Conference Overview The annual CONTACT conference is an interdisciplinary gathering of scientists, artists and writers. For 25 years we have been exploring human futures in fact and fiction, using science as a guide to the imagination. As always, CONTACT's full program features a fascinating lineup of speakers and a broad spectrum of symposia and activities, including Planetary Mission updates, the arts and sciences, the return of some of our science fiction veterans, the Art Gallery, a film festival, a remote visit to a sea voyage, our anniversary party and more. |
| Art Exhibition |
| As always, our art show features work by our presenters, attendees and others. |
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| Art Reception and Social Hour |
| Friday night, enjoy our traditional reception for the opening of the art show. Good food and drink, first look at the exhibition, good conversation and a chance to get acquainted and exchange ideas. |
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| Banquet and Keynote Presentation |
| Also Friday night, enjoy appetizers and conversation followed by our annual banquet. |
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| Silver Anniversary Party - Saturday Join the Saturday night gathering as we celebrate CONTACT's Silver Anniversary! |
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| Special Sessions |
Panel - CONTACT: Past, Present and Future "Looking Back & Looking Forward"   A panel of CONTACT veterans from the earliest days, the middle (NASA) years and the more recent times, to give their perspectives about where CONTACT has been and where it's going. They will discuss how and why they got involved, the reasons they come back, what they see as the best ways to create, in the years ahead, an interdisciplinary forum for the future that will have a respected place in that future. Afterwards, audience participation will be wecomed. We are interested in your advice on how to make CONTACT more valuable.Panelists include: Jim Funaro, Joel Hagen, Michael Sims, Chris McKay, Seth Shostak, Al Harrison, Don Scott, Bruce Damer, Kim Stanley Robinson, Phil Aaberg, Kathryn Denning and Bill Clancey |
Sunday Morning - Silver Screen Film Festival |
| Call For Clips Got a cool little short clip of moving imagery? Animation? Live action? Re-worked space, time and reality? Well then maybe you should consider sharing same at the CONTACT 25 Special Sunday Silver Shorts Screening Film Festival and Moving Imagery Exposition. Looking for: Short, self-produced clips from Contactees, not much longer than about ten minutes that display the typical Contact diversity, creativity and uniqueness to share with the Sunday Morning Contact crowd. Bring them on a standard "play 'em anywhere" DVD or DVD-R. Contact Gus Frederick if you are interested. Send Total Running Time, titles and a short description to imaging@norwebster.com. This is not a competition! Rather a Sunday Silver Sharing. First come, first shown. We have 90 minutes, so lets fill 'er up! |
| Sunday Afternoon: Mars Odyssey Al Harrison, Carter Emmart and Reid Stowe |
 Al will be leading off our special Sunday afternoon session of "One Thousand Days at Sea," which will feature a live interactive conversation between Carter Emmart and Reid Stowe on his sailboat, about 700 days into his ocean journey.Al's opening talk will discuss maritime analogues for space missions in general and introduce Reid's venture as an example in progress. From New York, Carter will demo the Digital Universe with emphasis on interplanetary travel and let us listen in to a live satellite phone call to Reid at sea, sailing his non-stop voyage without any ports of call, as a Mars mission analog. |
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