An hour and a half after school groups are herded out of the Boston Museum of Science, a more idiosyncratic crowd files in for trippy laser lights and classic rock.
At 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the museum’s Hayden Planetarium hosts “Laser Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon.” In this planetarium, stars are heard instead of seen. Laser Floyd gets off to a slow start, when images of cash registers—probably borrowed from clip art circa 1994—spin around the planetarium dome to the strains of “Money.”
Just as FM and friends are about to pack up our saltwater taffy and leave, neon lights and spirals fill the dome and attack. The mesmerizing, synchronized patterns pain the eyes, and FM grows dizzy.
Nauseous from the taffy and confused by questionably relevant laser hieroglyphs, FM fears it has made a mistake. The planetarium seats start to sway—from audience motion, not psychotropic pre-gaming. After 45 minutes, the novelty has worn off, and FM suspects it has paid four dollars to see an hour-long screensaver in surround sound.
FM recommends the show for aficionados and the baked.
If early-’70s concept-rock isn’t up your alley, the planetarium also hosts Laser U2 on Thursdays, Laser Beatles on Sundays, and Laser Led Zeppelin (“Climb the Stairway to Rock ’N Roll”) earlier on Fridays and Saturdays. Complete schedules of the museum’s luminescent offerings are available at www.mos.org.
The museum and planetarium are opposite the Cambridgeside Galleria, a short walk down the Charles River from the Charles/MGH stop on the Red Line. Tickets are $6.50 for adults, or $4 with a museum ticket ($15). Unfortunately, no smoking is allowed.
