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Celebrate Black History Month: Afrofuturism
February 24 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday, February 24
10:00 AM-4:00 PM
All ages, family-friendly.
Included with General Admission – In the spirit of making this event accessible, General Admission tickets will be half-priced at the door on the day of the event. Programs included with admission to the Center.
Please note that half-priced tickets will only be available for purchase at the door on the day of the event. Advance online ticket sales are not available.
This Black History Month, join Chabot Space and Science Center in a celebration of Black scientists, scholars, and artists of the past, present, and future. Afrofuturism is an activist aesthetic movement that imagines the future through a Black cultural lens. Through music, art, and storytelling, Afrofuturism imagines a just future rooted in Black liberation. Come join us in a day of hands-on activities, presentations, and live demos for the whole family.
Event Schedule:
Sphero Robotics with The Hidden Genius Project
Studio 3
10 AM-4 PM
Attendees will have the opportunity to control a sphero robot and navigate it through a predesigned course and race against other attendees. They will also learn how to program the robot and have it navigate an automated path.
Genius Gaming Studio
Classroom 2
10 AM-4 PM
Genius Gaming Studio is a group of alumni from The Hidden Genius Project. They will demo their upcoming game Surge Breaker. Attendees will have an opportunity to play the game as well as see the development of the game within the game engine.
Building the Future: Community Talkback Space
Studio 3
10 AM-4 PM
What can we do in our own communities to build the future Afrofuturism envisions? Leave your thoughts for all to read on our Community Talkback Space in Studio 3.
Black Panther Party Legacy Alumni Network
Rotunda
10 AM-4 PM
The table BPPLAN will organize will feature exclusive limited edition merchandise, art prints and books by original Black Panther Party artists as well as a selection of 10 contemporary artists creating artworks in homage to the ideology of the original BPP. The collection of artwork is curated in an exhibition all February for Black History Month in Studio Fallout, a community arts event space in North Beach, San Francisco, and will make a special appearance in Oakland for the Afrofuturism Day at the Chabot Space Center.
Resource Table
Front Entrance
10 AM-4 PM
Free resources courtesy of our community partners.
Sistah SciFi
Front Entrance
10 AM-4 PM
Sistah Scifi is the first Black owned bookstore focused on Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Science Fiction, and Fantasy in the United States.
Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce
Cafe
10 AM-4 PM
OAACC is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to advance economic opportunity and strengthen Oakland’s Black business community. They provide a full suite of services for their business members including access to capital, business development, marketing, networking opportunities, technical support and advocacy.
Oakland Public Library
Mezzanine
10 AM-2 PM
Librarian Pat will be onsite issuing Oakland Public Library Limited Edition Library Cards, specifically created to celebrate African Americans and their significant contributions to the arts in Oakland. Afrofuturist materials will be available for check out using the CloudLibrary app.
Postcards to the Future
Mezzanine
10 AM-1 PM
Join the Museum of Children’s Art in crafting collage postcards to send to the future!
Futuristic Eyewear
Mezzanine
10 AM-1 PM
Join the Museum of Children’s Art for this hands-on experience to add your vision of the future and decorate your very own wearable art!
Storytime: Stella’s Stellar Hair
Touch the Sun
10:30 AM
Get cozy and join Chabot volunteers for a reading of Stella’s Stellar Hair by Yesenia Moises.
About Stella’s Stellar Hair: It’s the day of the Big Star Little Gala, and Stella’s hair just isn’t acting right! What’s a girl to do? Simple! Just hop on her hoverboard, visit each of her fabulous aunties across the solar system, and find the perfect hairdo along the way.
Lunaverse
Planetarium
11 AM
(17min) “Lunaverse” explores the nature of Earth’s moon: its motion and phases, lunar and solar eclipses, tides, and the Moon’s origin. The story unfolds as a conversation between a curious young child and the Moon—Luna—over the course of a night, from moonrise to moonset.
Afrofuturism: New Horizons in Blackness
Theater
11:30 AM
Most people have heard of Afrofuturism at this point, but many still don’t know exactly what it is. This presentation by Oakland-based filmmaker Celia C. Peters is an audiovisual primer on the cultural juggernaut known as Afrofuturism. From Sun Ra to Black Panther and beyond, we’ll explore how the Afrofuturism movement has blown up to become an iconic phenomenon. More and more, the futures we’ve all imagined are part of life today; we’ll explore what this means for the movement that celebrates the power and agency of the African Diaspora in futures defined by Black people themselves. Peters will also introduce her feature film project GODSPEED, which is an Afrofuturist thriller now in development for production in the Bay Area.
Celia C. Peters is a filmmaker, visual artist and futurist creating daring stories about intriguing, authentic characters. She’s also a curator, producer and educator who is based in the Bay Area and working globally. Peters is currently developing her feature film GODSPEED, a sci-fi Afrofuturist thriller that was selected for the WarnerMedia 150 Artist Studio. Learn more at www.artisticfreedomltd.com.
Instagram: @artfreeltd
Storytime: Mae Among the Stars
Touch the Sun
12 PM
Get cozy and join Chabot volunteers for a reading of Mae Among the Stars by Roda Ahmed.
About Mae Among the Stars: A beautiful picture book inspired by the life of the first African American woman to travel in space, Mae Jemison.
The Relevance of the Black Party’s Legacy
Planetarium
12:30 PM
(60min with Q&A) Dr. Saturu Ned’s presentation will talk about the origin and progressive development of the Black Panther Party from 1966-1982 and its local, national, and global influence. He will also talk about what the Black Panther Party Legacy Alumni Network (BPPLAN) is and the work they are doing today.
Saturu Ned, then known as James Mott, joined the Black Panther Party in May of 1968. Saturu was a member of the ‘Lumpen’, the Black Panther Party singing group. A book was written by Professor Ricky Vincent called “Party Music” the untold story of the Lumpen and their influence on the Black Power Movement. Dr Saturu was a teacher at the award-winning Oakland Community School and Learning Center that was started and run by Black Panther Party Members. He has appeared on numerous television and video productions, radio, print and online publications. He continues to work in the interest of the community as an Educator, Innovator, and a Survival Program Architect.
Live Science – Back to the Moon: Apollo to Artemis
Theater
1 PM
(35m) Back to the Moon: Apollo to Artemis explores the physical features of the moon for all ages through exciting visuals and hands-on experiments. Join us in learning also about Black astronauts at NASA who have not only made history, but are leading the future in upcoming missions back to the moon.
Forward to the Moon
Planetarium
2 PM
(28min) Kari Byron from Crash Test World and MythBusters launches us on a journey beyond the Earth towards a sustainable future in space. NASA’s 21st century Artemis program, named after the Greek moon Goddess and twin of Apollo, is the next step in our mission to explore the universe and land the first woman and person of color on the surface of the Moon.
Women Icons in Afrofuturism: Octavia E. Butler to Janelle Monae
Theater
2:30 PM
(60min with Q&A) Explore the profound impact of African American women in the realm of Afrofuturism. This panel highlights the pioneering work of Octavia E. Butler, a visionary science fiction writer whose legacy of speculative literary work, which delves into themes of race, gender, and identity, paved the way for artists like Janelle Monáe, whose concept albums weave narratives that envision futuristic worlds centered on Black experiences and empowerment. This discussion celebrates their contributions and engages in a deeper analysis of how their work has influenced the broader scope of Afrofuturism and continues to inspire new generations in various artistic domains.
Isis Asare is a queer Afrofuturist and lover of all things Black culture. A citizen of the world, Isis was born to Ghanaian immigrants in Harlem and concurrently resides in Seattle, WA and Oakland, CA. Isis is an alum of Stanford University, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and Columbia Business School where they earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Master’s in Public Policy, and MBA, respectively. Isis is the CEO/Founder of Sistah SciFi, the first Black owned bookstore focused on science fiction and fantasy in the United States as validated by the American Booksellers Association.
Passport to the Universe
Planetarium
3 PM
(19min) Fly beneath the rings of Saturn, float through the heart of the Orion Nebula, and plunge into a black hole during this captivating introduction to cosmology. Passport to the Universe explores humanity’s place in the cosmos, bringing audiences on an unforgettable journey from Earth all the way to the edge of the observable universe.
