Beakerhead: 6 exhibits to check out

This story was originally published Sept. 12.

Beakerhead offers five days of weird, wonderful and innovative events that are a quirky mix of art, science and engineering.

With 60 events in the lineup, an eclectic mix of exhibits, entertainment and hands-on workshops it might be hard to figure out how to squeeze it all in. 

Here are six that can be found all around the city and visited between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. during the festival, which runs Sept. 14-18. Many of the events are free and tickets can be bought at beakerhead.com.

Tentacles

An octopus appears to be escaping from an Inglewood building. This is the Calgary premiere of United Kingdom artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas.

Where: McGill Block, west entrance of Ninth Avenue. S.E.

Saturnian

Enter an inflatable dome best described by Beakerhead organizers as a "massive explorer is outfitted with state of the art Narwhal sensory equipment and humpback whale navigational technology."​ The exhibit, shown here is an artistic rendering created by Bee Kingdom Glass.

​Where: Fort Calgary, 750 Ninth Ave. S.E.

BASS Ship

This 30-foot "space ship," shown here is an artist's rendering, and the first project to emerge from Beakerhead's Big Bang Residency Program. Visitors can help "crack the code that makes this strange beast light up and beam messages to space," say Beakerhead organizers.

Where: East Village Riverwalk, 618 Confluence Way S.E.

Sandbox of Human Ingenuity

The giant sandbox is back. Bring a shovel, a picnic or maybe your beach blanket.

Where: Fort Calgary, 750 Ninth Ave. S.E. Calgary

Nibbles

Australian artist Amanda Parer is back with more giant illuminated bunnies — but this time they're babies. 

Where: Central Memorial Park, 1221 Second St. S.W. 

Highly Social Science

An actor dressed as a lab rat will operate this massive barometer, shown here in an artist's rendering. The needle will be moved according to the whims of public opinion on Twitter.

Where: Mission Centre, 2303 Fourth St. S.W.