The Denver Museum of Nature & Science started its monthly event called The Science Lounge as a way to combine learning with socializing for adults.
“[The Science Lounge] is really a chance for grownups to come and explore the museum at night without kids around and with a different theme each month,” said Julia Spalding-Beegles, program coordinator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and co-founder of The Science Lounge.
Each event has a cash bar, light snacks, speakers or presentations and different stations with activities that connect to that month’s theme. The events are meant to be self-directed so that guests can spend as little or as much time as they want on one activity or another and in whichever order they want explore.
This month’s event on Janurary 16 is all about what it means to be human.
“We are partnering with the online magazine, Sapiens, and there will be a presentation as part of the event led by our Curator of Anthropology, Chip Cowlell, and then we will have different stations delving into different aspects of what makes us human, whether it’s evolution, culture or language,” Spalding-Beegles said.
Sometimes The Science Lounge offers tours, presentations or speakers that are exclusive to the museum’s members or the adults that attend their events which is one of the many perks of checking out The Science Lounge.
“For this event, one of the coolest parts is that we are going to take tours of people down to our collection storage underground which is pretty restricted access usually to the public, so that’s sort of a big deal to let people down there,” Spalding-Beegles said.
To think about art and culture and how they make us human, one of the activities will include crafting and recreating split-twig figurines, which the museum also has in its collection. Guests also will be able to dive into the different topics throughout the night by exploring the various collections that will be pulled out for the event.
On average, the Science Lounge has around 500 people show up to the monthly events. The turnout of people typically depends on the theme. Spalding-Beegles said that for smaller audiences, the Science Lounge tries to incorporate more hands-on activities, and for larger audiences, the staff will open up more of the museum.
“I would recommend buying tickets ahead of time, because it often does sell out. You can always check on our web store for how many tickets are left. We always save a couple of tickets for the door just to be safe, but it’s best not to count on them unless you need them,” Spalding-Beegle said.
If you’re looking for a date night with some intellectual rigor or need an idea for something to do on a Monday night with some friends, then check out the Denver Museum of Nature and Science’s Science Lounge.
The Science Lounge is located at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and events are held the third Monday of each month from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. You can purchase tickets for the Science Lounge’s upcoming event here for $13 for members of the museum and $15 for nonmembers. Attendee must be 21 and older to be admitted into the event.