Museum of Science

Ongoing:

Catch Bugs
Journey to a world where raindrops fall like cannonballs and danger lurks around every corner. Bugs! brings you down to size to follow the lives of a butterfly and a praying mantis in the lush Borneo rainforest. Think you know some big eaters? Before transforming into a butterfly, our star caterpillar munches through enough citrus leaves in a few weeks to increase its weight 100 times over! A mini-mantis hatched with 200 brothers and sisters quickly becomes a lethal hunter-even as it struggles to evade predators larger than itself. Perspective-bending presentations of Bugs! are now running regularly in the 3-D Digital Cinema.

3-D Digital Cinema
The museum's latest venue is now open in Wright Theater! Thanks to a newly installed digital projection system, the Museum now offers film presentations in 3-D. Using polarized light rather than traditional red/blue lens filters, the high-definition system offers Museum audiences dramatically crisp images and an exciting new presentation format to experience in the Exhibit Halls.
20-minute presentations of the debut film, Bugs!, are now showing regularly on the new high-definition system.

Butterfly Garden
Do you cower when a bee buzzes nearby...cringe at the sight of a beetle...recoil when a housefly lands on the kitchen table? But when a bright yellow butterfly meanders past you in the park, does your face light up with appreciation and wonder? Flitting among flowers like airborne jewels, butterflies have long captivated human beings. Exquisitely patterned, richly colored, and delicately formed, they are yours to enjoy at an exciting new exhibit at the museum.

Also at the Science Museum:

The Computing Revolution
How do new technologies affect our world? Can we predict their impact? Featuring artifacts, interactive exhibits, and compelling human stories, this new permanent exhibit re-creates milestones of computing, using past examples to ask questions that are relevant today.

The Charles Hayden Planetarium is featuring the high-tech, celestial adventure "Skyfire: Wonder of the Atmosphere," a multi media presentation of tornadoes, lightning, thunder and more. It's a wonderful tour of weather featuring all the elements. Shown at various times during the day through mid-April.

"Human Body Connection"
This popular exhibit is now on the second floor of the Green Wing and contains exhibits on anatomy, physiology and health. There are a variety of activities including building models, using a microscope, and conducting small experiments. There is also a chick hatchery, where live chicks hatch from actual eggs. It's no coincidence that the hatchery is located across from the exhibit on birth.

Natural Mysteries Exhibit:
Making use of some 6000 artifacts from the Museum's extensive natural history collections, this exhibit draws you into a series of unique environments filled with physical clues. Venture into a desert, a historic schoolhouse or a tropical beach. You'll find that scientific classification skills are the key to solving some intriguing puzzles.

The Virtual Fish Tank, which has been installed near the Wave Tank now at the Science Museum. This new exhibit immerses visitors in a1700 square-foot virtual undersea world where they create and interact with their own virtual fish to discover new insights into how complex living systems work.

"The Light House: Beaming, Bouncing and Bending Light"
This most recent permanent exhibit sheds light on optics, color and the nature of light. A shimmering light house greets the visitor as he explores a series of fascinating mirror effects. There are 18 hands-on activities, including optical pin ball, prisms, and how color is made.

"Messages" lets you discover why communication is central to everyday life. There are a number of interactive exhibits, including "Meaning with Music," where you can select a music soundtrack to go with silent video footage. In "Language To Go," visitors pretend to take food orders from people around the U.S. representing different kinds of regional speech. For example, is a hoagie the same as a sub or a hero sandwich?

"Science in The Park" puts a new twist on playing in the park by offering interactive science experiences. Activities on a seesaw and swing prompt us to wonder what forces are at work while we play. Children at all levels will enjoy the different ways to explore the pushes and pulls that set things in motion. It's fun and of course educational at the same time. Mom and Dad will enjoy getting involved as well.

The museum is also the home of the Charles Hayden Planetarium, a high-tech celestial adventure and the most technologically advanced planetarium in New England. Now through mid -April: "Skyfire: Wonders of the Atmosphere." There are also laser shows at various times, so check the schedule on their Web site.

Museum of Science, Boston
(617) 723-2500

Museum of Science Omni Theatre

Now showing:

• Mummies: Secrets of the Pharoahs - Through May 31
  Part historic journey and part forensic adventure, this film follows explorers and researchers as they piece together fascinating archaeological and genetic clues. Experience the dramatic re-creation of a late 19th-century discovery: a cache of 40 royal mummies, including 12 Egyptian kings, in a single tomb.

• Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk - Through September 1
  More than an exhilarating odyssey through one of our nation's most storied natural treasures, the mighty Colorado River, this large-format film celebrates the power and vitality of Earth's most precious resource — water — and its vulnerability to our growing presence on the planet. Join environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., anthropologist and author Wade Davis, and their two daughters on a remarkable journey that combines water, family, adventure, and conservation education. Narrated by Robert Redford and featuring songs and music by Dave Matthews Band.

• The Alps - Through September 1
  

  The world's most charismatic megafauna star in a gorgeously shot, meticulously rendered new IMAX film, making its New England debut at the Museum of Science. Watch the science of paleontology evolve from the early 20th century through today, as the ultimate predators take over the ultimate big screen.

Museum of Science
(617) 723-2500