Perot Museum of Nature and Science presents Social Science: Animated featuring three-time NASA astronaut and asteroid expert on Friday, January 17 from 7 p.m. - 11 p.m. (with Dr. Lu speaking at 7:30 p.m.).

Perot Museum of Nature and Science
2201 N. Field St., Dallas

Social Science brings video games, hip hop dance, animated films, dubbing sessions, cocktails and more for guests 21 and older, plus featured speaker Dr. Lu will discuss bold new space telescope whose mission is to find asteroids before they find us.

With an “Animated!” theme, the Museum’s first Social Science event of 2014 provides a rare opportunity for guests ages 21 and older to experience everyday exhibits and exclusive programs in an adults-only atmosphere complete with signature cocktails. Guests also will get a chance to try newly developed video games, learn a step or two from a hip-hop dance troupe, create a zoetrope animated film, or speak out during a live dubbing session. Visitors may also bundle their ticket to include access to ANIMAL INSIDE OUT, a BODY WORLDS Production, and join a guest artist for a night of specimen sketching inside this exclusive traveling exhibit.

Featured speakers: There are millions of asteroids orbiting the Sun whose trajectories could lead them to collide with Earth. Last February Asteroid DA-14 narrowly missed Earth, and a smaller 50-foot asteroid actually impacted the Earth near Chelyabinsk, Russia, injuring 2,000 people and causing millions of dollars of destruction. On January 2, the first major asteroid impact of 2014 happened with explosive energy of 500 tons of TNT over the Atlantic Ocean. But can asteroids be deflected to prevent them from hitting Earth?

During Social Science, Dr. Ed Lu, three-time NASA Astronaut and former resident of the International Space Station, will address this timely topic. Dr. Lu is CEO of the private, non-profit B612 Foundation that is building the first space-based infrared telescope to find and track the most dangerous asteroids. He will be joined by Dr. Harold Reitsema, Director of the Sentinel Space Telescope Mission, and discoverer of two of the moons of Neptune. They will speak and conduct a Q&A session from 7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. in The Hoglund Foundation Theater.

TICKETS: Because Social Science usually sells out, visitors are strongly encouraged to register online in advance at perotmuseum.org. For Social Science only, tickets are $15 for non-members and $10 for Museum members. For Social Science and ANIMAL INSIDE OUT, tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for Museum members.