Science center tweaks adults-only night, lowers age requirement

[Disney4me]

Orlando Science Center is retooling its adults-only Science Night Live event, and that includes adjusting the minimum age for participants to 18 years old.

That change starts with this Saturday’s SNL, an after-hours gathering featuring all the current science center exhibits plus a lineup of science-based entertainment lineup with comedy, music and speakers.

The evening has been a 21-and-up occasion during its decade of existence, said Jeff Stanford, vice president of marketing for the museum. There was a gap for a couple of years during the pandemic era, and it has been in a rebuilding mode since then.

“We needed a little extra incentive to encourage people to come, and the event needed to be refreshed, because it had been going strong for about a decade. … Also, we needed to find a new audience,” Stanford said.

“We were getting feedback that college students were very interested in coming to SNL. They were looking for cool things to do in town that were different from typical nightlife,” he said.

Kasha Patel, a science-based stand-up comedian, will be part of the lineup at the Aug. 23 edition of Science Night Live. (Orlando Science Center)

There’s a sentimental feeling for people who remember youthful family outings or school field trips to science centers here and  in other cities. At the same time, the kid-heavy attendance can be a lot for some people during a regular day at the Loch Haven Park museum.

“If you don’t have kids, you feel a little awkward elbowing a 9-year-old out of the way,” Stanford said.

So, Science Night Live was developed as an opportunity for grown-ups to visit the museum in a mature atmosphere. It also has featured adult beverages and food for sale. Later, additional science-related programming was introduced.

For the Aug. 23 SNL, there will be sessions with Kasha Patel, who bills herself as a “science comedian,” science-oriented shows with the Corner Gallery improv group, trivia hosted by Nerd Nite Orlando and presentations by Florida Space Institute researchers Sean Marshall (on near-Earth asteroids) and Phillip Metzger (on shifting heavy industry off the planet).

There also will be live music by Beemo, a local five-piece band that plays a mixture of Americana, bluegrass and Celtic folks music.

The group, which includes some Lockheed Martin employees, recorded a video for their song “Poison Star” in the Dino Digs area of Orlando Science Center.

“The song is related to the last day of the dinosaurs, when dinosaurs looked up and saw that asteroid coming to them,” Stanford said. “It’s fun to show that science-minded guys can rock out, too.”

As part of the SNL restructuring, there will be three event nights per year instead of five, and that will make each one more packed with programming, Stanford said. The museum will continue its other adult-centric events including Science on Tap and Science of Wine, he said.

“Our mission is to inspire science learning for all, and so that means whether you’re a child or a family with kids or a teenager, or 18 or 25 or 35 or 55 or 65,” Stanford said. Topics at the museum, including nature, outer space and dinosaurs, have universal appeal, he said.

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“I think you learn better while having fun, so we create that atmosphere that is low-pressure, that is casual and provides some opportunities for lifelong learning,” Stanford said.

Hours for the upcoming Science Night Live are 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Admission is $20 per person. There will be a cash bar and food for sale. For tickets or more information, go to OSC.org/SNL.

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com

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