![\"Gamera](\"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/gamera_screenshot_640x480.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
RALEIGH, N.C. \u2014 Variously depicted as a fire-breathing prehistoric tortoise or a bio-engineered\u00a0sea turtle capable of outer space flight, Gamera, the hard-shelled monster twin to Godzilla, leaves a lot to unpack, science-wise. Enter his world, and the world of Japanese monster or \u201ckaiju\u201d movies, when the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences presents \u201cThe Science of Flying Space Turtles,\u201d Friday, March 31, 5:30\u20139 p.m.<\/p>\n
Starting at 5:30, explore turtle-themed science\u00a0stations while enjoying\u00a0live music, popcorn, BBQ sliders and drinks \u2014 including local craft beers. At 7 p.m., the Museum shows \u201cGamera,\u201d\u00a0a 1965 Japanese film about a giant flying turtle awakened by a nuclear blast and bent on destroying Tokyo. After the show, hear from Yale physicist\u00a0Savan Kharel\u00a0as he talks about his work investigating string theory and black holes, and how it relates to this month\u2019s film.<\/p>\n
In the early 1960s, Toho studio ruled movie-making in Japan with their signing of Godzilla. Financially desperate Daiei studio had to come up with something that would compete. They asked director Noriaki Yuasa to make \u201cDai Gunju Nezura\u201d (\u201cThe Great Rat Swarm\u201d), which was to use real rats crawling over miniature models of cities. But the rats, and soon the entire studio, had fleas. With the rats out of the picture, Yuasa had to come up with something else to destroy the mini-cities. After the studio chief joked about a giant flying turtle, Yuasa turned it into \u201cGamera,\u201d a surprise smash hit that became the first real box-office challenger to Godzilla.<\/p>\n
Final Fridays take place on the last Friday of each month. A\/V Geeks\u2019 Skip Elsheimer provides a fun night of trivia and tongue-in-cheek commentary on not-so-mainstream movies as well as samples from his vault of 24,000 short films. Movies are also complemented by experts and hands-on science stations related to each night\u2019s theme. Dinner (such as sliders or tacos), drinks (including NC beer and wine) and popcorn will be available for purchase before the show. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., movies and presentations begin at 7 p.m. Admission: $5\/person. For more information, a list of future Final Fridays, or to buy tickets, visit naturalsciences.org\/finalfridays<\/a>.<\/p>\n The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences<\/em><\/strong> (11 and 121 W. Jones St.) in downtown Raleigh is an active research institution that engages visitors of every age and stage of learning in the wonders of science and the natural world, drawing them into the intriguing fields of study that are critical to the future of North Carolina. Hours: Mon.\u2013 Sat., 9 a.m. \u20135 p.m., and Sun., noon\u20135 p.m. Visit the Museum online at <\/em>www.naturalsciences.org<\/em><\/a>. Emlyn Koster, PhD, Museum Director.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15337,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15336"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/15336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naturalsciences.org\/calendar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n