2025 Easter Family Night Report

Spring has sprung here at the Bean Life Science museum, and we had a great opportunity to celebrate life, new beginnings, springtime, and our Savior last Monday at our Easter Family Night.

Hundreds of museum guests, young and old, were able to enjoy activities throughout the museum. At our curiosity carts, guests could get up close and personal with animal specimens, and even play a game matching real eggs to the animals that laid them. Guests also had the opportunity to take photos at an Easter photo booth, and do a fun flower craft!

The highlight of the evening was the easter egg scavenger hunt. Using a bingo card, guests searched high and low throughout the museum for paper easter eggs with different patterns on them. By matching up the patterns, they could get a bingo, and earn a chance to spin the prize wheel for pencils, animal toys, and museum tote bags. We are so glad that so many people were able to enjoy Easter Family Night!

Leah, museum educator

2025 Murder Mystery Dinner Party

“Attention guests: as you may have noticed, there has been a death on the premises.”

“Can’t we ever have one semester without a murder in this place?”

… Apparently not. At the Bean Museum’s 1920’s themed Murder Mystery Dinner Night this semester, the renowned singer, Mary Swan, was poisoned as she took the stage at the end of a delightful dinner. Through a sequence of tasks, riddles, interrogation, and evasion, teams of guests sought to convict the correct culprit. 

As they raced to solve the case, guests encountered the themed characters of Doctor Lily Leeches, bartender Jack “the Fix” O’Hare, flapper Frances Fox, oil tycoon Buck Pinchpenny, chauffeur Willie “the Wheel” Weaselton, Mary’s agent and personal assistant Ruby Rottweiler, Mary’s jealous sister Wanda Swan, and the duo of detectives.

In addition to riddles obtained from each of the characters, tasks involved mathematical logic puzzles, microscopes, unkeyed maps, ciphers, monochrome jigsaw puzzles, braille, and even buckets full of ping pong balls. You simply had to be there.

The thrilling rush of teamwork and competition- not to mention mocktails, a catered dinner, and cake- we think it’s safe to say the evening was enjoyed by all. And we hope you look forward to joining us for next semester’s Mystery Dinner Night, too, because who knows what it might hold?

Suzy, museum educator