Kickstarter

The Intergalactic Travel Bureau is an opportunity for members of the public to have an unforgettable (and educational) encounter with science. It's a travel bureau with a difference. Instead of offering dream vacation packages to exotic islands, we offer a range of incredible destinations throughout the solar system.

This summer, the Guerilla Science outreach organization -http://www.guerillascience.co.uk -  hosts America's first Intergalactic Travel Bureau on Governor's Island (a free 5 minute ferry ride from Manhattan) as part of the FIGMENT Art festival. Our event is a piece of free, interactive, science outreach theatre where adults, teenagers and children can connect with actors and space scientists to plan their extra-terrestrial vacation of a lifetime. Visitors to the Bureau are invited to browse the different destinations on offer, discuss their holiday options with our agents and even send a free postcard from their destination of choice.

The event will be put on by these volunteers:

Olivia Koski - Journalist, sometime laser engineer, and Guerilla Scientist
Hanno Rein - Astronomer at the Institute for Advanced Study
Renee Hlozek - Astronomer at Princeton University
Mark Rosin - Physicist at UCLA and Guerilla Scientist

Because Guerilla Science is free to the public and does not make a profit, we must find a way to cover our costs (travel, printing, props, minimal actors fees). We provide a public service by producing events that mix science with art, music and play, and therefore create engaging and effective ways for audiences to experience science. Guerilla Science has a legacy of successful events and has featured in international media sources like Wired, Scientific American, the Guardian, and the BBC.

Over its duration, this event will allow hundreds if not thousands of people to learn about space exploration, our solar system, and the history of our journey to the stars. At a time when science and technology are increasingly economically important, and yet there is a shortage of able scientists, providing entertaining and engaging science-themed activities to inspire and inform everyone, is of vital importance. With companies like SpaceX and Virgin Galactic pursuing serious efforts to make space travel a viable option for the private citizen, the possibility of planning a space vacation may not be as futuristic as it seems. 

From our tiny speck of a vantage point on planet Earth, how do we know what is really out there? Science provides a fascinating world view and response to this question. Being able to share this with artists and performers who, traditionally, have less exposure to this way of thinking will be a transformative and beneficial experience for everyone involved.

The FIGMENT festival is a unique environment to bring science to the public, because it is an arts festival. Its organizers seek to demonstrate what the arts can be: participatory, bursting with creativity and completely free, born from the desire to share imagination and invention between artists and the public. We have the same goals for science and scientists, and are excited to be a part of the celebration on Governor's Island in June.

In the long term, Guerrilla Science hopes to expand our exciting legacy of public projects that have entertained and informed over 11,000 members of the public and involved more than one hundred scientists.

What We Need 

For this free science outreach project, we need space postage! We have 1,500 postcards to mail, which adds up. All extra money raised will be used on props and supplies for the Intergalactic Travel Bureau, or for future Guerrilla Science events.

  Other Ways You Can Help

If you are a scientist, actor, artist, musician, event producer, web-designer, marketer, curator or anything else that you think would be of interest to Guerilla Science, drop us a line. We love invitations to produce events or perform, and are always looking for new collaborators.