Illusionist Jason Latimer has nothing on his sleeve, unless he counts his curiosity and scientific research.
“I’m always trying to make that clear to all the kids. I don’t have a superpower. I’m the guy who asked a lot of questions,” he said.
Latimer will perform multiple “Impossible Science Live” shows on Saturday, Sunday and Monday at Orlando Science Center Spark Stem Fest. He said he expects illusions of bent minds, such as bending light, shaping water into shape and passing solid objects to other solid objects.
“The reality is all different fields of applied science, and if they (the audience) ask enough questions, I’m sure they can understand it and they can do it themselves. I’m sure,” he said.
“The cool part about it is, if you don’t understand it, it would look magical.”
It’s a show for all ages, he said.
“If I put water into shape and hand it over to someone, it’s going to be amazing whether you’re 55 or 105 or 105 people,” he said.
Latimer’s interest in magic and the science behind it began with the nine-year-old show, he said.
“It blew my mind off, I was just thinking about what else could be possible,” he said. “As as funny as it sounds, I really put that conversation straight into the science lab. So I wanted to know how things worked, so I studied magic. It was something I wanted to do, and then I quickly started studying science books and applying them to magic.”
Latimer’s career paths are woven from entertainment to education. In 2003 he was awarded the “Best Overall” title at the magic of the World Championships. He was then a judge of Penn & Teller’s “Wizard War” on Skyfy and currently co-hosted “Scijinks” on the Science Channel.
He is currently a curator of impossible science at the Fleet Science Center in San Diego.
“I have this mission to inspire curiosity and wonder,” Latimer said.
One of the impossible missions of science is to increase availability.
“We converted the gymnasium and auditorium into a temporary science center up to 5,000 square feet and were able to do that in two hours,” Latameer said. “The Science Center is fast rolling out.”
It also runs 27 camps for magic and science in rural California.
“We have magicians who jump into these little camps as we are beginning to realize that New York magicians, Hawaii magicians, and magicians don’t have to be just entertainment,” Latimer said. . “You can use magic to cause mystery.”
Many scientific developments, from light bulbs to the theory of relativity, were unknown until someone just asked the right question, he said.
“It’s impossible to give up because no one knows what’s possible in the end,” Latimer said. “It’s a game of how many questions you can ask.”
Spark Stem Fest introduces areas such as animation, robotics and engineering using live demonstrations, as well as what the Science Center calls the “cluttered, ooy goey science experiment.” There are also animal encounters.
The event highlights 70 exhibitors including Florida Space Institute, Rochede Martin, Surprise Studios, Shark Science Minorities, UCF Obstacles, Aging & Technology Faculty Clusters, and Robot Dogs.
Spark is included in regular admission to the Orlando Science Center for $29.99 ($22.99 for ages 2-11). Latimer’s show requires an additional $5 ticket. Opening hours are from 10am to 5pm
Latimer will also perform at Science Night Live, an adult-only event at the Science Center from 8pm to 11:30pm on Saturdays. Attraction. Tickets are $20 and are available online only.
For tickets and more information, please visit osc.org.
dbevil@orlandosentinel.com
