Cranbrook Institute of Science

August 2015

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In This Issue

Cranbrook Space Odyssey

Summer Camp 2015

Superheroes of the Night

Social Media

Daily Planetarium and Bat Shows

The Institute will offer planetarium and bat shows every day until Labor Day. Check out our summer schedule of events.

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Don't let summer slip by without a visit to the Institute of Science. We are open and offering special programs every day in August. We kick off the month with a chance to explore all forms of life on campus when Cranbrook presents its first ever, 24-hour BioBlitz on August 7 and 8. This free event it suitable for all ages. If you can't head north, why not explore a Black Hole in Cranbrook Space Odyssey instead? This exhibition closes at the end of August and we prepare for Bats: Superheroes of the Night, which opens in September. Read more about it within this newsletter.

Join us to celebrate the end of summer.

Go Science!

BioBlitz Offers Nature Discovery on Cranbrook's Campus

The Organization for Bat Conservation and Cranbrook Educational Community host Cranbrook's first ever BioBlitz - a backyard biodiversity festival that invites the community outdoors to explore nature on Cranbrook's campus. This FREE, family-friendly event will take place on Friday, August 7 from 5 -10pm, and Saturday, August 8 from 10am - 5pm. Activities include morning bird walks, night bat walks, photography workshops, insect searches, stream sampling, moth discovery, native and invasive plant discovery, and more. BioBlitz will also feature live animal programs, crafts, workshops, demonstrations, lectures, and activities.

Explore Pluto in the Planetarium

NASA's New Horizons mission passed Pluto in July, opening a whole new source of information about this celestial object. In the planetarium, the Institute's newest show, Ice Worlds explores the delicate balance between ice, water and the existence of life, a topic of exploration and discovery in science for generations. An update on the New Horizons mission is included in this program. Watch Astronomer Michael Narlock talk about the New Horizons mission.

Discover the Institute's Rain Garden

The Institute's West Entrance rain garden is in bloom and full of wildlife activity including goldfinches, monarch butterflies and bumblebees! Rain gardens are designed to capture water from a runoff source like a downspout or pavement to prevent excess water from reaching the sewer system. The use of deep-rooted native plants and grasses planted in a shallow depression absorbs the storm water. Once established, rain gardens require very little maintenance. CIS harvests wildflower seeds from the rain garden, and will make them available at BioBlitz! Stop by the bumblebee identification station at the rain garden to qualify! If you think you may have an area suitable for a rain garden, visit the Institute's garden for inspiration. The rain garden is located at the end of the ramp of the West Entrance. There is no public access to the museum via this entrance, but visitors are encouraged to explore the garden.

Take an Evening Bat Walk

Experts from the Organization for Bat Conservation invite guests of join them every Friday and Saturday night until August 29 as they venture across Cranbrook's campus in the search for bats. Watch bats dip and dive over ponds, listen to their echolocation with bat detectors, and learn how bats impact our local environment and even economy. Bring comfortable shoes and bug spray. Bat Shows are now available every week day at 12:30 and 2:30pm until Labor Day as well. Tickets for shows and walk are $5 per person with museum admission. Walk times vary based on sunset.

Enter a Black Hole and Join the Hubble Space Mission in Cranbrook Space Odyssey

Make the Institute your gateway to the universe this summer during Cranbrook Space Odyssey through August 31. Search the cosmos for one of the most unique objects known to science in Black Holes: Space Warps & Time Twists, and explore the Hubble Space Telescope in New Views of the Universe. Interactive exhibits, objects and artifacts on loan from NASA and from the Institute's own collections, and the Institute's astronomical resources, launch the visitor into an intergalactic experience! Cranbrook Space Odyssey is free with admission.

Explore Science! During Summer Camp 2015

Explore science or go behind-the-scenes in August during summer camp at Cranbrook Institute of Science. We have a limited number of openings for curious campers in grades 1 and 2. Campers are invited to utilize Cranbrook's 319-acre "outdoor laboratory" and the resources of a museum to explore the wonder of science. Week-long camps run through August 10. To review camp selections visit our website or call 248 645.3210 for a 2015 Explore Science! Summer Camp Guide.

Superheroes of the Night Come to Cranbrook in September!

BATS: Superheroes of the Night, takes visitors deep into the realm of the most mysterious and misunderstood animal on our planet-Bats. We'll explore how bats benefit us, why they are endangered, and what we can do help save them. Live animals and interactive components will reveal what is threatening bats and how we can make our own backyards a friendly place for bats. In addition to seeing live vampire bats, visitors can hang like a bat, find out what a bat feels like, crawl through a cave, take Superhero bat selfies, and much more! BATS: Superheroes of the Night runs from September 29, 2015 through June 19, 2016.