Movies Under the Microscope

Hollywood loves scientific nonsense (remember when Mark Wahlberg played a scientist in a Transformers movie?), but the Natural History Museum is ready to separate the cinematic magic from the actual science. Movies Under the Microscope brings a pair of ’80s sci-fi favorites to the big screen, complete with expert-led discussions examining what these cult classics got right, hilariously wrong or somewhere in the radioactive middle. On October 16, see Joe Dante’s 1985 adventure movie Explorers, about three kids who build a homemade spaceship. Then on October 22, see Real Genius, the Val Kilmer comedy about teenage physics prodigies and a very dangerous laser. Each screening includes a pre-show reception with an all-vinyl ’80s DJ set, vintage collectibles and pop-ups, followed by a conversation with scientists and pop-culture experts.