This trio of Bay Area bookstores may be just the spot for that.

Mrs. Dalloway’s Literary & Garden Arts

That eye-catching name was inspired by Virginia Woolf’s 1925 novel, which opens with the charming line, “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” No wonder, then, that this cozy Berkeley neighborhood bookstore lined with well-curated shelves offering fiction, poetry and children’s books, includes an expansive Garden Arts section of books that combine literature with lifestyle.

Founded by Marion Abbott and Ann Leyhe in 2004, the store was purchased by longtime customers Eric and Jessica Green in 2021. Eric spent years in sales for Publishers Group West — and he has ideas for what you should be reading on these cozy winter evenings.

Book recommendations from Mrs. Dalloway’s 

“The Marriage Portrait” by Maggie O’Farrell: “Set against the backdrop of Florence during the mid-16th century, this novels brings the world of Renaissance Italy and the House of Medici to life with a brilliant reimagining of the short and unhappy life of Lucrezia de’ Medici,” Eric says. “It’s a tragic story, but one beautifully rendered in a time and place known for its sumptuous art and power-hungry deceit.”

“The Philosophy of Modern Song” by Bob Dylan: “A master class on the art and craft of songwriting, this work by iconic musician Bob Dylan presents over 60 personal essays on a range of musical artists, from Stephen Foster and Elvis Costello to Hank Williams and Nina Simone. Dylan analyzes what he calls ‘the trap of easy rhymes,’ breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal.”

“Five Laterals and a Trombone” by Tyler Bridges: “The 85th Big Game between Cal and Stanford is still famous for the wackiest finish ever to a college football game, with 21 seconds that featured five laterals on the final kickoff and a sprint through the Stanford marching band for the winning touchdown. Journalist Tyler Bridges has reconstructed the pivotal moments and resulting lore of the game, offering a nostalgic play-by-play trip down memory lane, especially for Cal faithfuls.”

“The Three Billy Goats Gruff” by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen: “A fabulously creative spin on the all-time children’s cult-classic, this is Billy Goats Gruff like he’s never been seen before. This risky read will have readers burning through pages with eager anticipation and anxious giddiness as they await the high-stakes meeting of beloved goat and hungry bridge troll. With arresting writing and mesmerizing illustrations, the book more than lives up to its legacy.”

“Inciting Joy” by Ross Gay: “In a collection of personal essays, author Ross Gay prompts readers to find joy in their daily experiences, the small moments in life and notably, the times when we care for others. Gay’s thoughtful, explorative reflections of his own experiences are the framework for his ideas on compassion, sharing and community. Written in a meandering, easily palatable conversational style, it’s a gorgeous and provocative must-read.”

Bookstore events

Mrs. Dalloway’s is known for its author events. Catch these authors in early 2023 for readings, book talks and signings:

7 p.m. Jan. 24: Peggy Orenstein, “Unraveling: What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater”

6 p.m. Feb. 9: Grace Lin and Kate Messner, “Once Upon a Book”

3 p.m. Feb. 26: Monica Wesolowska, “Elbert In the Air.”

Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays at 2904 College Ave. in Berkeley; mrsdalloways.com.

Kepler’s Books

Founded in 1955 by peace activist Roy Kepler, this famous Menlo Park bookstore has deep roots in the Bay Area literary scene, drawing everyone from Beat poets to Stanford students, the Grateful Dead and Joan Baez. In 2005, financial conditions saw Kepler’s teetering on the brink of insolvency, but the community wouldn’t let it go under. The outpouring of support allowed the shop to reopen. Today, it’s a hybrid business that includes a community-supported bookstore and a nonprofit events foundation.

Kepler’s buyer Aggie Zivaljevic has some thoughts about what you should be reading this winter.

Book recommendations from Kepler’s 

“Foster” by Claire Keegan: “Foster is a majestically beautiful tale set in rural Ireland, centered around the story of a young girl’s transformation within a loving home,” Zivaljevic says. “Written with purposeful economy and strict precision, Claire Keegan’s words remain chiseled in the minds and hearts of readers. Don’t miss this unforgettably spiritual story that reconciles the heartbreak of childhood with the power of kindness.”

“If I Survive You” by Jonathan Escoffery: “This novel-in-stories brilliantly captures the complicated life of a young man’s Jamaican heritage family as they go about their days in Miami, Florida. A fiercely authentic challenge to the typical immigration success story, the book surprises and arrests readers with its genuinely raw, exuberant voice of humor, warmth and compassion.”

“Rabbit Hutch” by Tess Gunty: “In this debut novel, author Tess Gunty masterfully channels the mystical powers of the novel’s young main heroine, Blandine Watkins, and her uncanny insights. Blandine’s otherworldly beauty and an astute awareness of other people’s struggles make for an unapologetically unforgettable character. Beautifully dark yet charmingly humorous, it’s impossible not to laugh through the tears of this cathartic fiction.”

“Passenger” by Cormac McCarthy: “There is nothing that is not offered by this breathtaking, nomadic book centered on the travels of a plane crash survivor. Within its pages, you’ll encounter a never-ending flood of forbidden love, profound sorrow, cosmic loneliness, tormented minds, dreadful futility, empty religion, scientific theory and lingering mystery.”

“Last White Man” by Mohsin Hamid: “This fablelike, thought-provoking story greets readers with a shocking premise: What if you woke up one day, and your skin had drastically changed tones? The book’s main character takes readers on a tour of love, loss and rediscovery as he deals with the fact that he is darker than he was the day before. A masterly examination of personal and societal metamorphosis, race and mortality, the sheer force of these pages is absolutely haunting.”

Bookstore events: 

Kepler’s “This Is Now with Angie Coiro” series features journalist Coiro in conversation with authors and luminaries. These ticketed events are typically held at 7 p.m.

Jan. 17: In Conversation with Pico Iyer, “The Half-Known Life”

March 8: In Conversation with Lucy Jane Bledsoe. Lucy Jane Bledsoe, “Tell The Rest”

Details: Open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and until 6 p.m. Sunday-Monday at 1010 El Camino Real, Suite 100 in Menlo Park; keplers.com.

Rakestraw Books

Founded in 1973, this charming Danville bookshop has a devoted Bay Area following, with book lovers from as far away as San Jose and Pleasant Hill detouring off Highway 680 for a browse. The bookshelves brim with books of all sorts, from biographies to children’s books, but what sets it apart is the store’s curated contemporary fiction collection, its profusion of live and virtual author events, and owner Michael Barnard’s impressive ability to not only pair reader and book, but remember a book lover’s favorites even years later.

Naturally, he has some thoughts about what you should read next.

Book recommendations from Rakestraw 

“Portrait of a Thief” by Grace D. Li: “This mind-bending crime novel centers on themes of colonization and reparation, following a Chinese-American college student who finds himself wrapped up in a museum heist,” Barnard says. “History is told by its conquerors, and the spoils of war often go with them. Artifacts are uprooted from their land and placed behind glass by those who looted them, but this straight-A student turned heist leader has a plan to steal them back and finally restore some justice to his heritage.”

“The Dog of the North” by Elizabeth McKenzie: “This smart, funny, heart-strong novel features Penny Rush, a woman leaving her Santa Cruz life behind — including her job and cheating husband — to go help her grandmother in Santa Barbara. There begins a madcap adventure, reminiscent of a Coen brothers movie, which includes a cast of quirky characters, each more eccentric than the next. But it’s Penny’s humor, outlook and compassion that’s the real heart of the story, and we root for her every step of the way.” (Publishes March 14)

“The White Lady” by Jacqueline Winspear: “This charming historical fiction tells the story of a former wartime operative and trained killer who is desperate to leave the past behind her. She hopes to live an unremarkable life in the quiet Kentish village of Shacklehurst, occupying a ‘grace and favor’ property granted to distinguished servants of the Crown. However, adventure soon comes calling, and she’s reluctantly dragged back into the world of deceit and violence she barely managed to escape the first time around.” (March 21)

“Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater” by Peggy Orenstein: “This humorous personal memoir begins with a woman who sets out to learn how to make a sweater from scratch, but her innocent interest soon blossoms into a journey of serious contemplation. She thought she was just picking up a hobby but winds up grappling with major modern issues, including climate anxiety, racial justice, women’s rights, the impact of technology, sustainability and ultimately, the meaning of home.” (Jan. 24)

“The Return of Faraz Ali” by Aamina Ahmad: “In this thrilling and enigmatic novel, a man is placed as head of the Mohalla police station in India and charged with the task of covering up the murder of a young call girl (while) hailing from Lahore’s notorious red-light district himself. This morally deplorable mission forces him to reckon with his past, uncovering not only the secrets of the city’s seedy labyrinth alleys, but those of his own hazy history as well.”

Bookstore events:

Rebecca Makkai, JoJo Moyes, Peggy Orenstein and Jacqueline Winspear are among the authors headed to Rakestraw in early 2023. This spring, Rakestraw Books will be celebrating its 50th anniversary with a season of special events, author appearances and parties. Look for details at rakestrawbooks.com.

Details: Open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays at 3 Railroad Ave. in Danville.

Après Village & Skate Rink: 4 to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday until Feb. 25, Four Seasons Silicon Valley, 2050 University Ave. in East Palo Alto. Simulating a cozy mountainside retreat with mini-chalets and a new outdoor skate rink, this seasonal pop-up features a festive, family-friendly village like no other. Grab some hot cocoa and get your camera ready for the “snow globe” and winter sleigh photo experiences too. $20 to $30 skate rink admission, other prices vary. fourseasons.com/siliconvalley/landing-pages/property/apres-village

Annual BayLUG Holiday Show featuring Legos: Select days now through Jan. 15, Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto. BayLUG and BayLTC’s imaginative holiday displays change each year. This year, the show’s theme celebrates Dia De Los Muertos with a Lego Display inspired by Disney Pixar’s Film “Coco.” $4. baylug.org/holiday-show

Safeway Holiday Ice Rink: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. now through Jan. 16, Union Square, San Francisco. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the Safeway Holiday Ice Rink is set in San Francisco’s bustling Union Square. The rink’s roster of events includes the return of the highly anticipated Drag Queens On Ice, Flashback Fridays and Polar Bear Skate, plus some new events for the 2022 season. $15 to $20. unionsquareicerink.com

Illuminate SF Festival of Light: Now through January, various San Francisco locations. Embrace the power of light this winter with a tour of one of the country’s most extensive permanent collections of light art. For Illuminate SF’s 10th annual celebration, the city will shine bright with more than 40 luminous public artworks by internationally renowned light artists. Free. illuminatesf.com/home-page

Merry Meritage: Now through Jan. 8, The Meritage Resort and Spa, 875 Bordeaux Way, Napa. The Merry Meritage ice rink will be open daily for guests and locals to show off their skating skills and embrace the winter season. The resort’s event lineup also includes snow days, artisan holiday markets, a tree lighting ceremony, tinsel teas and Santa visits. $25 rink admission, other event prices vary. meritageresort.com/holiday-ice-rink

‘Tis the Season for Science: Now through Jan. 8, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco. Come on out to twirl under indoor snow flurries, enjoy spirited holiday performances, and so much more. Head to the Ice Lab, or stop by the Naturalist Center to feel wolf fur and look at snowflakes under a microscope, and visit the planetarium for a presenter-led tour of San Francisco’s wondrous night sky. Then, step outside to the East Garden to enjoy penguin- and polar bear-themed photo ops, plus festive decor and lights in Wander Woods. Admission prices vary according to day/time. calacademy.org/tis-the-season-for-science

Holidays at Filoli: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. now through Jan. 8, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside. Take in this premier Bay Area light attraction where thousands of glittering lights will adorn the estate garden’s trees, plants and hedges for a must-see experience. Don’t forget to check out Santa Days, when Saint Nick arrives at his festive golden throne in Filoli’s exquisitely decorated Woodland Court for family photos and magical memories. $24 to $40. filoli.org/events/holidays/

San Francisco’s Largest Sugar Castle: On display now through Jan. 2, The Westin St. Francis, 335 Powell St., San Francisco. Join us as we unveil our incredible 12-feet tall Sugar Castle, one of the largest in the country! Resembling a French Chateau, the castle weighs more than 1200 pounds with over 20 grand circular towers and more than 30 rooms with illuminated windows. It is surrounded by a quaint village and a running train. The castle was created in 2005 and becomes more extravagant with each passing year. Free viewing. marriott.com/en-us/hotels/sfouw-the-westin-st-francis-san-francisco-on-union-square/overview/

Christmas in the Park: Through Dec. 31, Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park, 1 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose. Christmas in the Park is back with a downtown walk-through that includes lights, trees, exhibits, performances, displays and hot chocolate. In addition, a Holiday Drive Through offers a fantastic light show programmed to music by Pentatonix, Michael Bublé, Luis Miguel and more. Park admission is free, drive through is $30 per car (reservations are a must). christmasinthepark.com/p/about/2020-christmas-in-the-park

Ice Skating by the Bay: Now till Jan. 1, Custom House Plaza, Monterey. Celebrate the holidays at this seasonal ice skating rink. Skaters can spend the day in a winter wonderland next to the glittering bay. $13 to $15. iceskatingbythebay.com

Holiday Happenings at the Winchester Mystery House: Now till Jan. 1, 525 S. Winchester Blvd., San Jose. Built during the Victorian era, Sarah Winchester’s eccentric house is a sight to behold any time of year, but it’s especially inspiring during the holidays. To celebrate the season, Winchester Mystery House will present daily mansion tours developed specifically for the holidays. Guests will be treated to a sprinkling of Victorian holiday traditions, beautiful décor, festive music, and more. Included with tour admission. winchestermysteryhouse.com/holidays

Holidays at the Fairmont: Now through Jan. 1, 950 Mason St., San Francisco. For more than a century, Fairmont San Francisco has enchanted guests with its joyful holiday festivities and exuberant seasonal ambience. This year, the Fairmont elves have transformed the lobby into a wonderland that includes a giant Gingerbread House adorned in thousands of See’s Candies in the hotel’s grand lobby. Lobby is free to enter, prices vary for specific holiday events. fairmont-san-francisco.com/explore/holidays/

Snow Village at Hyatt Regency: On display now till Jan. 1, 5 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco. This holiday season, the Hyatt Regency San Francisco will be hosting a 100-foot-long holiday display features thousands of hand-made miniature houses, iconic San Francisco buildings and structures, and a train. Glenn Leveque created the Snow Village in 2010, and has continued to add to the collection throughout the years. Free for viewing. hyattregencysanfrancisco.com

Flynn Creek Circus presents “Winter Fairytale”: Now through Jan. 1, Capitola Mall, 1855 41st Ave., Capitola. Featuring wild acrobatics, hilarious comedy, and extreme skills, ‘Winter Fairytale’ is an original holiday circus. The Woodsmen, the Fairy, and the Spring Sprite are just some of the colorful characters you will meet along the way. With an eclectic blend of multi-cultural folklore, this heartwarming tale speaks to the quiet darkness of Winter and the value of rest and reflection. $23 to $180. flynncreekcircus.com/

“Fool La La: Holiday Gift!”: On select days and times now through Dec. 30, The Marsh, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. The Bay Area’s favorite Clown Prince of Fools, Unique Derique, returns to The Marsh this holiday season. Wrapped with goofy goodies and full of circus surprises, this annual holiday show invites audience members to dive into the imagination of Unique Derique as he embarks on a whimsical adventure. After this family-friendly show, Unique Derique welcomes audiences to enhance their circus fun with a hambone and juggling workshop for the whole family. $10 to $100. themarsh.org/shows_and_events/fool-la-la-holiday-gift

First Night Monterey: 3 p.m. to 12 a.m. Dec. 31, Downtown Monterey. Save the date and buy your buttons soon to enjoy a fabulous New Year’s Eve celebration in beautiful Monterey! The exciting lineup of performers features 22 acts including gypsy jazz, bluegrass, pop, rock and roll, marimba, salsa, Latin jazz, rap, Americana, two orchestras, Folk and seven different cultural dance troupes! There will also be lots of art-making activities and selfie murals to bring out the child in all of us! $20 to $100. firstnightmonterey.org/

Three Kings Day Fiesta: 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 7, Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, 2465 34th Ave., Oakland. Get together and raise a cup of hot chocolate at the annual Three Kings Day Fiesta and Youth Exhibition, featuring art-making and story time for the kids, plus Rosca cake for all! Free admission. peraltahacienda.org

You’ll find those high-stakes thrills in Santa Clara at Immersive Gamebox’s new “Squid Game” experience, a digital adventure comprising six mini games that mimic the ones played by the characters in the hit 2021 Netflix series. (But here, nobody actually dies.)

It’s a unique immersive experience nestled right in that sweet spot between the totally digital world you’ll find at virtual reality gaming venues and the physical world of set design and character actors you’ll find at venues like the “Stranger Things” or “Bridgerton” experiences.

“It’s not your typical immersive experience,” says April De Leon, dual site manager for the game’s California locations. “It’s not a movie, it’s not VR, it’s not an escape room, it’s not an art show. It’s all of those things kind of mixed in one.”

The experience is its own gateway into the “Squid Game” world. It’s everyday people, competing in a cutthroat competition and desperate to come out on top. And thanks to Gamebox’s 3-D motion tracking technology, wall-to-wall touch screens and a Netflix partnership, you can spend a fun and very challenging hour as one of those players.

“In early conversations with Netflix, there was a lot of discussion and brainstorming,” says De Leon. Given that the show’s original storyline was structured around a game, turning “Squid Game” into a highly interactive, immersive game experience “seemed a natural fit.”

The setup runs like this: Every time you complete a challenge, a sum of Korean currency gets dropped in your piggy bank, but every time you lose, one of your players is eliminated. You start with a few hundred of those virtual players, but once the game gets going, those numbers start dropping, so keep an eye on your player tally.

The game’s first challenge is the classic Red Light, Green Light from playground days. You have to race to a designated spot in the room before time runs out (and hopefully without tripping over any of your teammates). If you get caught moving when the light is red, you’re toast — and these motion trackers are no joke! The slightest movement, and you’re out.

Dalgona, the cookie-cutting game where precision is key, is followed by Tug Of War, a task where teamwork is crucial.

Next up: Marbles, a spatial reasoning game that will test whether anything from high-school geometry actually stuck with you, then Glass Bridge, a simple memory game (or so it would appear). The final challenge is Squid Game, which sees you madly dodging enemies as you make your way through an obstacle course, before finally tasting the sweet relief of victory (and let’s not forget the cash … lots and lots of cash).

With an hour of anxiety-inducing challenges, all with devastating consequences, this experience may not be for the faint of heart. But it’s also not quite like the Netflix series, with its gruesome deaths. Unlike the show, this really is just a game. “There is violence of course, because of the nature of the show,” De Leon says, “and the idea is that your players are dying, when you lose a challenge. But it’s implied violence. There is no real, visible violence depicted in the game at all.”

That said, it’s hard to tell what’s more ominous, actually seeing players die, like you do in shooter video games, or having hundreds of people’s existences reduced to simple numbers on a screen, inching closer and closer to zero every time you make even a slight mistake. In today’s modern age, where we’re constantly seeing people’s lives summed up into statistics and infographics, easily dismissed with a swipe of the finger, the game might actually err closer to our current reality than some future dystopia. The game might not be viscerally gruesome, but there is a sinister nature to something hitting so close to home.

One thing worth noting is Gamebox’s accessibility. Some virtual experiences —  games that use heavy gear, for example, and at-times disorienting headsets — can be difficult for some individuals. The only equipment Gamebox uses is a light visor and some arm and wrist sensors for motion tracking.

“The way we instill immersion through projection mapping and touch screen capabilities is a lot friendlier to various demographics than a lot of the other experiences out there,” De Leon says, “which is something we’re really, really proud of.”

All things considered, Gamebox’s “Squid Game” experience is entertaining, accessible and thrilling. I made it out with a majority of my players still intact and a whopping, albeit fictional, ₩74.90 billion in my pocket.

Immersive Gamebox

Bookings available between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. daily at Westfield Valley Fair, 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 2605, in Santa Clara.Tickets are $35 to $40 per person, and rooms can accommodate up to six people. Find tickets and more information at immersivegamebox.com.

Or so I thought, gazing at my surroundings in Deadwood Valley.

Well, actually, I was at Sandbox VR’s San Francisco location to try out their new, terrifying zombie-themed experience, and what may well end up being the future of the traditional haunted house. If your idea of Halloween frolic involves being scared half to pieces in a ramshackle house at the fairgrounds, there’s another, even more delightfully petrifying option.

Before we get into all that though, let’s back up a bit. VR is virtual reality, immersive technology that removes you from your physical environment and transplants you into an incredibly realistic virtual one, where you can actually see and interact with your surroundings. How does one go about simulating — and arguably replacing — reality?

Sandbox VR founder and CEO Steve Zhao took a moment away from his work in Hong Kong to explain:

“We have patented, motion-tracking technology that captures the movements of a player’s entire body and their movement around the space, so there is no gap between what your body experiences and what you see, hear and feel. We use a custom, high-quality haptic system that provides players with unprecedented realism and complete immersion. It takes about a year to develop each experience, and we invest this time to ensure our experiences are the most action-packed and immersive experiences out there.”

Hollywood-style motion capture cameras, 3D precision body trackers, custom hardware and haptic suits let Sandbox create its own realities for our entertainment. From what I experienced, though, “entertainment” doesn’t even begin to describe it.

After filling out the requisite waivers, my friends and I were fitted with motion sensors on our wrists and ankles. Choosing “weapons” for the experience actually took more time and thought than expected. Choices, choices. Do I go with the chainsaw or the rifle? How about a flamethrower? Playing it safe, I settled on a pair of lightweight, high-tech handguns. It quickly became apparent this was the right choice, because as my friends complained later on, chainsaws and flamethrowers can really only do damage once the zombies are already too close for comfort!

Our guide was waiting for us in a completely empty room nearby, where he began fitting us, one by one, with equipment. There was a vest, a backpack, the weapons and, of course, the VR headset. Unexpectedly, this part of the process proved almost as scary as the Deadwood zombies still to come. While you’re standing there in your headset, waiting for your guide to fit everyone else, you can’t see or hear a thing. Think sensory deprivation tank, with no idea how long you’re going to be in there.

Suddenly, everyone’s headsets turned on and — after a short tutorial — we were immediately thrust into the game. It’s no free for all or zombie shooting range. There’s an actual storyline: We’re military-type personnel on a mission to find and save the one doctor who has the anecdote for this endemic of the undead.

Unfortunately, my team failed miserably. We’re sorry about dropping the ball on the whole preventing-the-apocalypse thing, but in our defense, it’s hard to concentrate on the storyline when you’re being bombarded from all sides by disturbingly realistic, run-for-your-life-level scary zombies.

Unsettling it may be, Zhao concedes, but it’s what you signed up for, and Sandbox wouldn’t be doing its job, if you weren’t actually fearing for your life.

“If we don’t find something scary, we keep working on it until we do,” he says. “We know we’ve struck gold, when we have visitors playing the games in the middle of our busy office, screaming their lungs out.”

Oh, we did. I don’t think I’ve ever heard myself or any of my friends make the noises we did that day. I’ve played countless zombie video games and been to plenty of haunted houses in my life, but I’ve truly never experienced anything quite like that.

Afterward, the only thing I could think was… This might be the next Big Thing. I couldn’t help but ask Zhao if he thought VR experiences like Deadwood Valley are the future of Halloween’s ubiquitous haunted houses.

“Yes, I do,” he says. “The best haunted houses are the most immersive ones, with characters and special effects coming at you from all angles. But nothing is more immersive than high-quality, free-roam VR, in which the action is literally happening all around you, 360 degrees. You’re not just watching the action, you’re actually participating in it. You become one of the stars.”

If You Go

Sandbox VR has locations in Emeryville, San Mateo, San Ramon and San Francisco, which offer virtual reality experiences ranging from the zombie-centric Deadwood Valley to the Curse of Davy Jones aimed at kids and pirate lovers of all ages, and Unbound Fighting League for wanna-be gladiators.

Games are best played by groups of two to six people and cost $50-$55 per person. Find details and book an experience at sandboxvr.com.

The New York-based scientist and Stanford alum — Ramirez earned both her master’s and  Ph.D in materials science and engineering there — worked for Bell Laboratories and spent a decade on the Yale University faculty. Today, she’s an award-winning writer, podcaster and keynote speaker, whose TED talk on science education inspired her first book, “Save Our Science.”

It was the gridiron that inspired her second, “Newton’s Football.” The book, co-authored with journalist Allen St. John, offers readers a different perspective on a timeless American tradition, not from the perspective of a football fan, but a scientist, explaining everything from the complexities of chaos theory to the physical evolution of the game.

Rather than bogging readers down with science and physics-heavy material, Ramirez brings the book to life with fascinating anecdotes — about Vince Lombardi and what he had in common with Isaac Newton, Teddy Roosevelt, “Shrek” and why a coach’s reluctance to go for it on fourth-down is essentially a case of monkey-brain.

Q In “Newton’s Football,” you talk a lot about chaos theory and the role it plays in the game. Can you boil that down for us?

A Chaos theory is really about how if you change how something starts, even with just a small modification, you can drastically change the outcome. When I was writing “Newton’s Football,” I met a coach who figured out that if he trained his players so they didn’t need to rest between plays, they could start the next play right away, while the other team is still trying to catch their breath. That birthed the no-huddle offense. By changing those initial conditions, he’s giving himself an advantage, which is essentially chaos theory in a nutshell.

Q You’ve said that Vince Lombardi and his background in physics and probability defined his coaching style. Are there other coaches out there right now following that legacy?

A I don’t know how many of them have the same background, but I think a lot have that STEM mindset. Football is all about gaining the advantage, which may be through an analysis of the rules or by just using science better, which often involves talking to mathematicians and scientists. That’s actually how the West Coast offense came about. They thought, OK, how do I get something down the field? Use the Pythagorean theorem! They might not have been scientists themselves, but they knew to ask questions, and that’s a very common practice in pretty much every discipline. It happens in science, and it happens on the football field.

Q If you were a football coach, what’s the first thing you would teach your players? Spend less time on the field and more in the classroom?

A Well, what did Vince Lombardi do? Study the game and learn about physics. Learn about the body, so you can apply those lessons to your own body and improve your conditioning. It’s not just about the classroom, though. A lot of people don’t think that football players have good brains, but they do. They’re smart like everyone else, and they are also smart in ways that most people are not. When I spoke to Jerry Rice and Bob Shuler, those were heavy conversations where I could not keep up; they were such experts in their field, and they really understood the strategy involved. Whether it’s something that’s innate or something that’s trained, I don’t know, but there’s definitely an athletic intelligence component to it.

Q One of your chapters, which delves into the distinctive shape of the football, is titled “The Divinely Random Bounce of the Prolate Spheroid” …

A The original football actually started off a bit flatter and more roundish than the football we have today, but as football evolved towards more of a throwing game, the pigskin developed a kind of nozzle at the end, so it could cut through the air more easily. However, this means it doesn’t typically behave well when it bounces on the ground. When that happens, you see these confident athletes suddenly look like silly kindergartners, jumping on the ball to try and stop it, because there really is no way to determine where that ball is going to bounce. If you took a football, dipped it in paint and bounced it 100 times the same way, by the end, the field would look like an abstract painting, because it’s just so chaotic and completely random.

Q In conducting your research for “Newton’s Football,” were there any surprises? Did you learn anything you really weren’t expecting?

A I learned a ton! I’m a scientist. I did not start off writing this book as a football fan, but I live with my brother, who is a football fan, and I’d say things like “Hey, I talked to this guy Jerry Rice today, is he a big deal?” I knew who Jerry Rice was — I was just messing with him — but there’s a lot I didn’t know about the sport going into this. Writing “Newton’s Football” was just as much part of my own education as it was my work.

Q What’s a science evangelist?

A I want to convince people that science is within their domain. I feel like a lot of people get turned off by science, and so I’m trying to re-engage them. That’s the reason I wrote “Newton’s Football.” I wanted to show people who didn’t think science was for them how they actually use science everyday. That’s my schtick. I like to show people the science they already employ, so it doesn’t seem so foreign to them.

More…

“Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game” (Ballantine Books, $26) is available at local independent bookstores. Check www.indiebound.org for the bookstore nearest you.

“The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transform One Another” (MIT, $18) is Ramirez’s newest book. It focuses on eight simple and often overlooked inventions that uniquely and significantly shaped human experience. If you’d like to know why the invention of the lightbulb means we’re taller than our ancestors were, give it a read.

Learn more about how science and regular life are one and the same at www.ainissaramirez.com.

Co-founders Jesse Silver, a chief product officer at Headspace, and Joerg Student, as well as the collective’s members, are all volunteers with day jobs. Many of them used to work at the design firm IDEO.

Fascinated by the unique, large-scale installations at Burning Man, IDEO’s creative engineers began brainstorming ideas of their own. Since then, FoldHaus’ transformative sculptures, which include blossoming Blumen Lumen, mushroomlike Shrumen Lumen and five-story Radiolumia sphere, have all graced the Burning Man Playa. Now Silver is sharing the backstory.

Q Can you tell us about your first Burning Man experience?

Silver: My first Burning Man experience happened years and years before we started making art for it — 2006 or 2007. I had friends that went, and what they told me didn’t really sound that appealing. I don’t love crowds. I don’t really go to festivals. I’m not a big partier. But then I got there, and I realized I could make it all about seeing these crazy things that people make.

This sounds really cliche, but my mind really was blown by it. Just the fact that it’s a blank canvas; it’s just an endless desert. There’s no stands set up by some cell phone company, and there’re no vendors of any kind. I think it is that blank-canvas aspect that gets people to make these crazy, weird things. A gallery is very constraining in the physical size of the space and the atmosphere. Even the mode in which people will engage with the work will be set by the fact that you put it on a white wall and make people buy a ticket. Burning Man is a really cool space to make large scale, crazy art that doesn’t really have a home anywhere else.

Q Why did you choose origami as a foundation for your pieces?

Silver: A lot of credit goes to Joerg. He had done some work in grad school on pop-up emergency shelters. (They) could essentially drop from the back of a truck or helicopter — folded and compressed into a really flat thing.

Student: (It was) my final thesis project at the Royal College of Art in London –  a concept for a collapsible shelter that could be rapidly deployed in disaster situations. When sharing the work with some colleagues at IDEO, they told me I should bring it to Burning Man. Shade is the most important feature on a shelter there, (so) I redesigned it a few years later when I went to my first Burn: open on the sides and covered above. The shelter became our camp centerpiece for the years that followed. People who saw it in our camp suggested bringing it or something similar to the open Playa for everyone to see.

Q Your art pieces are largely interactive. Why is that important to you?

Student: All the designs start with paper, and one thing that we realized when playing with the paper model was that motion would be the coolest feature to have with large-scale origami. So Jesse and I and a few other friends from IDEO decided to design and engineer the giant interactive flowers called Blumen Lumen.

Silver: People like to be a part of the art, have a new environment created for them. Instead of our pieces operating on a timer, we’ve played with things that are human or environment interactive. The mushroom pieces have these footpads in the ground you can step on. We stayed there for days watching people figure out how to interact with them. We want to reward the people who slow down and take a moment and explore. You could see people who did that and would be like, “Oh my god, it’s moving!”

Q: You and Joerg have day jobs, yes? 

Silver: Both of us do, yes. While there’s a core group of four or five of us who initiate the work at FoldHaus and usually come up with the designs, each thing we do usually takes between 10 and 50 volunteers to get done. It’s just like weekend after weekend after weekend. You have people come with their kids and make little assemblies. People solder and make cables. But we’re all volunteers, and all of us have things we do as our main job.

On one hand, (FoldHaus is) like a hobby that takes a lot of time and doesn’t pay anything. On the other hand, we get to draw something like this five-story, spiky ball with a moving outer skin and we’re like –yeah, let’s just make that. If we’re lucky, we show it enough times or sell it, and it kind of pays for itself. All the money from showings goes into a bank account, and we pull the money right back out and make something else.

Q What’s your number one piece of advice for aspiring artists?

Silver: Legitimately believe in your point of view and make stuff that you legitimately think should exist in the world. I would ignore as much as possible the commercial part of it and the “but who is this for?” part of it.

This isn’t my favorite question because that’s the most entitled answer I could possibly give. I know well and good you cannot do this stuff without paying for it. On the other hand, we wouldn’t have made any of this stuff if at the beginning, we were like, do people really want an origami flower or an origami mushroom that’s 12 feet tall? No, nobody does! We just wanted to make something. None of us, to be honest, even wanted to be artists. We’re always a little surprised when anybody calls us that, because we’re like, we just make things!

Jesse’s Recs: Four artists you should check out next

HYBYCOZO: https://www.hybycozo.com/Peter Hudson: https://www.facebook.com/PeterHudsonOfficialArtistPageChristopher Schardt: http://schardt.org/Aaron Taylor Kuffner: https://gamelatron.com/