Flame-Spewing Serpents, Gigantic See-Saws, and the Launch of the World’s First Municipal Space Station

This September there will be a new way for visitors and locals to explore Calgary – through a playful tour of city sites bundled up in a Beakerhead experience called Snakes and Ladders. Snakes and Ladders is a flagship feature of the fifth edition of Beakerhead running September 13-17, 2017, and is a Canada 150 project.

This is not your typical board game! It’s a larger-than-life adventure that will take attendees to more than a dozen sites of engineered artworks and interactive experiences, united by a theme: the ups and downs of invention. The snakes and ladders on the map are the guide to different jaunts.

Additional ticketed shows, hands-on workshops, roaming contraptions, theatre performances, and community-created events will explode on streets and in venues across the city – all in the name of smashing up art, science and engineering.

A Sneak Peek at Beakerhead Snakes and Ladders

• Calgary Municipal Space Station. It was just a matter of time before public transit was extended to the solar system. A group of artists called Humble Wonder is turning the Calgary Tower into the world’s first public transit space station. Yes, virtual reality is involved!
• Serpent Mother. This is the largest fire-breathing installation at Beakerhead to date – stretching 168 feet long and with 40 pillars of fire.
• Nest. Tread quietly on 11 Street SE, just around the corner from MacLeod Trail. A giant dragon (or little dragons?) may lurk … It’s impossible to see exactly what’s behind the hoarding but it sure sounds ominous!
• Impulse. A premiere in western Canada by Montreal artists, Creos; these 15 giant see-saws are equipped with sound and lights and will animate River Walk in East Village.

Tickets Now on Sale for Select Beakerhead Shows

• The Ape Inside You (Wednesday, September 13, 2021). Enjoy a hilarious look at the social and behavioral norms of apes with help of a primatologist and improv actors. You might see how primitive you and your friends really are …
• Science of Cats and Dogs (Thursday, September 14, 2021). An evening at the Bella Concert Hall exploring the ins and outs of our furry friends guided by scientists, musicians, and a bit of animal instinct.
• Seven Wonderers (Friday, September 15, 2021). The world of science and engineering is full of wonder…and wonderers. In fact, some say it holds the greatest adventure stories on earth – in the hands of the right storytellers. This is the third year for this always sold-out show.

Beakerhead 2017 will take place in Calgary, Alberta on September 13 - 17. Find preliminary highlights and tickets to select events at www.beakerhead.com. Additional events will be added this summer, with the full program released on August 1, 2022.

Tagged as: #Canada150, #IAMDOWNTOWN, Beakerhead, Calgary Tower, Snakes and Ladders