Top Programs and Events in February and March

Included in this advisory are key programs and events at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science that aim to inspire curiosity and excite minds of all ages through scientific discovery. 

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

NEW! Lizards & Snakes - FREE with Admission

Opens February 3

See 60 live animals at the Museum. The Burmese python, Gila monster, komodo dragon, 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.

SPECIAL OFFER

FREE Field Trips for 2011-2012 School Year

The Museum is offering free exhibition admission and free self-guided tours to all school groups and organized youth groups this school year. Additionally, 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. Learn more at www.dmns.org/teachers.

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

A Strange Beauty, Photographic Studies by John Bonath - FREE with Admission

Closes February 19

The first exhibition of its kind and scale, "A Strange Beauty," presents some of the Museum's scientific treasures-such as snake skin sheds, horse skulls, rocks, and minerals-to the public in the form of art. Bonath's work portrays his belief that in this world every object has a story that can be unlocked by the viewer's imagination.

NEW! Arctic Sanctuary - FREE with Admission

Opens March 2

Arctic Sanctuary, featuring the photography of Jeff Jones, reveals the natural landscape, significance, and stunning beauty of the Arctic. Fifty images-from large-scale panoramas to intimate and abstract studies of nature's elemental forms-take visitors on an engaging exploration of wilderness and its significance in the modern world.

IMAX

NEW! Tornado Alley 3D

Now Showing

Experience the adrenaline and the science of nature's most dramatic phenomena. Join Storm Chasers star Sean Casey and the researchers of Vortex 2, the most ambitious effort ever made to understand the origins and evolution of tornadoes, in this heart-pounding science adventure.

NEW! Flying Monsters

Now Showing

Uncover the truth about the mysterious pterosaurs, whose wingspans of up to 40 feet were equal to that of a modern jet plane.  Enter the lush and alien environment in which these creatures lived, and experience real flying monsters.

PLANETARUIM

NEW! 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.

FEBRUARY EVENTS

Darwin Day with Sean B. Carroll

Monday, February 13, 7 p.m., $12 member, $15 nonmember

Celebrate Charles Darwin's birthday with award-winning biologist and author Sean B. Carroll. His research focuses on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. Thanks to modern science, Carroll has discovered biological causes for evolution using technology that didn't exist in Darwin's day, providing the missing link to Darwin's history-changing research.

Science Lounge: Hugs and Hisses
Thursday, February 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, they may not send chocolate or flowers, but lizards and snakes have spent millions of years doing whatever it takes to impress their mates. In honor of Valentine's Day, we're taking a cue from these romance-savvy animals that understand the language of love. Learn the courtship dances of the monitor lizard and bearded dragon, tour the Lizards & Snakes exhibition, and head to the bar for The Snakebite.

SCFD Community FREE Day

February 27, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., FREE

Visit Lizards & Snakes; enjoy outstanding permanent exhibitions including Expedition Health, Space Odyssey, Prehistoric Journey, and Egyptian Mummies; and participate in games and activities for the whole family.

The Little Creatures of Snowmass

Tuesday, February 28, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

As usual, the big guys get all the attention. The large, dramatic fossils of mammoths and mastodons stole the spotlight at the Ice Age dig site near Snowmass Village, but as the science continues, evidence keeps piling up for the little creatures. Richard Stucky, curator of paleoecology and evolution, will introduce you to the lesser-known characters of the Snowmastodon Project-like chipmunks, voles, salamanders, and shrews. What you will learn may surprise you, and will just go to show how resilient the little guys can be.

MARCH EVENTS

Observing Mars

Saturday, March 3, 7 p.m., $12 member, $15 nonmember, $8 child (ages 3-12)

Don't miss this family-friendly opportunity to see Mars in a way that's rarely possible. Once every 26 months, Mars is positioned opposite the sun and very close to Earth. We'll provide the telescopes and Steve Lee, curator of planetary science, will provide the science behind the Mars opposition. 

Science Lounge: Crack the Case
Thursday, March 15 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, try your hand at forensic sleuthing and solve a mystery at the Museum. Armed with science and a Bloody Mary, identify and analyze evidence at the scene of a crime. You'll discover that bones can tell a story, learn how to type blood, and delicately lift hidden fingerprints. Plus, we'll debunk science myths from popular crime dramas, like CSI.

Digging Snowmastodon

Tuesday, March 20, 7 p.m., $8 member, $10 nonmember

If you couldn't get your hands dirty at the historic dig near Snowmass Village, then get your hands on a copy of the book that tells the story. Written with humor by Museum scientists Kirk Johnson and Ian Miller, Digging Snowmastodon: Discovering an Ice Age World in the Colorado Rockies, follows the dig from the first fossil found in October 2010 through the intense field season of summer 2011. The research now continues in the Museum's labs. Help us celebrate the book launch, bring your questions, and hear about "hot off the press" Snowmastodon research.

Tornado Alley with Sean Casey

Friday, March 23, $15 member, $18 nonmember, $15 student, $12 child (ages 3-12)

Storm Chasers star Sean Casey will host this special screening of the new IMAX film, Tornado Alley. Hear behind the scenes stories from this heart-pounding science adventure and learn how Sean and his team used advanced weather measurement instruments and customized vehicles to experience a tornado's destructive power at point-blank range

MEDIA CONTACT

Charlotte Hurley: 303-370-6407, Charlotte.Hurley@dmns.org

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.