Southern Arizona is a globally recognized leader in optics and photonics – the science of light and light based technologies. The International Day of Light (May 16) is a UNESCO global initiative to celebrate light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, astronomy, and clean energy. This annual event, run by Optics Valley, brings together Southern Arizona’s optics, photonics, and technology community to showcase how light-based technologies shape our world.

The Flandrau planetarium on the University of Arizona campus will be open for free for the entire day on May 17 and we will have three dome shows, a speaker from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and hands-on demos and learning experiences for students and families. This is a great opportunity for families, students, educators, and science enthusiasts of all ages to learn more about optics and photonics.