Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Galileo Exhibit and The Ballet 'Firefly'

The Galileo Exhibit
Today I got out of class early so I went to visit an exhibit that was being offered at the Palazzo Strozzi. The year 2009 is the 400th anniversary of Galileo's celestial discoveries, and because of this fact the United Nations have declared this to be the International Year of Astronomy. Because of this Florence has put together an exhibit to honor the history of astronomy and astrology.

Today I saw many original diagrams of the constellations and planetary beings. I saw early telescopes and globes, moon phase charts, astrological charts, and pretty much anything scientifically significant from the Greek, Islamic, and Italian cultures. Before I got yelled at for taking photos (there were no signs... I've learned what 'No Picture' signs look like here), I managed to sneak this one. Let me be honest, I may be geeky, but this was probably one of the coolest exhibits I've ever seen. I had the chance to see on of the two original Galileo telescopes... It magnified up to 20x... it was absolutely magical to see original scientific instruments.



The Firefly Ballet
After finishing my last official day of class (tomorrow I only have finals) Ellis and I headed to the Ballet! This was a contemporary ballet and I really enjoyed it. Kinda makes me wish I was talented and could dance. Below are some photos that Ellis was sneaking during the show... Oh ya... we were center stage 5th row... I bought the tickets earlier today and we got them for a CHEAP price... SCORE!


Myself and Ellis enjoying our 5th row center stage seats!

The start of the show... Firefly, written out on the screen by one of the dancers with the light pens.








They had on black suits that were outlined in the neon lights... It was the sweetest thing EVER!




They would draw with lights on the screen and it would leave a design that would fade away... So cool!


This was a lot cooler in person... they outlined their hands and it looked like cool tree branches!


This was a super cool time! I'm so glad that Ellis and I decided to get tickets. It's definetely one of those things I won't ever forget! I loved it so much! :)

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