Pasadena Convention Center hosts two Mars-related events

Today the Pasadena Convention Center is home to two of the public’s greatest access points for the shared experience of watching the Mars Curiosity rover landing. On one hand, the Mars Society in Pasadena’s Conference Center hosts the 15th annual International Mars Society Convention. It boasts appearances from speakers such as professor J. Richard Gott, a world renowned cosmologist, and Dr. Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division.

Members can even greet one of the first men on the moon, Buzz Aldrin.

Across the Convention Center is a much louder, larger, and more family-friendly scene. Whereas the Mars Society has a couple of tables of books, scientific journals and magazines sitting vacantly outside of a 200-person conference room of intellectuals, the Planetary Society’s booths are flush with T-shirts, interactive art projects and even a basketball-throwing robot. Planetfest has sold out 1,500 tickets and has had to find an overflow area for all of the extra people.

Planetfest attendees can be heard cheering at Bill Nye, the Science Guy, chief executive of the Planetary Society, as families with young children stand outside to help paint a mural with the president of the International Assn. of Astronomical Artists, Jon Ramer.

Ramer can be spotted helping children finger-paint the final touches on a large mural and has hosted a number of interactive art projects throughout the day. All of the art on display is made by either children or members of the IAAA, and stands in a large display directly outside the main conference room.

“Planet Society came to me. They helped me with a book I was working on, “The Beauty of Space,” and when I came to deliver the book to Bill they asked me to do an art show. An art show about space? Heck yes!” Ramer said.