure with Spark After Dark and explore the cosmic wonders that make space truly rock! 

On June 9, join Spark for an outer space adventure at Spark After Dark! Beam up your closest intergalactic pals and buckle up for an epic journey filled with cosmic exploration and answers to the BIGGEST questions in the universe!

From 6:00 PM to midnight, the Spark galaxy is open to adults only! Watch science light up like a comet, try the evenings tasty cocktail, learn from industry experts and so much more!

What can you expect from an 18+ night at the science centre?

  • The entire science centre is open for adults only! 
  • Build a working bottle rocket with engineering students from the Student Organization for Aerospace Research (SOAR).  
  • Stargaze through high-powered telescopes in the Brainasium Outdoor Park.
  • Prepare to be amazed by performers from Cirque de la Nuit.
  • Open a door to another dimension and see what it brings with the DOOR by Big Art.
  • Learn about space and more in sessions by industry experts like Nathalie Nquyen-Quoc Ouellette and Chris Rutkowski.
  • Be a star on the dance floor, and listen to the live nep-tunes from DJ Ren-o!
  • Enjoy full-service bars, the nights feature cocktail and out-of-this-world treats from the Astronaut Ice Cream café.

Spark Memberships for Adults & Students

During Spark After Dark, Spark Members receive all kinds of perks like FREE parking in the TELUS Spark parking lot (based on availability), admission to select events, a 10% discount at the Spark store and more!

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WORKSHOP

  • WORKSHOP
  • Led by Proof

The Proof is Out There

The Proof is in the cocktail, literally in this mixology workshop led by Proof. Shake, twist, sip and pour your way through two intergalactic cocktails: The Red Planet and The 4th Dimension.

Workshop Includes:

- A 60-minute workshop that includes two speciality cocktails to make and drink.

- One “skip the line” complimentary regular drink ticket upon arrival.

- Recipe Cards to recreate your cocktails at home.

- Tales from outer space – Fun Space based stories and facts to enhance your cocktail experience.

- Admission to Spark After Dark – Is There Life Out There?

Beginners are welcome!

6:30 – 7:30 PM

8:30 – 9:30 PM

9:30 – 10:30 PM

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  • SPARK AFTER DARK
  • FEATURED COCKTAIL

Pangalactic Sourblaster

The answer to the universe and everything may be 42, but the ultimate answer to a Spark After After is the best cocktail in the universe! Dive into this Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy inspired cocktail: the Pangalactic Sourblaster!

Yuzu, vodka, soda, citric acid, lychee, blueberry, sugar rim

  • SPARK AFTER DARK
  • FEATURED FOOD

The Spark Saucer

The Spark Eatery's seasoned beef burger has been abducted and transformed! Tear into the Philadelphia Experiment, the Tatio Connection or the Sam Clemente Trail! Space Alien Toy included while supplies last.

The Spark Eatery also serves the Spark Tater Tot Experience, along with regular menu items.

FEATURED EVENTS & SHOWS

  • LOCATION
  • EVERYWHERE

Cirque de la Nuit

Step right up and dive into a world unlike anything seen before. Let your mind wander and your senses guide you as we embark on a wild and twisted adventure beyond the big top curtain and into the hidden world of Le Cirque de la Nuit!

  • LOCATION
  • BRAINASIUM

Bottle Rockets with SOAR

Launch into the sky! Work with a team of engineering students from the University of Calgary to see how high you can launch your own bottle rocket.

Test your aim at high speeds! Create a bottle airsoft rocket and test how well you can hit a target at the high speeds of a rocket.

  • LOCATION
  • ATRIUM

The DOOR

The DOOR is a classic project by BIG ART and fan-favourite, regardless of age. BUT it changes to always keep the audience curious. Each door contains a set of animations in a particular theme, direct from the creative minds of our animators. No two doors are ever the same with over 200 unique videos, so they’ll need to open them all to find out what... is where.

  • LOCATION
  • ATRIUM

DJ Ren-o

Enjoy the beats from DJ Ren-o, that are lively and upbeat, and fit like fashion. Music brings people together, and DJ Ren-o is the one to break social silence with uplifting music that sets the perfect tone. Did you know that music is based in science? Sound is made when something vibrates, and those vibrations are picked up by the tympanic membranes in the ear – it's mathematical, as sounds varies in pitch, volume, tempo and rhythm. So, turn down for your tympanic membrane in Spark's Atrium with DJ Ren-o.

  • LOCATION
  • EVERYWHERE

Serotonin Boost with PALS

Pet Access League Society (PALS) provides Pet Visitation Therapy to over 60 facilities in the City of Calgary. Boost those serotonin receptors in your brain by playing with these adorable fur-friends all night long!

  • LOCATION
  • EVERYWHERE

VR Asteroid Dodgeball with VRCORE

Get beamed up into space with teammates to play the ultimate game of Asteroid Dodgeball. Use a planet's gravitational pull, and other strategies to throw asteroids at your friends!

  • LOCATION
  • BRAINASIUM

See The Night Sky

Take a look through various telescopes and see what you can see out there! Space is distant but we have a way to experience it up close.

The Calgary Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is a community of over 600 amateurs and professionals who are curious about the wonders and beauty of the night sky.

  • LOCATION
  • OPEN STUDIO

VRace in Birdly VR

VRace is a futuristic racing game that challenges the reflexes, while you experience the speed and exhilaration of flying. The game takes place in outerspace on a race track containing a myriad of tunnels that twist and turn. Players get to test their flying agility and attention skills. Highly addictive.

  • LOCATION
  • INSPIRATION STAGE

First Contact – The Game Show

Ever wanted to make first contact with Aliens and win fabulous prizes? Join Spark in the Inspiration Stage for First Contact – The Game Show! Shuttle up to this space party for a cosmic game show about aliens, outer space, science fiction and science facts. Win a starship or other out of this world prizes!

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FEATURED TALKS AND SPEAKERS

  • INFINITY DOME
  • Nathalie Nquyen-Quoc Ouellette

Alien Worlds Through the Eye of the Webb Telescope

Thanks to the new James Webb Space Telescopes, astronomers around the world and in Canada are now able to study alien worlds beyond our Solar System – exoplanets – like never before. We have already been able to paint complex pictures of what these planets are truly like, from their temperatures to their climates to the composition of their atmospheres, and their potential for harbouring alien life.

  • INFINITY DOME
  • Chris Rutkowski

UFOs, Balloons, and All That

The Canadian government recently created the Sky Canada Project to better understand what Canadians are seeing and reporting from coast to coast to coast. Are they UFOs? UAPs? Balloons? Foreign incursions? What is being reported and what can these objects be? What can Canada contribute to the discourse on strange aerial phenomena?

  • INFINITY DOME
  • Heather Clitheroe

Writing Encounters of the Deep Space Kind

From Ender’s Game to ET, alien life captivates and fascinates... but why do we enjoy stories about aliens and deep space so much? Where do writers come up with these stories? Delve into the worlds we imagine – and their inhabitants – to learn about how science and science fiction work together, what worldbuilding is, and why science fiction writers are still so busy asking if there’s life ‘out there.

  • INFINITY DOME
  • Dr. Anitha Ravishankar

What is an ‘ALIEN’? Introduction to Astrobiology

This topic shall discuss the definition of ‘Alien Life’ and how the definition can vary depending on the natural environment and atmosphere on planets and stellar systems. A good understanding of this definition would lead to using the right tools to detect alien life, accordingly.

  • INFINITY DOME
  • Royal Astronomical Society Of Canada

Explore Space

Travel through space in the Dome Theatre to discover the night sky and reach as far as the James Webb Telescope has seen of exo-planets beyond our solar system.

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Spark Memberships for Adults & Students

During Spark After Dark, Spark Members receive all kinds of perks like FREE parking in the TELUS Spark parking lot (based on availability), admission to select events, a 10% discount at the Spark store and more!

Buy Tickets Member Tickets

FAQ

Take a byte out of science at the next Spark After Dark!

Experience all things robots, engineering and coding on August 11 during the next adults-only night.

Buy Tickets Member Tickets