Today in Lansing: Alien Wonders at the Broad Museum

UFO film screenings

7:30 to 9 p.m.

Eli and Edythe Broad Museum (Broad Sculpture Garden)

547 E. Circle Dr., East Lansing

Click here for event page

Bring popcorn and a tin foil hat to see four vintage sci-fi films detailing alien invasion and extraterrestrial life, as part of the Broad Museum’s ongoing Underground Film Festival.

The films are themed around artist Ken Grimes, whose work will be on display as part of the museum’s Field Station exhibition Dec. 8 to Feb. 3.

Grimes specializes in monochrome black and white paintings with text and images detailing extraterrestrial technology and UFO encounters. Blankets and chairs are suggested to enjoy the films, which will be projected outdoors in the Broad Sculpture Garden.

“The Field Station series is a cycle of annual projects where we give two months’ time for artists to highlight various stages in their career,” said Brian McLean, manager of Broad Museum programs.

“Ken is a very interesting artist. He has been working for 30 years around the theme of extraterrestrial UFOs and alien abductions, and is a firm believer in extraterrestrial life,” McLean said. “His art is an attempt to bring forth the truth of their existence.”

Films include the 1902 silent short, “A Trip to the Moon” by Georges Méliès, “Roswell” by Bill Brown, “Tribulations 99: Alien Anomalies Under America” by Craig Baldwin and “Beams,” a Mitchell Crawford short animation.

Some of these you could say are more avant-garde, McLean said.

“Roswell” is a look at the supposed flying saucer crash in the ‘40s, while “Tribulations 99: Alien Anomalies Under America” is a conspiracy theory documentary about invading aliens from the planet Quetzalcoatl.

“Beams” deals with first hand accounts of alien abductions, McLean said. “It is a mix of painterly images and eerie tales of aliens.”

Other events in Lansing:

Rick Mobile visits Lansing

5 to 8 p.m., Lansing Brewing Company, 518 E. Shiawassee St., Lansing

PRIME Music Festival

3 to 11 p.m., $40, Adado Riverfront Park, 201 E. Shiawassee St., Lansing

Try Curling with the Lansing Curling Club

10:15 p.m. to 12:15 a.m., $30, Suburban Ice East Lansing, 2810 Hannah Blvd., East Lansing