The Impossible Lab

Aimee-Nicole Torres, Community/Parent & Teachers Editor
May 2, 2016

The three-time World Champion of Magic, Jason Latimer, brings his exhibit “The Impossible Lab” to Downey’s Columbia Memorial Space Center from April 23 through May 7. There is not a fee for the exhibit itself, but there is an entrance fee of five dollars to get into the Columbia Memorial Space Center.

Latimer wants to get people questioning what is possible, so the purpose of the exhibit is to foster an interest in science the experiments through and labs that make what seems impossible, possible.

“I think it is important to get everyone to understand there was never a rule book. No one has ever been able to tell what can and can’t happen,” Latimer said. “Every answer we gave ourselves.”

Latimer took an interest in science after seeing a magic show as a child and questioning how the magician made things happen.

“Education through curiosity is purposely engaging kids in a situation that don’t make sense so that they ask questions,” Jason Latimer said. “The idea is to get you inspired by what you don’t know.”

The exhibit has several different interactive experiments anyone can try, and the majority of them, people can even do at home with everyday objects. Some experiments consisted of making square bubbles, running across liquids, invisible glass and tinsel balloon levitation.

“Just because every [experiment] station sounds impossible doesn’t mean it can’t happen,” Latimer said, “ If everyone asked questions we’d have a better chance of changing things.”

Children of all ages participated in the labs, and they showed nothing but positive feedback while experimenting. The children wandered from station to station, with their parents following and, in some cases, the parents called the child over, excited to get their kid participating.

“It’s nice that it is for the kids and they are getting involved,” Esmeralda Flores, parent, said. “You can see they are enjoying it.”

Throughout the day there were volunteers to aid young children and Latimer was there demonstrating different experiments. The workers for the exhibit and Latimer were very welcoming towards anyone interested and curious about any lab. Latimer was found walking around conversing with people at the event.

“He was very friendly and a nice man,” Jorge Flores said. “He was really cool to the kids to get them to understand.”

Latimer encourages everyone to get out and discover new things regardless of age. His next event is in San Diego, on July 22. You can find more information at http://www.jasonlatimer.com/tour.html

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About the Contributors

Aimee-Nicole Torres, Community/Parent & Teachers Editor

When Aimee-Nicole Torres was returning from an eight-hour trip all she wanted was sleep, yet she couldn’t bring herself to do so as she looked out the window and saw a mysterious strike of red and blue light that sparked the entire sky for her. These luminous flashes of light were stars that later would become the reason for her passion towards space.

“The concept of an outer-world beyond our true knowledge is captivating to me,” Torres said. “The fact that the mystery will never end is amazing to me; I can be 108 years old and still have the desire to lay under the stars.”

For Torres the darkness in the sky holds the chilliest feeling, and the realization that we are not the only planet with living necessities is fascinating as well as terrifying. The depth of secrets held in the universe can make a person want to run and hide.

“As much as I love space and all it comes with, it still spooks me knowing I will never truly know what lies ahead,” Torres said, “or if there even is an ‘ahead’ to go and search for. The whole thing is crazy, like ‘oh yeah, hey there’s a black hole near the 20^th planet.’”

Torres was a rare child; she chose books that depicted the various concepts of space, rather than playing freeze tag alongside children like most kids do.

“When I was younger, I used to always only check out books depicting space, the ugly creatures found, and aliens, “Torres said. “I was the geekiest child. Add a fresh pair of glasses and short hair; I was not exactly your ‘it girl,’ but my weirdness only helped me connect with what I read.”

The placid moments people struggle to seek, Aimee-Nicole can find by simply staring up into the sky and relaxing. She hopes one day to be able to visit the N.A.S.A base. She plans on being an astronomer to help others understand what truly is going on in space.

Montze Mendoza, Staff Writer

During her involvement in martial arts, sophomore, Montze Mendoza, traveled throughout Southern California during 2006-2011 as a black belt in a karate demo team. She started her karate lessons at the age of two, and found herself in the demo team by the age of six years old.

“I was the youngest member in the group,” Mendoza said. “I got a special robe with patches and stars on it.”

Mendoza was required to audition to join the prestigious traveling demonstration team. She described the atmosphere as very welcoming due to her friendly instructors, but also very competitive. Eventually, Mendoza had to quit karate due to the amount of time she was spending in her demonstration team and being unable to attend practices consistently. Her mother would start to make small sacrifices to get her daughter to her classes and watch her perform.

“I would leave from work a bit early so I could get her ready and I would stay and watch the complete class,” Xiomara Varela, Mendoza’s mother, said.

After she stopped practicing martial arts, Mendoza soon turned to music to occupy her time. She began to constantly listen to music, and now she considers music a huge part of her life.

“She’s introduced me to a lot of artists and bands,” sophomore, Raquel Luna, said. “Almost all of our conversations are on songs or artists. I can’t remember a time we hung out without music.”

Mendoza attends live shows often, and has seen artists such as The Vaccines and Walk the Moon perform. She plans to go see more of her favorite artists perform live within the year.

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