By Louise Rachlis
The Canadian Museum of Nature, a Centretown fixture, isn’t just for kids.
It’s a pretty cool venue for adults in the evenings as well.
“New adult programming initiatives such as Café Scientifique and the environmental film festival have proved successful in attracting new visitors to the Museum who are interested in exchanging their views on ecological and social issues,” says Marie Lasnier, Director of Community Services.
“Nature and natural sciences provide us with so many topics to explore with mature audiences,” she says. “And the fun mix of other offerings such as haunted tours, jazz music in the Nature Café, special movies or seasonal activities all contribute to making the Museum an appealing, multi-faceted destination for adults.”
The Museum’s history with café scientifiques, where the discussion “question” relates to natural science or the environment, goes back to 2006 and has attracted a growing community of people interested in this format.
Since then other groups in Ottawa have been organizing their own café events on a variety of topics. Guest speakers are on hand to get the discussion rolling, and all opinions are welcome.
In fall 2008 the Canadian Museum of Nature teamed up with the Canada Science and Technology Museum to host joint café scientifique discussions in the Fox and Feather Pub’s upper level, quite often with a big crowd as the list of faithful attendees grew.
The completion in 2010 of the major renovations to the Canadian Museum of Nature enabled Museum staff to organize science café events on site, taking advantage of the attractive new Nature Café for the discussion venue. The format was modified to include a fixed-menu dinner in the Café as well as a documentary in the new Theatre. (The CSTM continues to hold their science cafes at the Fox and Feather Pub).
The monthly Friday night dinner, movie and documentary combo proved popular, often attracting the capacity limit of 70 people in the Café. Now, for summer 2011, the Museum is trying something new: café scientifiques on the last Fridays in July and August. The bilingual format consists of a documentary (English with French subtitles) and a discussion where questions are encouraged in either English or French. Participants enjoy a casual mix ‘n mingle with appetizers and cash bar, rather than a set dinner.
Along with the science cafés the Museum has introduced other adult-oriented activities, branding them together under the theme “Museum by Night.”
Last year, the Museum partnered with Haunted Walks of Ottawa to offer special tours on Thursday nights in October that presented the rich history of the century-old building along with the many tales of eerie occurrences reported over the decades. These tours proved so popular that the Museum of Nature and Haunted Walks are finalizing the details for this year’s schedule.
Last year on Thursday evenings between Halloween and Christmas, Museum visitors could hear the sounds of holiday music sung by choirs on the mezzanine of the Queens’ Lantern. In the Theatre, the holiday classic “The Sound of Music” was presented in high definition.
The Museum continues to explore ways to appeal to adult audiences interested in combining learning with a fun evening out. Over 100 adults attended the Museum’s “Beer and Bread Evening” in March 2011 where they sampled three different ales from Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company while learning about the role of yeast in beer-making.
In April, the Museum partnered with Planet in Focus in Toronto to present the four-day “Best of Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival. This is the first time that the Museum held the festival during Earth Month; during 2010, its first year in Ottawa, the festival took place during Environment Week in June.
The Museum’s first tweetup on July 21 combined a screening of the new Dinosaurs 3D movie, followed by a social meetup for the “tweeters” in the Museum’s Nature Café.
To be up to date on what’s happening this summer and fall at the Museum, view nature.ca or call 613-566-4700.
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