Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Top Programs and Events in July and August

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

Lizards & Snakes -FREE with Admission

Closes Sunday, July 8

See 60 live animals at the Museum. The Burmese python, Gila monster, green basilisk, and more star in this fascinating exhibition. Featuring an impressive lineup of lizards and snakes from five continents, Lizards & Snakes introduces visitors to these adaptable, colorful, and sometimes dangerous creatures. The engaging combination of live animals, real and cast fossils, extensive multimedia, hands-on interactives, and an activity area specifically for children offers a fascinating look into the wild world of lizards and snakes that will enthrall and educate visitors of all ages.

Coming Later This Summer

A Day in Pompeii

Opens Friday, September 14

What nature destroyed, it also preserved. Hundreds of exceptional artifacts offer an insider's glimpse into the daily life-and tragic end-of this ancient Roman city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. These archaeological treasures lay buried in Pompeii's ruins, preserved as if sealed in a time capsule. Highlights include marble and bronze sculptures, jewelry, gold coins, everyday household items, and more. Visitors will uncover the treasures of a city steeped in legend, examine casts of the volcano's victims frozen in their last moments, and discover the power of volcanoes past and present.

SPECIAL OFFER

FREE Field Trips for School Groups

The Museum is offering free self-guided tours to all school groups and organized youth groups through December 2012. In addition, the Museum is offering scholarships to cover bus fuel costs and to reduce fees for onsite labs and classes. As the region's leading resource for informal science education, the Museum hosts more than 300,000 students and their chaperones each year. The organization is committed to making science affordable, fun, exciting, and engaging. Reservations required. Learn more at www.dmns.org/teachers.

IMAX

To the Arctic 3D

Now Showing

Follow the lives of a mother polar bear and her two cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home.  Captivating, adventurous, and intimate footage brings you up close and personal with this family's struggle to survive and thrive in a frigid environment of melting ice, immense glaciers, spectacular waterfalls, and majestic snow-bound peaks.

Space Junk 3D

Opens July 13

After 50 years of launching our dreams into space, we now face a troubling legacy: a growing ring of orbiting debris from various rockets and satellites.Space Junk 3Dis a visually explosive, sensory-expanding voyage into our now-threatened "final frontier." Experience mindboggling collisions, both natural and human-made, as you soar from the stunning depths of Meteor Crater in Arizona to an unprecedented view of our increasingly crowded orbits-22,000 miles above Earth. 

PLANETARUIM

Wildest Weather in the Solar System

Now Showing

Take a spectacular journey to witness the most beautiful, powerful, and mysterious weather phenomena in the solar system. After seeing a storm the size of a 100-megaton hydrogen bomb and a 400-year-old hurricane, you'll be glad you live on Earth.

Realm of Light

Opens July 13

This visual feast for the eyes enhanced with breathtaking music follows the incredible story of life on Earth. From the Big Bang to the modern age of humankind, viewers of all ages will be inspired by the marvel of nature and the power of human curiosity.

JULY EVENTS

SCFD Community FREE Day

Monday, July 2, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., FREE

Visit Lizards & Snakes; enjoy outstanding permanent exhibitions including Expedition Health, Space Odyssey, Prehistoric Journey, and Egyptian Mummies.

Sci-Fi Film Series

Wednesdays, July 11-August 8, $12 member, $15 nonmember (per film)

Science fiction feeds the imagination and helps us to explore possible futures, our hopes and fears, and the unfolding of technologies. Join Museum scientists and Vincent Piturro, PhD, English professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, to screen famous sci-fi films, break down the science behind these alternative possibilities, and separate fact from fiction. For ticket information and the film schedule, visit /learn/adults/sci-fi-film-series/

Film Premiere: Space Junk 3D

Friday, July 13, 8 p.m., $12 member, $15 nonmember, $8 child (ages 3-12)

Experience mind-boggling collisions in space in the new IMAX film,Space Junk 3D. Fifty years after launching our dreams into space, we're left with a troubling legacy: an ever-increasing cloud of speeding orbital debris that threatens the safety of many spacecraft in Earth orbit, including the International Space Station. Following the film, hear from a panel of experts, including the "father of space junk," Don Kessler, longtime head of NASA's Orbital Debris Program. The panel will discuss how space debris is tracked and how space-faring nations can be engaged to implement solutions. Cosponsored by the Museum and the Secure World Foundation.

Science Lounge: Science Sideshow
Thursday, July 19, 6:30-9:30 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

(If sold out online, tickets available at the door.) Enjoy a mind-expanding experience with cocktails and entertainment every third Thursday of the month. Ages 21 and up. This month,we're kicking off the 2012 Summer Olympics, Science Lounge-style, with the third annual Geek Cup Challenge! No muscles are required on this evening of mental fortitude, as you solve, experiment, and explain your way toward the night's highest honor, the Geek Cup. Be sure to brush up on your Olympics-themed trivia-everything from athletes to geography is fair game! 

AUGUST EVENTS

Curiosity Landing Event on Mars

Sunday, August 5, 8 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember, $5 child

Come to the Museum to mark another historic moment in space exploration! NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission is preparing to land the "mega-rover"Curiosity, the largest and most advanced mobile laboratory ever to operate on the surface another planet. The spacecraft was launched in November 2011, and will arrive at Mars on August 5 around 11:30 p.m. MDT. Join the Museum's Mars scientist Steve Lee and other local experts to learn about this ambitious mission and what's in store for the new rover, look over the shoulders of mission controllers during live NASA TV coverage of the landing, and seeCuriosity's first views of its new home on the Red Planet.

SCFD Community FREE Days

Sunday, August 12 and Monday, August 20, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., FREE

Enjoy outstanding permanent exhibitions including Expedition Health, Space Odyssey, Prehistoric Journey, and Egyptian Mummies.

Science Lounge: Big Bang Theory
Thursday, August 16, 6:30-9:30 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

(If sold out online, tickets available at the door.) Enjoy a mind-expanding experience with cocktails and entertainment every third Thursday of the month. Ages 21 and up. This month,travel to the outer reaches of the universe and explore the cosmic microwave background. Say what? Hang out with our own group of brilliant scientists and self-professed nerds-they'll explain what happened at the very beginning. Learn about the expanding universe, why dark matter matters, and try our signature cocktail, the Bazinga!

James Luna

Lecture: Thursday, August 23, 7 p.m., $12 member, $15 nonmember

Performance & exhibition premiere: Wednesday, October 3, and Friday, October 5, 7 p.m., $15 member, $18 nonmember

Acclaimed performance artist James Luna is coming to Denver and bringing a unique art installation this fall for our own Crane North American Indian Cultures Hall. Luna's work addresses themes related to American Indian stereotypes and history. During a special lecture in August, Luna will lay the groundwork for the art installation and discuss his artistic process, which included examining the Museum's anthropology collections and exhibits as a source of inspiration. In October, enjoy a performance by Luna as well as the premiere of his installation.

MEDIA CONTACT

Charlotte Hurley: 303-370-6407, [email protected]

NOTE:Please let me know if this monthly event/program update is more appropriate for another person at your organization, so we can update our contact list.
 
About the Denver Museum of Nature & Science
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the Rocky Mountain Region's leading resource for informal science education. A variety of engaging exhibits, discussions and activities help Museum visitors celebrate and understand the natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe. The Museum is located at 2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, CO, 80205.  To learn more about the Museum, check www.dmns.org, or call 303-370-6000.
 

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Many of the Museum's educational programs and exhibits are made possible in part by the citizens of the seven-county metro area through the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District.