Halloween: Spooky Science

Buy General Admission Tickets
Saturday, October 29
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Free with general admission

Uncover the creepy crawlies of the night in our special Halloween science program. Learn about animals and insects that frighten us and get to see them up close. People of all ages are welcome to come in full costume, ready to trick-or-treat for a frightful collection of spiders, insects, bats, slime, and ghosts!  

Schedule

Coco. Theater, Spanish screening at 11:00 a.m., English screening at 2:00 p.m. 

PG, 1 hr., 45 minutes

Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family’s ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.  

Ralph Washington, Jr., “Six-legged Scares”, Studio 3 

Demos: 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.. Talk: 12:00 p.m. 

Insects are among the most superficially alien creatures we know, yet they feature prominently in our daily lives. This contrast between foreign and familiar has influenced designs in many horror films, including the work of H.R. Giger, David Cronenberg, and Guillermo Del Toro. Despite their apparently bizarre traits, it is easy to appreciate the virtues of insects when we learn more about their lives. Join us for a Halloween-inspired discussion of the potent ways that insects provoke fear and fascination. 

Ralph Washington, Jr. has a master’s degree in entomology and is a three-time national and international champion of entomological natural history trivia. He has been an enthusiastic student of arthropods since his early childhood. 

Hack-O-Lantern workshop, Lab 2, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

Why limit yourself to plastic toy knives and kitchen spoons when you can use power tools? Throw hole saws, Dremel’s, and power drills in the mix, and who knows what possibilities might open…add LEDs, motors, and switches, you’ll find a new way to enjoy Halloween!  

Sugar Skull-Making Demonstrations, Classroom 2, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

See local artist Irma Ortiz shape skulls from molten sugar, then decorate a confectionary calavera of your own. Capacity is limited, first come, first served. 

Galaxy Explorers, Make Your Own Paper Masks, Bat and Spider Lollipop crafts. Mezzanine 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 

Get into the holiday spirit by creating your own spooky paper mask! Choose from a robot, skull, alien, pumpkin and more, and use your creative skills to color a custom mask to take home. Then put together your own bat or spider sweat treat with our lollipop bat and spider activities! 

Scary Storytime with Galaxy Explorers. Touch the Sun exhibit, below the Rotunda, 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. 

Join the Galaxy Explorers to hear spooky Halloween stories.  

Slime, Courtyard, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. 

Get sticky with some Halloween slime. Use common ingredients to make your own stretchy slime.  

Galaxy Explorers, Boo Bubbles, Rotunda, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

What do you get when you combine dry ice and soap? Ghostly, smoke-filled bubbles, that’s what! 

Planetarium: 

10:30 a.m. Tales of the Maya Sky (English) 

11:30 a.m. Big Astronomy (English) 

12:30 p.m. Lunaverse 

1:30 p.m. Zodiac Tours 

2:30 p.m. Tales of the Maya Sky (Spanish) 

3:30 p.m. Big Astronomy (Spanish)