Fall 2009 Programs

Register now for fall programs!

Lectures    Presidential Dream Courses     Family Night Out     Adult Programs      Children's Workshops     

Special Events     Spike's Club     Scouts

Children's Programs

Children's Workshops

Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. To enroll, please call the education department at 405-325-4712.

 

Grades 6, 7 and 8

Career Quest
Mondays, 4 to 6 p.m.
Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and Dec. 7

Discover how science is used in your life by investigating real-world science careers. Students will work with scientists to explore the great discoveries that are part of every aspect of our lives.
Cost: members $40, non-members $50

Spike's Club

 

Spike’s Club is for kids who are wild about science and nature. Come join us this fall as we discover color! We’ll explore how color helps animals survive, why rainbows are so colorful and much more. Click here for more information.

Scouts

The museum offers badge workshops for Girl Scouts of all ages and for Cub Scouts and Webelos. These workshops target many, if not all of the requirements for the completion of a badge, loop or pin.

To register for one of our workshops or to schedule a private class for your troop, pack or den, contact the education department at (405) 325-4712.  Click here for a full list of Scout activities offered by the museum.

Family Programs

Family Night Out

Enjoy a fun night out with the family at the museum. Don’t worry about dinner and entertainment – it’s all here! We’ll introduce a topic (see options below), enjoy pizza and drinks for dinner, and complete a project to take home. These programs are a great way for families to learn more about Oklahoma's diverse natural areas and find new ways to enjoy them together.

Kids ages 5 and older will enjoy the activities, but all ages are welcome. One adult for every two children is requested. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. To register, please call the education department at (405) 325-4712. Cost: $10 per person members, $12 per person non-members (includes craft project and dinner)

 

*RESCHEDULED DUE TO NORMAN TRICK OR TREATING*

Falling for Leaves
Friday, Nov. 6, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Come celebrate the colors of autumn as we learn how and why some leaves change colors in the fall. We will start with a walk around the museum to collect some fall color. After dinner, we will use some brightly hued leaves to make a wearable art project to take home.

Backyard Birdfeeders
Friday, Nov. 20, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Want to know more about the feathered friends who share your yard? We’ll start off with an introduction to Oklahoma’s amazing backyard birds, including some hands-on specimens. After dinner, we’ll make simple bird feeders for our winter guests. Each participant will take home a feeder and some birdseed so you can start feeding the birds in your yard right away!

Special Events

Movie Nights at the Museum

Bring your pillow and blanket for this cool family movie night in the museum’s Great Hall. Galleries open from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Movie begins at 8:30. Snacks will be available for purchase during the show. Regular museum admission rates apply. There is no additional charge for the movie.

 

Friday, Nov. 20

"Raiders of the Lost Ark"

Saturday, Dec. 19

Movie TBA

 

Holiday Happening

Thursday, Dec. 3, 6 to 9 p.m.
Free museum admission, live music, photos with Santa and one-night-only discounts in Excavations, the museum store.

Adult Programs

Lectures and Presentations

"Deceit and Self-Deception"
Robert Trivers, Professor of Anthropology and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University

Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m.
Trivers is perhaps the most significant evolutionary theorist in the world alive today, and has spent his career investigating the theoretical basis of social behavior in organisms. His theories regarding parental investment, reciprocal altruism, parent-offspring conflict and the biological basis of self-deceptive behavior have been hugely influential in a number of fields. In 2007 Trivers received the prestigious Crafoord Prize from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. This prize promotes international basic research in disciplines that complement those for which the Nobel Prizes are awarded. The lecture is sponsored by the University of Oklahoma Zoology Department and the museum. It is free and open to the public.

 

In Discussion with Darwin: Classroom seminars on Evolution

This spring marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. To commemorate Darwin's scientific contributions, the museum has partnered with other University of Oklahoma departments and programs to offer classroom seminars on Darwin, his research and his legacy.

 

 

These small group seminars focus on a variety of topics related to evolution. Participants pre-register and are provided with selected readings that will be the foundation for the evening’s discussion. The seminars are intended for interested adults, but no prior knowledge of the discussion topic is necessary. Participants register for each seminar separately.

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. To register, call (405) 325-4712.

Cost: $10 per seminar members, $15 per seminar non-members

All seminars are held on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. in one of the museum’s education classrooms.

"Beyond Darwin: How Evo-Devo Research Offers Stunning Confirmation of Darwin's View of Complexity "

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
Dr. Ola Fincke (Department of Zoology)
Darwin postulated that complexity evolved via natural selection from less complex parts. Armed with a battery of new genetic tools, researchers are in the process of confirming that Darwin's view was of complexity was basically correct. In this session we will discuss the radical and surprising insights that “Evo-Devo” research offers for macroevolution.

 

Astronomy Lectures

The International Year of Astronomy lecture series is sponsored by The University of Oklahoma’s Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman Public Schools, OKC Astronomy Club, Odyssey Astronomy Club and Ten Acre Observatory.

Each free public lecture will be followed by a skywatching session on the museum grounds, weather permitting.

Final Astronomy Lecture: Thursday, Dec. 10, 7 to 8 p.m. "The Dark Side of the Universe" Dr. Yun Wang, OU Physics

 

Presidential Dream Course Lectures

"Language Change, Loss and Revitalization"

This University of Oklahoma Presidential Dream Course features a series of guest lecturers who will give free public presentations in the museum's Kerr Auditorium throughout the Fall semester.  The Dream Course is organized by Mary S. Linn, museum curator of Native American Languages and associate professor of Linguistic Anthropology.

Monday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.
“Rethinking the Role of Literacy in Indigenous Language Maintenance and Renewal”

Mary Eunice RomeroLittle,
Arizona State University

Mary Eunice Romero-Little is Assistant Professor in the Division of Advanced Studies in Education
Leadership, Policy and Curriculum. She served as a co-principal investigator for the Native Language
Shift and Retention Project, a 5-year research study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in
the U.S. Department of Education. She is currently a Junior Faculty Research Training Fellow at the
American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Research Center at the University of Colorado at
Denver. She is a member of Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico.

 

   While you are at the museum, join us in the Discovery Room
for hands-on fun for kids and families. 

Discovery Room Hours:

Hours during the school year: August 21 to Memorial Day
Monday through Thursday: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday: 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday: 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

All Discovery Programs are free with paid museum admission!