Top Programs and Events at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in October and November
TEMPORARY EXHIBITION
COMING SOON! MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition
Opening Friday, October 11
Can you really huff and puff and blow a house down? Can you swing from a suspended phone book? Don’t try this at home, try it this fall at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where you will become the MythBuster and test out these theories and bust or confirm others at MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition! Try a dozen hands-on experiments that will get your heart and mind racing, watch live MythBusting demonstrations, and explore authentic props and gadgets direct from the MythBusters set. Put your scientific curiosity into action at MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition.
IMAX
NEW! Meerkats 3D
Now showing
Meerkats 3D takes audiences into the world of a meerkat family as they cope with twists and turns of life in Africa’s Kalahari Desert. The film begins as matriarch Klinky's newest litter emerges from the burrow for the first time. Klinky and her family, including her elder children and regular babysitters, Ms. Bean and Harry, must endure turf wars from rival families, attacks from vicious predators big and small, and internal family turmoil. This tale of strength, survival, and family bonds will delight audiences of all ages.
COMING SOON! Mysteries of the Unseen World 3D
Opens Friday, November 1
In this visually stunning new film, you will be amazed to see things not visible to the naked eye, thanks to the innovative use of high-speed and time-lapse photography, electron microscopy, and nanotechnology. Delve into a microscopic world once reserved only for scientists and witness a whole new universe of things, events, and creatures. Rooted in cutting-edge research, the setting and story in Mysteries of the Unseen World are pure entertainment but the science is breathtakingly real.
OCTOBER EVENTS
Save the Last Dance: A Story of the North American Grassland Grouse
Thursday, October 3, 7 p.m., $12 adult member, $15 nonmember
The dances of North American grassland grouse—from the impressive courtship of prairie-chickens to the bizarre behaviors of sage-grouse—are known to nature lovers as one of the most impressive wildlife displays in North America. Award-winning photographer Noppadol Paothong will share the stories behind the photos in his new book Save the Last Dance: A Story of North American Grassland Grouse, which beautifully captures grassland grouse and their fragile habitat. Following the program, enjoy coffee and cookies at a book signing reception. Presented in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.
SCFD Community FREE Day
Sunday, October 6, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., FREE
Enjoy outstanding permanent exhibitions, including Expedition Health, Space Odyssey, Prehistoric Journey, and Egyptian Mummies.
Indigenous Film and Arts Festival
Tuesday, October 8, FREE
The Museum is pleased to continue a partnership with the Indigenous Film and Arts Festival. This film screening will be the first event of the festival, which is presented by the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management (www.iiirm.org). Film title will be announced in September. Reception follows the screening. Reservations recommended.
Science Lounge: Unnatural History
Thursday, October 17, 6:30–9:30 p.m., $10 member, $12 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, delve into the dark side of the Museum with a flashlight tour of the dioramas. But beware—parasites, spiders, and other creatures of the night will abound. Learn about cryptozoology as well as real scary critters. Wear your most frightening frocks if you dare!
National Fossil Day Celebration
Saturday, October 19, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free with Museum admission
Join the Denver Museum of Nature and as we celebrate National Fossil Day! Visit Prehistoric Journey to explore the history of life on Earth, watch volunteers clean fossils in the Schlessman Family Laboratory of Earth Sciences and participate in exciting fossil themed activities throughout the Museum. Meet paleontologists from the Museum and see specimens from the Earth Science collections. Partner organizations including the National Park Service will be featuring fun activities for fossil enthusiasts of all ages. Bring in your National Parks Annual Pass to receive a 10% discount on general admission.
Live Bats!
Friday, October 25, 8 p.m. (Adults), $12 member, $15 nonmember
Saturday, October 26, 10 a.m. and Noon (Families), $12 adult member, $8 junior member, $15 adult nonmember, $10 junior nonmember
Live Bats returns to Denver! Rob Mies, director of the Organization for Bat Conservation, will introduce you to an international delegation of some of the rarest bats in the world, including a gigantic flying fox bat from Malaysia with a nearly six-foot wingspan. Costumes welcomed!
Hallow-Teen Night at the Museum
Friday, October 25, 6 p.m., $10 teens only (ages 13–17)
Join us for an evening of frightening creatures, both dead and alive, fun activities, and reaky food. In addition, Rob Mies, director of the Organization for Bat Conservation, will introduce you to his menagerie of bats. Costumes welcomed!
Who Owns the Past?
Tuesday, October 29, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember
The research of cultural anthropologist Julie Hollowell spans anthropology, archaeology, ethics, art, cultural heritage law and policy, and museum studies to consider the broad implications of how people in the present value and use “the past.” Hollowell draws from the work of IPinCH, an international project that investigates intellectual property issues related to cultural heritage, and her own ethnographic research with subsistence diggers, collectors, and dealers involved in a legal antiquities market to consider whether the question of who owns the past is really the one we should be asking. Hollowell is cochair of the World Archaeological Congress Committee on Ethics, a member of the steering committee for the IPinCH Project, and research associate in the Anthropology Department at Indiana University. The Marie Wormington Lecture is named for the renowned anthropologist who had an illustrious career at the Museum.
NOVEMBER EVENTS
Digital Earth: Peru
Monday, November 4, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember
Explore the desert coast of Peru with Museum archaeologist Michele Koons and geologist Bob Raynolds and learn how civilizations like the Moche (AD 300–900) left their mark on the landscape. Space scientist Ka Chun Yu will use satellite imagery to move through the present day terrain as you see how societies have manipulated the landscape and how archaeologists reconstruct ancient environments.
MythBusting for Adults
Monday, November 6, 6:30 p.m., $27 member, $33 nonmember
What it is like to be a MythBuster? Come live the life with us during this evening for adults only! First, you’ll tour MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition with a Museum expert without the kiddies around. Then prepare to get loud and messy as you enjoy specially planned experiments that would make any MythBuster proud. Space is limited.
Meerkats in the Morning
Saturday, November 9, 9 a.m., Phipps IMAX Theater, $12 member adult, $8 member child, $15 nonmember adult, $10 nonmember child
Start your day off with some fun. Meerkats are tough, smart, and cute, so imagine them in 3D and on a 40-foot-high IMAX screen! Journey to the Kalahari Desert and learn all about these social critters during a special screening of Meerkats 3D. Afterward, see items from the Museum collections and make your own “meerkat” to take home with you. Coffee and breakfast snacks will be available for purchase.
Living Dinosaurs
Wednesday, November 20, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember
You often hear that birds are living dinosaurs, but what does that actually mean? Where do birds fit into the tree of life, and what do we know about their deep history? Julia Clarke will present recent research and discoveries scientists are using to paint a vibrant new picture of dinosaurs and the origin of birds. Clarke is associate professor and John A. Wilson Fellow in vertebrate paleontology at the University of Texas at Austin. Presented in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.
Teen MythBusters Unite!
Friday, November 22, 6 p.m., $10 teens only (ages 13–17)
Enjoy an evening just for teens inside MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition. After grabbing some pizza, head into the exhibition to bust some myths with your friends. Can you huff, puff, and blow a house in? Does running in the rain get you less wet than walking through it? Can you really make a canoe out of duct tape? Put your busting skills to the test!
MEDIA CONTACT
Charlotte Hurley: 303-370-6407, [email protected]
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.