After Dark: Cells to Self

After Dark: Cells to Self

How are you shaped by the genes you’re born with, and by your environment? How do your body's trillions of cells work together to create a human self? At our brand-new exhibit collection, Cells to Self, you can use microscopes, digital models, and firsthand interactions with cells to explore how cells move, divide, communicate, and respond to their surroundings—from the environmental awareness of bacteria to human heart cells beating in response to electricity. Come get a closer look and see what you’re made of. *

Members-Only Bio Lab Tours

7:00 and 8:00 p.m.
Gallery 4: Meet at the Explainer station in the Living Systems area (near the flower dissections) with your member card for entry.

RSVP required. Free for Daytime and After Dark members, including free After Dark admission for Daytime members (ages 18+ only) in celebration of Cells to Self. Not a member? Join now.

Celebrate our new collection of exhibits, Cells to Self, with a behind-the-scenes look at our Living Systems Laboratory. Get a tour from our lab tech team members, and learn about what goes into creating and maintaining our interactive biology exhibits, including the exhibits in Cells to Self, on a guided tour of the Living Systems gallery. These exclusive members-only tours are your chance to see what’s going on behind our lab’s closed doors, including freshwater and marine aquarium systems, tropical plant rooms, insect colonies (like termites and fruit flies), microbe cultures, and the autoclave.

Tactile Dome

6:15–10:00 p.m.
Osher Gallery 1

Journey through total darkness in this twisting, turning, tactile sculpture. Walk, crawl, climb, and slide your way through a wonderland of textures using only your sense of touch as a guide.

Please Note: Due to the nature of this experience, certain restrictions apply. Guests who are afraid of the dark; claustrophobic; have back, neck, or knee injuries; or are in their third trimester of pregnancy should not participate. Guests wearing casts are prohibited. Also, please wear comfortable clothes.

You can reserve tickets for our 6:15 and 7:00 p.m. sessions. We also operate drop-in, first-come, first-served sessions at 7:45, 8:30, and 9:15 p.m.; tickets can be purchased at the Information Desk.

Learn more about the Tactile Dome.

Explainer Demonstrations

6:00–9:45 unless noted
Various locations throughout the museum

Drawing Board
Ticketing at 6:00 p.m., first come, first served
Osher Gallery 1

Draw hypnotically flowing patterns with a swinging table, and watch friction cause the patterns to slowly shrink along a spiral path. Pick up a ticket to reserve your spot in line for this popular activity.

Speaker Dissection
Bechtel Gallery 3

Tune in to surrounding sounds by experimenting with strings and vibrations, and use electromagnets to build a basic speaker. Learn how to listen with your bones, and explore the workings of the inner ear.

Van de Graaff Generator
With the Explainers
6:00–9:00 p.m.
Bechtel Gallery 3

Get ready to have your hair stand on end (literally). Experience our electrostatic generator firsthand—with high-voltage direct-current electricity turned down to low current levels, our Van de Graaff generator both will, and won’t, shock you. Please keep your hands on the sphere until our Explainers tell you to let go!

Cow Eye or Flower Dissection (alternating)
Gallery 4

Do cows see color? How does a lens work? Examine the intricate structure of a cow eye to learn about similar structures in our own eyes, as well as some key differences.

Stigma, stamen, pistil, anther, style: Uncover the beautiful architecture of flower anatomy, and gather some surprising strategies that plants use to reproduce.

Magic Demonstration
Osher Gallery 1

Everything is not as it seems—at first. Pick a card, any card, and watch the Explainers reveal some surprising aspects of human perception.