Geekend Picks: Rails Girls, Eastern State Penitentiary, and All Aboard for Horror

Image via Visit Philly

Welcome to another exciting edition of the Geekend! We’ve got the Ides of March and St. Patrick’s Day this weekend, so there’s plenty of great stuff going on, as you can imagine. Also, the new Studio Ghibli film, From up on Poppy hill, opens this Friday! So even if you can’t find anything you like here, you can plan to go see that. It’s a win/win situation!

On Friday and Saturday, you can attend a day-and-a-half workshop on Ruby on Rails with Rails Girls Philadelphia. For just $10, you can join other interested ladies and “learn designing, prototyping and coding with the help from our coaches.” It begins Friday from 6-9 and continues Saturday from 9-8, ending with a mixer. The event costs $10 and is at Huntsman Hall at the University of Pennsylvania.

Friday, March 15

There’s plenty to do on the Ides of March! Start your day off right with a free tour at the Eastern State Penitentiary to check out all of their exhibits and tours for this upcoming year. The tours are free all day long, so check it out!

From 10am to 3pm, there’s the Brain Awareness Fair at the Franklin Institute, which is free with museum admission. “More than 50 local brain researchers will be on hand with over a dozen models, demonstrations, and games to lead you through. Come learn everything about the brain you’ve always wanted to know!” Sounds like a smart move!

There are plenty of films to choose from Saturday night. First up is Exhumed Films’ All Aboard for Horror at the International House. Starting at 8pm for $15, you can see Terror Train and Horror Express. Had enough horror at last week’s Monster Mania? Then go check out Chronopolis & other experimental animated films at the Rotunda at 8pm instead for free. Still not satisfied? Then head out to the Colonial Theatre and hit up MST3K: Gamera vs Guiron at 9:45 for $9.

Saturday, March 16

Start your Saturday off right with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure at the County Theater as part of the Saturday Family Matinee. The movie starts at 10:30am and costs $4. Don’t forget, dressing up is encouraged! And potentially horrifying, in this case.

In case you missed it last week, there’s another showing of Fred Siegel: Man of Mystery! at the South Street Magic Theatre. It’s at 8pm and tickets cost $15. “Join him as he takes us on a journey through his life with sideshow performers, magicians, and academia that is all a little grotesque, a little beautiful, a little unusual, and all unbelievable!”

If you’re still wide awake and looking for more to do when that’s done, you can go to a screening of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Balcony. Doors open at 11pm and the show 12am. The show costs $7 and is 21+ – sorry, kids.

Sunday, March 17

Want an interesting way to celebrate your Irish heritage? Check out the St. Patrick’s Day Tour, Toasts, and Tastes at the Laurel Hill Cemetery. It starts at 1pm and costs $20. “Though their gift of gab may have been silenced with the grave, Laurel Hill’s proud Irish souls have left legacies to learn from and about. Join us for this early springtime walking tour, held in the ‘spirit’ of St. Patrick’s Day, while we remember the heritage, struggles and accomplishments of our Irish and Irish American residents. Of course, no St. Patrick’s Day would be complete without beer, food and music. Sample all at the after-tour reception in Laurel Hill’s historic Gatehouse.” Sounds tasty AND education!

Finally, there’s Food Chemistry at the Franklin Institute, running from 1:30-2:30pm and free with museum admission, “How can we change the way we experience flavor? And what’s the truth about our taste buds? Get the answers to these and many more Food Chemistry questions during Kitchen Science.” There’s even going to be “a special guest appearance by Frog Commissary Chefs!”

That’s it for this week’s edition of the Geekend! Tune in next week for more, and, as always, feel free to let us know if you’ve got any geeky events coming up you want to see featured here!