The interactive Forest at Night exhibit at the High Desert Museum. (Abbott Schindler/High Desert Museum)

Hands-on event explores dark skies and nocturnal wildlife

Visitors are invited to celebrate sundown and venture into the night on Wednesday at the High Desert Museum’s “Welcome the Night” event to learn how a dark sky without artificial light pollution supports local wildlife.

“It’s not everyday you get to experience the museum at sundown,” Heidi Hagemeier, director of communications and visitor experience at the High Desert Museum, said. “This event is centered around celebrating the darkness.”

Upon arriving, visitors will receive an “adventure card” and a map to guide them through the 17 stations located throughout the museum. Those who receive a stamp at each station will be entered in a raffle at the end of the event.

Inside the museum, young guests can make moth and bat headbands. For those looking to elevate their bat or moth look, a local face painter will be available for visitors to get their faces painted with the twilight creature of their choice. A station for making stenciled art with scratch paper will also be available.

A retired entomologist will also be available in the Desertarium, providing guests with the opportunity to see his large collection of insects under magnification.

The last stop inside the museum before heading to the trails is the Rimrock Café, transformed into Crepuscular Café for the evening, featuring food for purchase from Luckey’s Woodsman and a bar with alcoholic and nonalcoholic options.

As visitors begin to head outside to the museum trails, staff will be helping guests transition their flashlights and headlamps into night-friendly red and green lights before they head to Cheney Pond to learn from the U.S. Forest Service about bats and their role in the High Desert ecosystem.

Once the sun goes down, experts from Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory will open the telescopes. Guests will learn about the planets and the galaxy as DarkSky Oregon discusses how light pollution affects not only the view of the stars but also the health and well-being of nocturnal wildlife.

“I think there is a growing awareness that the dark skies free from light pollution are important to the natural world,” Hagemeier said. “Animals hunt in darkness; they use the light of the moon for migration… so it’s an interesting exploration of those issues.”

Guests will also have the opportunity to interact with owls during the two 15-minute owl encounters in the Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center. Visitors will learn how owls hunt during the day and the night using their large eyes and strong sense of hearing.

The Forest at Night exhibition will also be open for visitors to encounter animated representations of the High Desert’s nocturnal inhabitants on a large screen. Guests can discover how animals use the moonlight to navigate and hunt, and use the interactive star map to explore the constellations that guide migratory birds.

“Being able to see bright stars at night is special and not everyone has enough darkness to experience that,” Hagemeier said. “We are lucky to have that darkness here in Central Oregon, and it’s something that everyone should experience.”

The event takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Tickets for Welcome the Night are $10 for guests age 3 and older, with a 20 percent discount for members. Children under 2 are admitted free. Visitors are encouraged to bring headlamps or flashlights as the outdoor trails are unlit.