Sunday, June 7, 2015

SWEET, It's Summer

+Science World at TELUS World of Science is hosting their final SWEET (Science World Extravagant Evenings for Teens) of the year, SWEET, It's Summer. Join us to celebrate the end of another school year while exploring all of Science World's galleries with your friends, including their new feature exhibition, Ultimate Dinosaurs!

Features:

  • Explore Science World's galleries with your friends.
  • DIY Ice Cream making.
  • Scavenger Hunt in our new feature exhibit, Ultimate Dinosaurs! 
  • Music and more!


SWEET, It's Summer will be taking place Friday, June 26 from 6:30pm–9:30pm. Admission is free.

Register now

Sunday, May 10, 2015

What does the sunset look like on Mars?


Curiosity has been working on Mars for almost 3 years. Every "sol" - a solar day on Mars that last just over 24 hours 39 minutes - information on the activities of the rover are sent back, including pictures from its hd colour Mastcam.

Most of the time, the images are of rocks. But for the first time, on sol 956 (April 15, 2015), Curiosity's Mastcam captured the Sun setting on Mars over Gale Crater. The sunset took almost 7 minutes.


The images came back in black and white. Taking a closer look, the image has a sort of hashed texture called Bayer matrix. This is how the Mastcam and all other digital cameras code colour into the images. This works in the same way the human eye does.


The Mastcam itself does not have the on-board software to interpret the colours from its images. Some of the Bayer data needs to be decoded on Earth in order to see the colours from the black and white images.

This is what the sunset looks like.


Sunday, April 26, 2015

Global Rewind IV

Metro Vancouver Youth4ActionScience World's Teen Advisory Group, and BC Green Games' Youth Committee bring you Global Rewind IV at +Science World at TELUS World of Science  on May 8. Come join high school students who are interested in sustainability and explore many organizations that are working to protect our environment. Join us for the World CafĂ© and the screening of Beyond Boarding's film, The Little Things.


Global Rewind IV will be taking place Friday, May 8 from 5:30pm–10pm. Admission is free. Reserve your tickets @ http://www.metrovancouver.org/events/youth-leadership/Pages/global-rewind.aspx.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Wondercon 2015, Plex East 2015, Monsterpalooza 2015, Quadcopter Landscaping, and Nintendo Direct 4.1.2015

This week in technology and gaming...

Wondercon 2015

Norm from tested.com talks to Mike Senna about his completed life-size Wall-E robot and his life-size EVE robot, which is currently a work in progress. Norm also met with eFx Collectibles to talk about their Star Wars Stormtrooper armor replica which was made from a newly discovered hero suit from Episode IV, one of the only six that were created, that even Lucasfilm doesn't have.



Plex East 2015

Will from tested.com was recently Boston for PAX East 2015, checking out some new indie board games, video games, and VR games. While walking the convention floor with 3DS in hand, Will shares with us some of his favorite discoveries.


Monsterpalooza 2015

Norm from tested.com talks to Figment Foundry about their realistic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles display at Monsterpalooza 2015.


Quadcopter Landscaping

Norm and Will from tested.com head out with Jamie Hyneman to remote location to test Jamie's new quadcopter landscaping saw attachment with the DJI Inspire 1 quadcopter.


Nintendo Direct 4.1.2015

In the Nintendo Direct 4.1.2015, Nintendo announces new games, amiibos, and amiibo cards, updates to Mii Plaza, Mario Kart 8, Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U, and Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, and new Splatoon announcements. For those who haven't seen the Splatoon E3 trailer, the video is also included bellow.


Monday, March 23, 2015

Samsung Gear VR

The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality device developed by Samsung that was released early December 2014. It was developed in collaboration with Oculus VR and is currently compatible with the US version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which uses the Snapdragon processor. If you have the international version of the Note 4, Oculus provides a downloadable SDK wich will allow you to use your Note 4 with the Gear VR. It comes with its own carrying case, big enough carry both the Gear VR and Note 4.


The Note 4 is used as the screen and computer while the Gear VR, with Oculus Rift's head-tracking module built-in, provides the 360° viewing experience. The Note 4 is connected to the Gear VR via a built-in USB connector and a clamp. There is a focusing dial which adjusts the lens distance from your eyes, good for those wearing glasses since you can't use the Gear VR while wearing glasses.

The Gear VR, when fully connected, runs the Oculus Home app. It has its own interface and its own store and home screen/menu. When the Oculus Home app is run without the Gear VR, it acts as the Gear VR app store.

The Gear VR has a built-in touchpad, volume controls, and back button on the side. Head-tracking or the touchpad can be used to navigate the menus while games are played using the touchpad or a Bluetooth controller. There is a built-in camera passthrough option in the settings which allows you to move around while still using the Gear VR.

The Gear VR, priced at around $200, is not the cheapest way to get into the virtual reality experience. For those without the Note 4, it can cost anywhere from $200 with a contract to about $800-$900 without a contract.

Recently, Will and Norm from tested.com demoed a few features and games on the Gear VR. The video of the demo can be seen bellow.


Samsung has already announced that there will be a Gear VR 2. Unlike the current Gear VR, the Gear VR 2 will be available only for the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge and will include a USB passthrough to allow the phone to simultaneously charge, a cooling fan, and will be 50% lighter. At GDK 2015, Samsung announced that there will be a consumer version of the Gear VR coming possibly in September, when the Note 5 should be released.

If you don't already have a Note 4 or are planning to buy one, don't bother getting one just so you can get the Gear VR. Otherwise, priced at $200, the Gear VR is a good mobile virtual reality device for those with a Note 4.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Mind Games

There are many ways your brain interprets the world around you. Your brain is wired to sometimes misinterpret information. In this video, Brain Games host Jason Silva shows how your brain can make colour appear out of nowhere.


Most people think that they have average common sense. In fact, you common sense may sometimes be actually providing you with the wrong answers.  In the next video, Comedian Ben Bailey is going to test your common sense.


We tend to become so focused on the world around us that we lose track of our perception of time. You might be sitting in front of the computer reading this article and not know how much time has passed since you started reading. Illusionist Apollo Robbins show you in the next video how your perception of time might seem slower in certain situations and also how you can make money off your friends by messing with their perception of time.


When we are put in frightening situations, we begin to experience different fear related emotion. The most powerful of them all is dread. In this video, illusionist Apollo Robbins and Jason Silva put the feeling of dread to the test in a game of Russian roulette, with a broken beer bottle.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

SWEETly Animated

+Science World at TELUS World of Science  has just opened its new feature exhibition Animation featuring Cartoon Network on February 7. In conjunction with the new exhibit, the Science World TAG team will be hosting the first teen night of the year, SWEETly Animated+Vancouver Film School will be conducting animation demonstrations throughout the evening. You can make your own stop motion video for a chance to win some cool prizes. Come dressed as your favourite cartoon character! (optional)


SWEETly Animated will be taking place Friday, February 27 from 6:30pm–10pm. Admission is free. Reserve your tickets @ https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sweetly-animated-tickets-15658174020.