Lecture Series
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Asteroid Impact and the End of the Dinosaur Era
Guest Speaker: Dr. Brian Huber, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Fri., Dec. 9 * 7:30pm
Dr. Brian Huber will explore the asteroid impact theory for the cause of the Late Cretaceous mass extinction based on his studies of deep-sea drilling cores taken 500-580 km off the northeastern coast of Florida
during an ocean drilling program cruise. Huber will focus on the evidence for, and environmental consequences of, this global catastrophe and how it influenced the evolution of life.
Free with admission.
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Greetings!
November already? The flurry of back-to-school in September, the excitement of the opening of Life on Earth! featuring Explore Evolution, and the new Acheson planetarium and Halloween Science in October, has made for a very fast fall season at the Institute. As winter approaches, the excitement continues. If you have not yet visited our new temporary exhibition or the new planetarium please make plans to soon. The number of natural specimens from our own collections has created a visible punch that truly reveals the amazing diversity of life on Earth. From shells to butterflies to a living coral reef, the beauty and resilience of nature is dazzling. See how not scary a Great White Shark seems when its jaws are juxtaposed inside those of Megalodon, investigate current population growth and how it may impact our future, or help your little explorer use telescopes to study life on the Galapagos Islands alongside a facsimile of Charles Darwin's HMS Beagle. The exhibition is complemented by free animal programs courtesy of the Bat Zone from 1-4pm every Saturday. Thanksgiving at the Institute is a wonderful destination for your out of town guests. Special events the Friday and Saturday after our annual Thanksgiving Day closure offer visitors the chance to play scientist and learn about the adaptation of living creature. These activities are free with admission. Lastly, as the holidays approach we hope you will consider the Science Shop as a source for fun educational gift ideas for all ages. Two sales are coming up to help you help the Institute while saving money. During the Thanksgiving weekend, the shop will offer a free gift with purchase while supplies last and from December 8-11 a pre-holiday sale will save you 20%! We hope to see you soon. Go Science! |
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Cranbrook Art Museum Reopening Celebration Events Include Lecture at the Institute of Science
 Cranbrook Art museum reopens to the public on November 11 after a two year closure that encompassed both a complete renovation of its landmark 1942 Eliel Saarinen-designed building and a new 20,000-square-foot Collections Wing. The renovation marks a new era in what has been called the birthplace of Modernism. An eleven day schedule of special events will include a lecture at the Institute of Science on Wednesday, November 16 at 7pm. Artist Susan Goethel Campbell and Institute Cranbrook Geologist John Zawiskie will present In Dialogue, On Science a lecture examining the way in which science and art converge based on a meteorite from the Institute collection used as inspiration for a work by Campbell. This program will take place in the Institute's newly renovated, state-of-the-art Acheson Planetarium. Attendance is limited to the first 75 guests. Cranbrook Art Museum admission fees apply to this program. Click http://www.cranbrookart.edu/museum/ for details.
As part of the reopening celebration, Cranbrook Institute of Science members receive free admission to the Cranbrook Art Museum through December 31, 2011. |
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Free Events During the Thanksgiving Weekend
 Free Science activities during the holiday weekend at the Institute will complement the Life on Earth! featuring Explore Evolution exhibition by focusing on the living things-both past and present-on our planet. Visitors will measure and compare beaks, make a flip book "movie" about a virus attack, create a take away pencil rubbing of a real trilobite trail and more! In addition, at 2pm on Friday, November 25, Geologist John Zawiskie provides an overview of the Life on Earth! exhibit focusing on patterns of diversity and major mass extinctions in geologic time and how the current influence of humanity is transforming life on Earth. Holiday Science activities occur from 1 to 4pm on Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26.
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Life on Earth! featuring Explore Evolution Reveals the Wonders our Planet
 Cranbrook Institute of Science opens its collections to reveal the stunning variety of life forms on our planet in Life on Earth! featuring Explore Evolution. Specimens from the Institute's collections, the Smithsonian Institution, and other sources, represent all major plant and animal groups to illustrate the astounding diversity of life on Earth and why maintaining it is important to humanity. As a complement to Life on Earth!, Explore Evolution examines seven exciting research projects that have made major contributions to our understanding of evolution, including work related to the rapid evolution of HIV, a look at fungus-growing ants and their coevolving partners, and research focusing on the fossils of walking whales. Junior scientists will follow Charles Darwin's scientific journey in a specially-designed play area which features activities and games related to the exhibitions set beside a facsimile of Darwin's ship HMS Beagle. Coral Reef tanks as part of the exhibition, and live animal shows from the Bat Zone each Saturday, offer a living glimpse of the animals that currently share our world. Life on Earth! featuring Explore Evolution is free with admission.
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Special Holiday Programming Comes to the New Acheson Planetarium
 The holidays arrive in the planetarium when The Mystery of the Christmas Star and Christmas Lights! make their seasonal debut to the public on November 23. The Mystery of the Christmas Star takes the viewer back 2000 years to Bethlehem to examine the possible scientific explanation for the star the wise men followed. Using recorded sightings of significant astronomical occurrences during related historical events, we'll investigate possible dates for the birth of Jesus. The truly dazzling capabilities of the Institute's new planetarium are revealed in Christmas Lights! which melds favorite wintry tunes with spectacular digital effects. Both programs are suitable for all ages.
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Party like it's 250,000,000 BCE!
 Planning a birthday party? The Institute of Science offers a unique setting for a birthday party with and ready-made educational fun built in! We have a limited number of spaces for up to twenty children available Sat. and Sun. throughout the year. Each birthday party package includes private use of one of the Institute's Science Labs for up to two hours, access to museum exhibits and any free programs occurring the day of the party and a special Institute of Science gift for the birthday child. To review party details, check out our website or call 248 645.3210. |
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MASCO Corporation Foundation First Fridays are FREE!
 Courtesy of the MASCO Corporation Foundation, admission to Cranbrook Institute of Science is FREE after 5pm the first Friday of every month through June 1, 2012. |
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About Us
More than 200,000 visitors flock to Cranbrook Institute of Science
each year, making it one of the region's best-known museums of natural
history.
Founded in 1904 by Detroit philanthropists George and Ellen Booth,
Cranbrook is an internationally renowned center for art, education and
science located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Cranbrook Institute of
Science is an integral part of that community, having served area
schoolchildren and families since its creation in 1930.
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