Junior Naturalist Summer Camp

The Bean Museum offers many opportunities to learn in fun ways during the summer through awesome summer camps. Junior Naturalist Summer Camp is one of the favorites because the kids get to spend part of the time at Thanksgiving Point and the other part at the Bean Museum. They learned what it is like to be a real scientist by going on a field trip on Tuesday to collect bugs and plants to start their own collection, just like the curators at the museum. Though butterflies can be tricky to catch, each kid was quick enough to catch two of them! On Wednesday they pinned their bugs and pressed and glued their plants so that they could identify the species. Friday they came to the Bean Museum to share what they learned with patrons at the museum. This process (collecting, preparing, identifying, and sharing) is how scientists experiment and study the natural world. Our campers did a great job with understanding and applying each of these steps. They could make excellent scientists some day!

Wildlife Adventures: Water Wildlfe

The Bean Life Science Museum’s annual Wildlife Adventures kicked off 2 weeks ago Wetland Adventure Camp! Beginning on Tuesday, June 6th, nine lucky adventurers got to spend their afternoon at the Bean learning about all different kinds of wetland critters, ranging from the humble backswimmer to the majestic moose. In addition to this, our wetland adventurers also got to take part in various crafts and activities such as; building their own wetlands out of clay, creating their own wetland animals, and making a frog craft that is sure to bring entertainment for days to come!

The following Thursday is when the real fun began for our adventurers, as we took them out to see the incredible Cascade Springs! After a bumpy ride in the van, the kids were excited to see all the awesome wetlands that Cascade Springs had to offer and spent a majority of their time drawing what they saw and examining the different things they found floating around in the water. Our adventurers were also given a BINGO sheet with lots of different wetland animals in its squares. Once an adventurer spotted an animal, he could cross it off his bingo sheet. Lots of our adventures got bingos! and as a result, got a double high five from our very own adventure, Maren Hatch.

Finally, as the day came to a close, our adventurers made one last stop at Bridal Veil falls, where they played in the water and discovered just how cold snow melt can really be! At the end of the day, our adventurers were tired, but needless to say, they had a ton of fun!     

Andy, museum educator

Tombraiders! The Date Night

Twice a year the Bean Museum hosts a date night for couples who are looking for a little extra adventure in their lives. Those who participated in this semester’s date night at the Bean Museum were faced with many terrible dangers as they hunted for the fabled Crystal Skull of Count Monte L. Bean.

In the search to complete their maps that would lead them to the tomb where the skull was kept, the raiders were expected to safely make their way through a hallway full of laser beams, crack the code to a safe, beat the clock in a race to escape a mind boggling maze, test their shooting abilities in a training course, and avoid the devilish shadow guards, all while solving riddles throughout the night. Only the bravest raiders made it out alive!

After completing the challenges, and earning all six map pieces to complete their map, one couple was led deep into the catacombs of the museum to retrieve the Crystal Skull.  It was then brought back to the base camp where the rest of the raiders could celebrate their victory and safe return!

Shadow Guards in their lair

 The Mystic's Maze

Madam Duvalt's Safe

 Madam Duvalt and the Crystal Skull 

The very spooky Bean Team

The not so spooky Bean Team

Night at the Museums

Once a year, all of the museums at BYU collaborate for the ultimate museum-going experience. Night at the Museums this year was a great success, with well over 1000 people in attendance at five different locations. There were activities and food at all of the museums, drawing people in from all over. Here at the Bean Museum, we served BYU Cougar Tails to all of our lovely guests. We held activities throughout the museum, including our Wheel of Fortune, the Fear Factor Cockroach Game, and our photo booth!
The highlight of the night was the scavenger hunt that everyone could participate in across the five museums. At each museum, patrons could search for and collect a signature sticker designed with the respective museum's logo. If four stickers were collected, they were given the grand prize of a bumper sticker commemorating the night!
Thanks to all of those who visited or helped with this night! It was amazing, and we can't wait to see you all next year.