Bioluminati welcomes you! We hope you enjoy your stay!
elucido solitudo obscurum - to light the desert's darkness
Who are we?
Bioluminati is a theme camp at Burning Man. We are a merry group of ~35 people with mixed backgrounds; primarily in technology and the arts. We thrive by cooperative effort and bond around our fine cuisine. About 120 Burners have joined us at one time or another over the years, so far hailing from the United States, Canada, England, and Germany.
Bioluminati is an non-profit California corporation which is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(7) tax exempt organization. Its purpose is to coordinate the camp infrastructure, transportation logistics, costs and management. We own a trailer that stores our physical infrastructure when we are not on the Playa.
We have been an active camp since 1996. In the early years, we primarily focused on Bio-illumination. This involved many glowsticks, the common personal lighting at the time. With the advent of cheap EL-wire and LED lighting, many on the playa are now well lit.
The camp has also had various interactive art projects, as well as Quests involving all of Black Rock City.
In 2005, campers Nick and Tracy had an idea- offer to the city some form of bike decoration station. From this idea, Pimp Your Bike began, and made its debut at Burning Man 2006. It has evolved into a popular offering with growing success. All our campers are expected to contribute. We utilize donations of all manner of odd non-"MOOP" producing items - old xmas ornaments, paint, stickers, found objects, led lights and fabric - for fellow playa citizens to dress up their rides!
In 2007, camper Random started Micro-Cinema: a nightly projection of camper's and friend's video projects. These are interlaced with non-mainstream personal movie favorites.
Feel free to browse our site. Look at our photos, learn about our shelters, check out our awesome kitchen system and some of our crazy ideas!
Ok, so how do I join the Bioluminati?
Click here to learn more about us (and to join)!
Some of our past stickers....
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How to Join us!
What we offer-
All members are involved to make our theme camp happen. Our emphasis is on good food, camaraderie, and participation. Although we all are responsible for our own basic Playa necessities, Bioluminati offers a lot to its members -
- A group gathering space (the dome) with an attached area for serving meals.
- “Ubertent” shade structures for our members to pitch their smaller tents inside. (We also have members with trailers, RV’s or other Playa domiciles.)
- An extensive kitchen with stoves, prep area, equipment, a double sink and meal preparation water - everything except the food. We create and serve high quality brunches and dinners and frequent late-night barbecues. We do our utmost to accommodate special dietary needs and restrictions. Bioluminati members bond over our meals.
- A community shower. Yup, a real fiberglass one!
- A water filtration and evaporation system.
- Art in our camp, and frequently Art out on the Playa.
- Encouragement for costumes, music, cocktails or wine, shared snacks and new project ideas.
- The Micro-Cinema nighttime video program.
- The Pimp Your Bike project. We supply materials, tools and a setting for fellow Burners to decorate their Playa bikes.
- On-line communications to keep us all in touch during preparation and to enable group decisions.
How to Participate-
Basic Bioluminati Membership Requirements
To maintain, support, create and finance our camp, all members shall:
- Participate in one or more major infrastructure activity- Pre-playa preparation, camp set-up, exodus, Post playa clean-up and trailer re-packing.
- Participate in local work parties.
- Sign-up and participate in one or more of our camp teams.
- Sign-up and participate in our group meals- as Chef, Sous-Chef, KP or food courier. Number of kitchen shifts depends on number of campers per day.
- Contribute materials for Pimp Your Bike, or one or more of the other group projects.
- Keep in touch via our web site and email.
- Pay annual camper dues when you will be camping with us. The camper dues amount is determined by the funds needed in a particular year. (So far, they have been $200 or less.) Reduced fees based on need are also available.
- The very enthusiastic can join our Luminary Council as general member or as an Officer of the corporation.
We pair our first year members with someone who has been with our camp before. Someone you know, who is a current Bioluminati Camper, can act as your sponsor.
If you think Bioluminati might be your ideal home on the Playa, please get in touch with us-
Yes! I'd like to Join Bioluminati!
Donate to Bioluminati!
Anyone can help us year round by donatiing funds to one or more of our departments.
We are also always looking for bike decoration material for Pimp Your Bike. Please contact us if you have some supplies.