Mammal Skull Mystery!
with special STARLAB Planetarium shows
Thursday, May 6^th, 6-8 pm

Solve the Mammal Skull Mystery by investigating a variety of once living mammal skulls such as armadillos, beavers, horses, deer, badgers, and many more with University of Kentucky Biology professor, Dr. James Krupa!  Enjoy examining and touching real animal bones during this evening of comparative anatomy fun!  Learn how animals have adapted to their ever changing habitats and what we can tell about their diets, predators, and prey by looking carefully beneath the surface!

100% Earth Friendly Art!
Thursday, June 3^rd, 6-8 pm

Explore, design, and create earth friendly art with guest presenter, Anthony Roccanova, Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky’s School of Architecture.  Discover the variety of ways artists and designers use recycled materials for practical and artistic purposes.  Delve into design and create a piece of earth friendly art all your own!  Participants will design and create a piece of “stained glass” art using materials such as a window frame, plastic bottles, paint, and string.  Adorn your home with a beautiful piece of art made from 100% recycled materials!

Dogs on Patrol!
Thursday, July 1, 6 - 8 pm

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Division of Police Canine Unit was established in 1962 and is the oldest in the state of Kentucky.  This group of dogs is highly trained and able to detect explosives, search buildings, sniff out illegal drugs, help with patrols, and even apprehend criminals!  Think your dog can do that?  Come learn more about these amazing animals and the officers that work with them!  Also during Discovery Night, create some unique canine art to take home!

LIVE Reptile Night!
Thursday, August 5^th, 6-8 pm

Why are alligators more closely related to birds than reptiles?  Ever wonder why a blue tongue skink has a blue tongue?  How many different crocodilians are there?  What are the medical uses of snake venom?  How were alligators saved from extinction?  Find the answers to these and other questions during our exciting LIVE Reptile Night!  Join the LASC and the Kentucky Reptile Zoo of Slade KY for a fun-filled investigation of the reptilian world!  Live reptiles will include a live American Alligator, an eleven foot Burmese Python, a variety of venomous and non-venomous snakes, a turtle, and more!  Learn about reptile structure and function, their habitats, and the importance of reptiles in our ecosystem.  Also during Discovery Night, make some cool, cold blooded art to take home!

Explore life in a new way -- by looking beneath the surface in our new hands-on Discovery Exhibit, The Architecture of Life! Students will have the opportunity to investigate natural and created structures as they:

• Find out what bones, skeletons, buildings and bridges have in common by looking at the structure and function of animals, plants, and man-made structures!

• Explore adaptations of vertebrates and invertebrates by comparing an array of amazing skeletons such as mammals (including humans), birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians and by climbing inside an exoskeleton costume to see how it feels to wear your bones on the outside!

• From spider webs to skyscrapers, and bee hives to bridges compare animal made habitats with those of humans while investigating building designs that are based on nature!

• Use your own energy to make the life size LASC skeleton move while learning about skeletal and joint structure and function, open a larger than life model bone to catch a glimpse of what bones are made of, or climb on an enormous vertebrae to learn fun facts about the importance of the spine!

• Dream up an architectural design all your own with interactive design software as well as traditional architectural design tools and methods while learning about the elements of art and principles of design.

• Learn about the insides of plants and our LIVE animals as we study their structures and how they fit into the food chain and larger ecosystem patterns!

• Dig into the Earth as you search for fossilized bones in our archaeological dig site and learn about Earth materials used in constructing buildings!

• Uncover the past as you try forensic sculpture for a day - explore the human facial bones and muscles!

• Become an engineer for a day while learning the physical science of arches and bridges in our hands-on building site, and much more!