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Intellect

BYU boasts summer activities for children, adults

Are you looking for quality summer activities for children? A number of options are available at Brigham Young University during the summer. The activities will allow children to learn from professionals, visit museums and have fun in the sun. For holiday hours, please call the individual site.

Conferences and Workshops

BYU Conferences and Workshops offers a wide variety of dance, music, sports and academic summer camps for children and youth. Visit ce.byu.edu/cw/ for more information.

Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum

The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, located southeast of the Marriott Center, has a variety of displays and activities for children and adults. It is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to most exhibits and events is free. For more information, call (801) 422-5051 or visit mlbean.byu.edu.

The Bean Museum conducts weekly live animal shows. Reptiles are showcased Mondays at 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturday show “Adaptations” Utah Plants and Animals, Ecosystems, Invertebrates and Reptiles. Each show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Every Wednesday at 11 a.m., children ages 10 and younger can enjoy story time at the Bean Museum, where they will hear stories about animals and nature read by a professional storyteller. Live animals will also be showcased. The event is free each week, and registration is not necessary. For more information, call the museum at (801) 422-5051 or visit mlbean.byu.edu.

Children ages 5-12 are welcome at Saturday Safari at the Bean Museum. Each Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon participants will be transported to rain forests, deep ocean trenches, deserts and tundras, learning about the animals that inhabit each place. Registration is $12 per child to be paid one week in advance. Registration is not accepted the day of the class due to preparations involved. For more information or to register, call the Bean Museum at (801) 422-5051 or visit mlbean.byu.edu.

Wildlife Adventures will be held at the Bean Life Science Museum Tuesdays noon–2 p.m. and Thursdays noon–4 p.m. The adventures will allow children to learn about life sciences (Tuesdays), visit places like the zoo or Timpanogos caves or try to catch reptiles at a pond. Wildlife Adventures costs $35, and more information is available at mlbean.byu.edu.

The Bean Life Science Museum will host Nature Experienceships. Children ages 12 and older (including adults) can sign up to spend time with an expert. For example, insect expert Shawn Clark will be at the museum June 19 at 10 a.m. Merrill Webb will also conduct bird watching classes July 17 at 7:30 a.m. Experienceships cost $10 and can be reserved by calling (801) 422-5051.

Museum of Peoples and Cultures

The Museum of Peoples and Cultures, located at 700 N. 100 East in Provo, presents the exhibit, “New Lives: Building Community at Fourmile Ruin.” This exhibit explores an ancient, abandoned pueblo in Arizona that was built by native inhabitants. Another exhibit, “Beneath Your Feet: Discovering the Archaeology of Utah Valley,” explores the early peoples of Utah Valley. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call (801) 422-0020 or visit mpc.byu.edu.

The MPC offers FHE nights every second Monday of the month. There is a 6:30 p.m. FHE for families from the community and a 7:30 p.m. FHE for student FHE groups. Reservations are required and cost $5 ($10 for groups over 15). Call (801) 422-0020 to make a reservation. Reservations must be made by noon on the day the group wants to attend.

BYU’s MPC will be hosting “Mornings @ the Museum” every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Children ages 4-11, accompanied by an adult, are invited to join for tours, stories and fun activities. The program is free, but reservations are required.

The MPC offers a special Boy Scouts of America patch. With each new exhibit, the museum offers a scouting patch that relates to the exhibit. Patch requirements may be fulfilled by visiting the museum, touring and completing the related activity form. Patches are sold at the Boy Scout Offices at 748 N. 1340 West, Orem, Utah.

Museum of Paleontology

The BYU Museum of Paleontology, formerly the Earth Science Museum, was recently expanded to display most of its collection. Now, with the new 5,000 square-foot addition, the museum features a replica of a 9-foot-long triceratops skull from Montana, dinosaur bones found last summer near Moab, a Cretaceous nest, dinosaur skeletons of a Camptosaurus and an Allosaurus and a mural of the Utah-Colorado region in the Jurassic Period.

Visitors can touch real fossils and view fossils being prepared in the active laboratory. The museum, located at 1683 N. Canyon Road in Provo, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with extended “Family Night” hours Monday from 6 to 9 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (801) 422-3680.

“Education in Zion” Exhibit

From the revelations of the Prophet Joseph Smith to the contemporary worldwide educational program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Education in Zion” tells the story of Church education. The exhibit, located in the Joseph F. Smith Building, is open Monday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call (801) 422-6519.

The “Education in Zion” exhibit’s newest gallery, “Inheritance,” located on the second floor of the Joseph F. Smith Building, will be open daily. “Inheritance” is comprised of art by students of BYU visual arts faculty member Sunny Belliston Taylor. Some art pieces allow participants to contribute. Weekly FHE nights are available at the “Education in Zion” exhibit. Call (801) 422-6519 to schedule or for more information.

Royden G. Derrick Planetarium

The Royden G. Derrick Planetarium at BYU’s Eyring Science Center offers evening shows hosted by the BYU Astronomical Society. Tickets will go on sale at the planetarium door starting at 6:30 p.m. and are $2 each. For a schedule of shows and more information, visit planetarium.byu.edu.

The Derrick Planetarium hosts outreach shows Tuesdays 10-11 a.m. These shows can be scheduled by groups of 20 or more.

The planetarium also has shows Wednesday nights from 7:30-8:30 p.m. Boy Scout, Young Men and Young Women groups are invited to attend. Groups must have at least 20 people.

Special children’s shows will take place at the planetarium June 23 and 30. Visit planetarium.byu.edu for more information.

The BYU Museum of Art

The Museum of Art is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free to the museum, however some special collections may require a paid ticket. Tours are also available. Call (801) 422-ARTS for details.

Current exhibits at the MOA include “As the Rose: Sculptures by Adam Bateman,” “Electronic Media Gallery,” “American Dreams” and “Bill Owens: Suburbia.”

Writer: Brandon Garrett

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