Science Forum | U-M LSA University of Michigan Museum of Natural History

Join our educators in the Science Forum for 15-20 minute interactive science demonstrations that will help you see the world in a whole new way.

Discovery Demos

Demonstrations are free and appropriate for visitors ages 5 and above. Schedule subject to change.

Out of the Water and Back Again: A Whale’s Tale

Saturdays and Sundays, 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
No demo on Sunday October 5, Saturday, Oct 11 and Sunday Oct 12

Take a journey through deep time as we explore a story that has taken millions of years to unfold, and then examine a brand new discovery! Where did life begin? How did the first four-footed land animals emerge? And why do fossil whales have feet? Participants examine the museum’s fossil whales and related species as they learn about the evolutionary processes responsible for the diversity of life on earth. After a brief presentation, visitors can make a cast of a tooth from an ancient whale species called Dorudon and help construct an evolutionary timeline.