Canadian Museum of Nature Celebrates Science with Annual “Science by Night”

Photos by Kat Walcot

For the third year in a row, the Canadian Museum of Nature hosted the extravagant "Science by Night" event last night. Since the event was hosted on International Museum Day, as well as during the hours of free museum admission, there was a very large turn out and hundreds of guests filled up the numerous rooms of the museum were a variety of games, workshops, activities and special displays were out to enjoy.

“Science by Night” puts a focus on natural science and the behind-the-scenes activities of the museum. Museum curators and researchers were set up at booths throughout the museum to answer questions and have guests engage up close and personal with museum specimens. This included getting to see a giant leaf bug up close, identify different types of plants and their uses, and much more.

Though the event was geared towards young adults, many families took advantage of this free museum night, with many kids taking part in the fun activities and games such as owl pellet dissecting and the "Evolve or Go Extinct" giant board game. The activity that proved to be the most popular however was the "Cheeky BioArt" station. Guests got the opportunity to swab their cheeks and then a snapshot of their magnified cells will be emailed to them; what staff was cleverly calling a “cellfie."

The Barrick Salon room of the museum hosted the live entertainment and refreshments for the event. A stage was set up that featured a mix of live music performances, comedy acts and a quiz for the audience to engage in. This room also featured a cash bar for the adults, as well as a grilled cheese and poutine food station for anyone who was hungry during the night.

Science by Night was both fun, educational, and with its success, seems like it will be a staple event for the Canadian Museum of Nature for many years to come.