National Geographic Live Three-Event Series Debuts at the MAC with EXPLORE MARS

National Geographic Live, a series of thought-provoking presentations by today's leading explorers, scientists and photographers, debuts at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) with "Exploring Mars," featuring Kobie Boykins, recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, Friday, Feb. 9 at 2 & 7:30 p.m. Boykins' boundless enthusiasm for unraveling the mysteries of outer space infuses his engaging presentation exploring the red planet, with an update on the very latest chapter in the ongoing story of Mars exploration.

In 2004, the successful deployment of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, launched a new era of scientific investigation of our nearest planetary neighbor. For Boykins, a mechanical engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Rovers' success was also a personal triumph: he helped design and build the solar arrays that enabled to rovers to keep going long after their planned 90-day life (indeed Opportunity is still roaming Mars today and sending back images, more than nine years later). Boykins is still intimately involved with the latest venture to Mars as supervisor of the mobility and remote sensing mast teams for the Mars Science Laboratory, better known as Curiosity. Curiosity landed on Mars in August 2012 and has already made headlines with evidence that conditions on Mars, including the presence of water, once could have supported life. For work on this and other compelling projects, Boykins received a NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2012, one of the highest honors given to NASA employees and contractors.

Tickets:

National Geographic Live: "Exploring Mars," featuring Kobie Boykins, comes to the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, Friday, Feb. 9 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $26 (2 p.m.) and $36 (7:30 p.m.). A limited number of $5 tickets are available for seniors for the 2 p.m.presentation and students for the 2 & 7:30 p.m. presentations. Tickets are available for purchase online and by phone, and are subject to availability. Discounts do not apply to previously purchased tickets or in conjunction with other offers. This discount is made possible in part by support from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

For tickets or more information about this or any other of the National Geographic Live events, visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000.

Other National Geographic Live presentations coming to the MAC include:

"Between River and Rim: Hiking the Grand Canyon," presented by writer Kevin Fedarko and photographer/filmmaker Pete McBride, Friday, April 6, at 2 & 7:30 p.m.

"Stranger in a Strange Land," presented by award-winning photographer Jodi Cobb, Wednesday, April 25 at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

The 2018 National Geographic Live Series at the MAC is supported in part by Ronald Lemme Lecture Series Fund, the College of DuPage Foundation and the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

About the MAC

McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage, located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and

I-355, houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery and classrooms for the college's academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.

The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information visit AtTheMAC.org, facebook.com/AtTheMAC or twitter.com/AtTheMAC.