In honor of National Engineers Week, the Museum of Nature & Science will celebrate with snazzy activities, savvy scientists, shockingly cool contraptions and more at Engineers Week from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Monday, February 20, through Friday, February 24, in the MNS Science Building. From buckyballs, squishy circuits, robo mania and other hands-on activities, to daily engineer chats with North Texas professionals, to electrifying live shows featuring Tesla coils and more, the Museum will offer a week’s worth of fun for all ages. To follow up Engineers Week, the family-fun Discovery Days: Discover Technology festival will take place from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday, February 25, and from noon - 5 p.m. Sunday, February 26, in the MNS Science Building and Nature Building. Engineers Week, presented by IBM and supported by Lockheed Martin, and Discovery Days, sponsored by IBM and Lockheed Martin, are free for MNS members and included with the cost of admission for non-members. Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds initiative is the 2012 season sponsor for the Museum of Nature & Science.
Open with regular hours on President’s Day (February 20), the Museum will kick off Engineers Week with daily hands-on activities including body rhythm, bunny copters, augmented reality and more. Visitors also will face-off against IBM's famous Jeopardy champion Watson, an artificial intelligence advanced analytical computing system, in Jeopardy: You vs. Watson. For an electrifying experience, the ever-popular Electric Theater live stage shows will be held daily in the MNS Science Building auditorium at 10:30 a.m. (excluding Feb. 22) and 12:30 p.m. (excluding Feb. 21).
Professionals from some of North Texas’ top technology and engineering organizations will be on site for daily “ask an engineer” chats at 11:30 a.m. February 20 - 24 in the MNS Science Building Viewspace Theater. (For the detailed schedule, click here or see end of release.)
The excitement continues that weekend with two days of tech-tastic family fun at Discovery Days: Discover Technology February 25 - 26. All the interactive excitement from Engineers Week will continue in the MNS Science Building with additional activities in the Nature Building. Lightning bolts, fireballs and other hair-raising fun will take stage for the Smash Hits of PhySci show at 1 and 3 p.m. February 25 - 26 in the MNS Science Building auditorium. Other highlights will include stomp rockets, submarine divers, LED “throwies” and more. “A Picture Is Worth a 1000 Words, Finding the Treasures Hidden in Maps” will show visitors how to explore pirates, find tornado alley, map zoos and more.
On February 20 and February 25 – 26, the Dallas Personal Robotics Group will be on site with their impressive creations and ready to talk about building robots. Additionally, Dallas Makerspace will showcase their wildly imaginative inventions made from common household objects and scraps of metal.
Museum visitors can stop by and see three live sharks in the lobby of the MNS Science Building. Temporarily moved from the Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park, the sharks are housed in a 515-gallon two-tank aquarium display and are fed on Wednesdays and Fridays at 11 a.m. An aquarist is on hand for the twice-weekly feedings to talk about the sharks and answer questions, making it a popular interactive activity. On Saturdays at 1 p.m., visitors can learn about the interesting anatomy of sharks while witnessing a shark dissection in the Viewspace Theater.
For the ultimate shark experience, the 12,000-square-foot Planet Shark: Predator or Prey features explanations and examinations of almost every aspect of the shark. From evolution and biology to popular culture and the fin trade, the massive five-gallery exhibition guides visitors through the murky myths and fascinating facts that have surrounded sharks for centuries. The Planet Shark: Just for Kids activity area features a collaborative daily art mural and underwater-themed activities within the exhibition. Note: A surcharge is required for Planet Shark: Predator or Prey.
Other highlights include Planetarium shows Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 25-26); The Trinity photography exhibition; and IMAX® films including SHARKS, Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World and Bugs! A Rainforest Adventure.
For more information, go to natureandscience.org or call (214) 428-5555.