Moms & Preschoolers Explore Butterfly Beauties

Catawba Science Center (CSC), a nonprofit science and technology museum in Hickory, presents the preschool science program – Mommy & Me: Butterfly Beauties on Saturday, August 7, from 9 to 11 a.m.

Moms and preschoolers ages 3 to 5 can explore the beauty of butterflies together during a special visit in CSC’s Flutter-By Butterfly Habitat, featuring hundreds of live butterflies and moths in an outdoor flower garden.

Feed butterflies and learn about metamorphosis. Activities include a colorful butterfly craft to make and take home.

Cost is $10 per child for CSC members and $20 per child for nonmembers. Accompanying adults are free. Cost includes admission to CSC exhibits following the morning’s program.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call (828) 322-8169 to reserve your space today. Learn more about Flutter-By related programs and new butterfly birthday party theme at www.CatawbaScience.org.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and a marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays.

A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder. Learn more at www.CatawbaScience.org.

CSC is funded in part by the United Arts Fund of Catawba County and is located in the Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley, on the SALT Block, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory. 

Bugs & Mini-Beasts

Discover the many species of insects and often unseen creatures that live in the woodlands- on trees, in the soil and even in the lake. Join CSC Naturalist Bruce Beerbower on this field trip and learn proper methods for capture and study, while understanding an insect’s environmental role.

July 21
3 to 5 p.m.
Bud Geitner – Rotary Park, Hickory

Cost: $5 members, $8 nonmembers
Space is limited and pre-registration is required
Call (828) 322-8169 to register today

More about CSC program offerings at www.CatawbaScience.org

Laser Floyd Rocks

A new season of Science After Dark programs for adults kicks off with a Laser Floyd double feature night Friday, July 23 at Catawba Science Center (CSC) in Hickory.

A must for Pink Floyd fans, Laser Floyd offers mesmerizing laser lights on the dome and two iconic rock albums in surround sound – Dark Side of the Moon (shows at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.) and The Wall (shows at 8 and 11 p.m.)

Tickets per laser show are $5 for CSC members and $8 for nonmembers, and must be purchased in advance.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Come early to socialize, explore Expedition Amazon and the interactive exhibit Stopping Time. Beer and wine will be available with donation.

Call (828) 32208169 to purchase seats today.

Science After Dark, a series of social and educational programs for adults, is sponsored by The Best of Beers, LLC, Focus Newspaper and 95.7 The Ride.

Upcoming program topics include cultivating backyard butterfly gardens and wildlife habitats, tutored beer tastings, alternative medicine, science of dreams and more. Learn more  about exhibits, programs and offerings at www.CatawbaScience.org.

Cool off with ICE WORLDS

Opening Friday, June 18 in Millholland Planetarium, Ice Worlds takes audiences on a tour over and above icy landscapes throughout the solar system. Explore the critical relationship between ice and life—a tale of friend and foe, enabling, challenging, supporting and adapting—that has developed over millions of years.

The Earth is a dynamic planet with a global climate that is always changing. One of the most dramatic changes occurs each year as ice turns to water and returns to ice again. The amount of ice trapped over land in the polar regions also determines sea level and the amount of solar energy absorbed by the planet as bright reflective ice transforms into dark absorbing oceans.

This stunning digital feature showcases worlds sculpted and transformed by ice throughout the solar system, including our ice planet, Earth.

Ice Worlds tickets are just $2 for CSC members and $3 for nonmembers. Visit www.CatawbaScience.org for show times.

Join the Club

The moth club, that is …

Bruce BeerBower, naturalist at Catawba Science Center in Hickory, will lead an evening field trip to Riverbend Park from 7:30 until 10 p.m. Tuesday, June 22.

See a rare sampling of moths and learn about native species as Catawba County park rangers use special attractants to lure nocturnal residents and other seldom seen park residents during Riverbend’s Moth Club meeting.

Last season, more than 70 different species of moths were discovered. What will this outing reveal?

Cost is $3 for CSC members and $6 for nonmembers, and covers transportation to Riverbend Park.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Call (828) 322-8169 to reserve space today.

For more information on CSC exhibits, summer programs and planetarium shows, visit www.CatawbaScience.org or call (828) 322-8169.

Not for the squeamish

Curious about squid parts? Ever wonder what an eyeball looks like on the inside?

Explore the inner workings of eyeballs and squid during an adult dissection workshop at Catawba Science Center in Hickory on Tuesday, June 8 at 7 p.m.

Part of CSC’s Science After Dark series of programs for adults, this workshop will be led by science educators and is not for the squeamish, but the innately curious. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Come early to explore aquarium exhibits and be social.

Cost to attend D.I.Y. Dissection is $11 for CSC members and $13 for nonmembers. Includes specimen fees, sushi by Table 220 in Hickory, and light hors d’oeuvres. Beer and wine available by donation.

Pre-registration and pre-payment are required. Call (828) 322-8169 to reserve your space today.

More information about Science After Dark at www.CatawbaScience.org.

Science After Dark, a series of social and educational programs for adults, is sponsored by 95.7 The Ride, Focus Newspaper and The Best of Beers, LLC.

Crawl through the Tunnel of Blood

Explore the Science and Fun of Being You in Body Carnival, opening Saturday, May 29 at Catawba Science Center in Hickory.

Colorful, carnival-themed exhibits invite visitors to crawl through the Tunnel of Blood – a giant artery to see and hear the effects of plaque buildup on blood flow; test their balance as they walk through a 10-foot long Dizzy Tunnel; try on a pair of vision-distorting Goofy Goggles; experiment in the House of Color; hear through their bones and muscles while learning how they transmit sound, and more.

Body Carnival will be open through Labor Day, Sept. 6 and is sponsored by Bank of America and Hickory Family Pharmacy. Century Furniture is shipping sponsor.

Admission to Body Carnival is $6 for adults, $4 or youth (3 to 18), seniors (62 and over), college students and active military with ID. Admission is free for members and children younger than 3.

More information about exhibits, planetarium shows and summer science camps can be found at www.CatawbaScience.org, or by calling (828) 322-8169.

 

Chrysalides have arrived

Catawba Science Center received its first shipment of butterfly chrysalides for the Flutter-By Butterfly Habitat, opening to the public Saturday, May 22.

Check out photos of staff mounting chrysalides for incubation in the habitat’s butterfly nursery here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=48852870565#!/pages/Hickory-NC/Catawba-Science-Center/48852870565

Go Back to the Future

Go back to the future with laser lights and 80s hits from iconic bands – The Cure, Duran Duran, INXS, The Police, Tears for Fears, Depeche More, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and more.

CSC will present Laser Retro on Friday, May 28 as part of its adult program series, Science After Dark. Wear your favorite band T-shirt and acid-wash jeans.

Laser shows are at 7, 8:30 & 10 p.m.

Beer and wine will be available with donation. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Come early and explore aquarium exhibits – Expedition Amazon and a marine touch pool with sharks and stingrays. Experiment with time and motion in the new exhibit, Stopping Time. Freeze an image of yourself, stop a drop of water mid-stream, see hidden worlds via strobes & more.

Laser Retro tickets are $5 for CSC members, $8 for nonmembers.

Space is limited. Call (828) 322-8169 to purchase tickets today.

Science After Dark, a series of social and intellectual programs for adults, is sponsored by 95.7 The Ride, featuring online ticket giveaways at 957theride.com, FOCUS newspaper and The Best of Beers, LLC.

Learn more about Science After Dark, exhibits, laser and planetarium shows at www.CatawbaScience.org.

Butterflies will soon be flying

The butterflies will soon be fluttering, swirling and flying at Catawba Science Center (CSC) in Hickory. One of CSC’s most popular seasonal exhibits –Flutter-By Butterfly Habitat – will open to the public on Saturday, May 22.

 A spring and summertime favorite, the Flutter-By offers visitors an exhilarating and up-close look at a variety of live, native and semi-tropical butterflies and moths.

Set in a sweetly-scented flower garden with a circulating stream, the Flutter-By transforms the outdoor science courtyard into a temporary habitat for Monarchs, Queens, Orange Sulphurs, Red Admirals, Painted Ladies, Swallowtails, Luna Moths, Cecropias and more.

Visit the Naturalist Center on Thursdays at 3 p.m. and watch as CSC staff members mount butterfly chrysalides and moth cocoons for incubation in the Flutter-By butterfly nursery. Learn the differences between a chrysalis and a cocoon, as well as the different stages of the butterfly/moth life cycle, or metamorphosis.

More about Flutter-By programs, Lepidoptera Lunches, exhibits, summer camps and planetarium shows at www.CatawbaScience.org.