Annual Christmas chemistry show ‘sold out;’ TV still an option

As traditions go, nothing is more engaging on the Madison holiday scene than the annual holiday chemistry lectures by Bassam Shakhashiri.

Unfortunately, the free Dec. 1 and 2 lecture series is predictable in another sense: It "sells out" early, and this year’s 38th incarnation of the booming, colorful performance by the widely acknowledged master of chemistry demonstrations is no exception. Tickets for the free event are no longer available, Shakhashiri says.

"We ‘sold out’ in early November and we have received requests totaling double what we can seat in the four shows," reports the chemist and showman whose "Once Upon a Christmas Cheery in the Lab of Shakhashiri" has delighted thousands in Madison and Washington, D.C. for almost four decades.

Although tickets for the lectures are long gone, those interested in the shows have another option: Wisconsin Public Television will broadcast the lectures several times over the course of the holiday season. The lectures will be broadcast on Friday, Dec. 21 at 4:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 23 at 8 a.m.; Monday Dec. 24 at 12:30 p.m.; Tuesday Dec. 25 at noon; Friday Dec. 28 at 1 p.m.; and Monday, Dec. 31 at 9 a.m.