Vintage Lasers & Holograms

[BobH]

I have finally gotten my new exhibit called "Vintage Lasers & Holograms" together enough to host a "soft opening" today. There are over 180 classic lasers and an equal number of associated things, including over two dozen holograms currently. The plan is to keep installing more holograms over time, as they take a lot of time to mount and light properly.

Many of the holograms are from my own 40-year career using all types of recording materials, including holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC), and all of the common recording techniques (including the first published full parallax integral hologram). The exhibit occupies 1200 square feet in a shared space with my lab that features a 5x10' table where I'm currently making transmission and reflection HOEs in red (35mW SP-127), green (6W Coherent Verdi), and blue (150mW Kimmon He-Cd). This lab is also part of the display so visitors can see how a professional holographer works, what's necessary to get commercial quality holograms, and hopefully how to improvise with hobbyist level equipment to get similar results.

The exhibit will run to the end of April, 2022, but will likely be extended another year unless a more appropriate venue becomes available. The space I'm in was chosen to be isolated for R&D, and not for walk-by traffic. This is really a test to see if there is interest amongst the general public.

[jrburns47]

Congratulations!🥳
I hope you get a lot of visitors but not so many that it interrupts your HOE work.
Would love to see the exhibit. Maybe make separate stabilized handheld video talking walkthroughs of the lasers and holograms for those of us unlikely to be able to visit?
Best wishes for the holidays!

[dannybee]

Congratulations! Bob what's the address thankyou for your dedication to holography and your hard work

[BobH]

If visitors interrupt my work too much, that's good! There are a few solutions for that, and it would show good general interest by the public. If not, I'll still pay the rent.

The exhibit is at 5020 S. Ash Ave. in Tempe, AZ. Open noon to six, Saturday to Wednesday. An easy bike ride from the ASU campus.

[BobH]

Got the website up for the exhibit. Still need to move a late '70s Spectra-Physics model 170 Argon ion laser in, and a display case for the plasma-tubes. More holograms will also be added as they get mounted for safe display.

https://laserhistorymuseum.com/

[BobH]

A podcast discussing my collection and exhibit is now available here: https://www.photonics.com/Podcast/pce46?refer=picks

[BobH]

I'm happy to announce that this exhibit will be extended for the next year at least. I have to say the combination of holograms with old lasers really seems to work well, though they tend to steal the show amongst the general public. But that's fine with me!

[michaelh-new]

Hey Bob. How's the museum going/exhibit going?

[BobH]

Still going well. 44 5-star reviews on Google Maps! We signed a new 3-year lease, and I'll be installing more holograms soon.