The Prom You Always Wanted
Was your high school prom a drag? Make up for it this Friday night as you dance the night away at a one-of-a-kind nerd party. Keep the kiddos at home, though, because this prom is just for grown-ups.
“I believe that geeky adults want geeky events without kids,” says Kelly Long, community engagement manager at Boonshoft. “That is what our GeekProm is, an evening of fun in our museum for people over 21 only.”
GeekProm will feature music from Dayton classic rock tribute band The Big Wazu and a costume contest honoring the highest-quality cosplay at GeekProm. Attendees will vote for the King and Queen of GeekProm, but it probably won’t be the most popular jock and cheerleader like your last prom.
Think you have more nerd knowledge than the rest of the prom-goers? Step up and play “Don’t Lose Your Geek Card,” a game show hosted by Andrew Farmer of Hey Kids, Comics! Podcast.
You can even have your fortune told by Madame Clare Voyant. She will be there to thrill you with tales of your supposed future.
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One of the best things about GeekProm 21 Night is that the event is a fundraiser, with all money raised going to feed the adorable zoo animals at Boonshoft.
Tickets to GeekFest 21 Night are $20 and include one drink and “light bites” from Pizza Factory.
Fun For Geeks of All Ages
Share your love for all things pop culture with the fam on Saturday, when Boonshoft presents GeekFest Family Day. This will be the fourth year the museum has done GeekFest, and the event just keeps getting better.
It will be a wild time, with all sorts of enthusiasts represented. Gem City Roller Derby will be there to show you how to change the world with roller skates. Star Wars villain cosplay/maker group the 501st Ohio Garrison and IKV ta’veng, a Cincinnati-based Klingon fan group, will bring the menace. And the Dayton chapter of the Jane Austen Society will have tea.
The younglings will get a chance to show off their cosplay at the kids’ costumes contests going on Saturday.
Awesome planetarium shows happening at GeekFest Family Day include “Planets of Star Wars,” “How Sloths are like Jedis” (featuring Boonshofts resident sloth, Patience), and a half hour of classic genre movie previews in the dome.
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There will also be tons of vendors and artists from whom you may purchase all sorts of geeky merch, so come prepared to shop!
A Boonshoft curator will present a class on how to take care of a mummy, based on her own experience preserving the one in the museum’s collection.
Star Wars fans will be in for something really special. Southern State Community College professor Josh Montgomery is bringing life-size R2D2 and new prototype BB-8 to GeekFest from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday.
A super cool raffle will also take place on Saturday, with prizes including signed prints from Rusty Shackles, a custom steampunk dress, and goat yoga. Tickets are $5 or three for $10, and you don’t even have to be there for the raffle to win a prize.
GeekFest Family Day is included with regular museum admission on Saturday. You can also get a two-day pass for $30 per person, which includes admission to GeekProm on Friday evening, as well as Saturday’s daytime family event.
The Perfect Location
According to Kelly Long, Boonshoft Museum of Discovery is a great place to have GeekProm and GeekFest. “We already have a sprawling space filled with geeky activities, we just added a comic/sci-fi con to it!”
Saturday at GeekFest is also really exciting because Boonshoft will be celebrating a new exhibit: a section of the original Apollo 11 command module. Plus, the museum’s Discovery Zoo has a new bat-eared fox.
WANT TO GO?
What: GeekProm 21 Night and GeekFest Family Day
Where: Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, 2600 DeWeese Parkway in Dayton
When: 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, June 21, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 22
More info: www.boonshoftmuseum.org
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