Spring has definitely arrived at the Institute of Science. The ducks are nesting in the garden and we're watching for ducklings that may need a lift out of the pools; the trillium and marsh marigolds bloomed this week; and, the surest sign of spring of all, we're hosting between 500 and 1,000 students on school field trips every day during the week!

 

That doesn't mean we have forgotten our visitors and Members. Saturday, May 10 offers guests the chance to soar into space to explore astronomy, or travel back in time to the Cretaceous Era to join in a dinosaur dig. Both events are free and details are in this newsletter.

 

 

 

Join members of the Warren Astronomical Society, and Cranbrook astronomers as we explore the universe during Astronomy Day on Saturday, May 10 from 1-4 pm. The Observatory will be open for tours with the chance to view the sun in real time, and telescope workshops will be offered. Astronomy Day activities are free with admission to the museum. Planetarium programs will be available at an additional charge. Fox 2 News' "Tech Talk" stopped by the Institute recently for a tour of the Observatory. 

 

Summer Camp at the Institute of Science offers Campers ages 5-14 the chance to utilize Cranbrook's 319-acre "outdoor laboratory" and the resources of a museum to explore science and create a lifetime of memories and learning experi�ences. New this year for the adventurous Camper, Cranem Survival camp develops the skills necessary to stay alive in the wilderness. Unmasking Superheroes gives Campers the chance to examine their favorite heroes through the lens of science and become their own heroes. We will explore technology, astron�omy, biology, and the laws of physics to better understand how our heroes do or do not function. Returning and restyled for this summer, Nature and Methodology is an exciting week explor�ing the science behind witches and wizards. Popular summer camp classics such as the Explore Science! series return. Week-long camps begin June 23 and run through August 4. Registration has begun! To review camp selections visit our website or call 248 645.3210 for a 2014 Summer Explorer Camp Guide.

 

The Erb Family Science Garden at the Institute of Science is now open for the season. The garden, created using only native plants in a space formed when the Museum was expanded in the late 1990's, is an excellent resource for information related to the use of native plants, shrubs, and trees in a low water, low maintenance landscape. Stop by the desk and ask for a copy of the Institute's guide to the garden, Discover Michigan Native Plants. Early plants, including trillium, are just beginning to bloom, and the garden is worth a visit several times a season to observe the changing effects. Interested in buying native plants and flowers for your yard? Cranbrook House and Garden hold its annual flower and plant sale on Tuesday, May 13, and Wednesday, May 14.  

 

The Institute's much anticipated Dinosaurs - The Lost World continues to awe. Taking the visitor back to the Cretaceous Period, The Lost World reveals the incredible diversity of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles of western North America and includes many specimens never before exhibited in Michigan. Assembled from one of the world's most significant private fossil collections, The Hankla Collection, The Lost World features more than 60 complete skeletal mounts of research quality casts and several real skeletons, five types of fossil eggs, skin impressions, plants, and invertebrates displayed in three galleries covering over 6,000 square feet. Traveling through time guests will marvel at a 36 foot long molded track way of four dinosaurs and traces of other contemporary animals, discover a four- by eight-foot slab of sandstone loaded with real fossil bones preserved in coastal lagoon storm deposits, including numerous Edmontosaurus and T. rex bones and teeth, venture into the children's area where excavation activities focus on the work of paleontologists and geologists, and much more! 

 

The Lost World is free with admission. 

 

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