Saturday, October 31 • 3:00–8:00 p.m.

Cash bar opens at 5:00 p.m.

This Halloween, take in a double feature of scary science and frightful fun. Creature Features: An Exploratorium Halloween offers a host of eerie attractions ranging from giant insects to a haunted Victorian house on wheels.

Haunts and Happenings:

Neverwas Haul
Visit the fantastic rooms and camera obscura inside this steam-powered, 3-story Victorian house. Tours take place every half hour and last approximately 20 minutes.
3:00–8:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Cemetery of Dead Science
Creep through a graveyard of debunked science. Do you think some of these ideas might be undead?
3:00–8:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Scorpions, Hissing Cockroaches, and Other Spine-tingling Creatures
Find out what it's like to have a creature as big as your hand on your hand. With the Insect Discovery Lab.
3:00–7:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Live Music and Sinister Celluloid
A herd of local filmmakers and musicians known as The Goat Family play homespun instruments to accompany playfully spooky films.
6:30 p.m.      McBean Theater

Garden of Carnivorous Plants
Admire the trappings of these predatory plants and catch a dissection to better understand their digestive systems. With California Carnivores Plant Nursery.
3:00–8:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Flying Creatures of the Night Sky
Get the facts on flying mammals with Patricia Winters, aka Batmam, chiroptera crusader.
3:00 & 4:30 p.m.      Phyllis C. Wattis Webcast Studio

Energy from Death Exhibit
Delve into decay to find out how nature deals with death.
3:00–8:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Sugar Skull-Making Demonstrations
See local artist Irma Ortiz shape skulls from molten sugar, then decorate a confectionary calavera of your own.
3:30, 5:30, & 7:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Beastly Bins & Boxes
Feeling jumpy? Watch out for these shaking, banging, mysterious machines.
3:00–8:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Supernatural Felines?
Shrouded in superstition, black cats are often overlooked. These bewitching beauties will be available for adoption through the SPCA.
3:00–7:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Leech Mobile
See real bloodsuckers in action and learn about their role in modern medicine with the Association of Peri-operative Registered Nurses (AORN).
3:00–8:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Tarantulas with SFBATS
Discover the tantalizing appeal of these huge and hairy spiders with the SF Bay Area Tarantula Society.
3:00–8:00 p.m.      Skylight area

Spun Sugar, Spun Webs
Join sculptor Jessica Hendricks as she demonstrates the sweet art of spinning a web with sugar filaments.
3:00-8:00 p.m.

Mad Science Experiments
Discover the mystifying ingredients of slime, or bring to life a critter of your own mad scientist design.
3:30-6:30 p.m.


Haunted machinery, ghostly science, and flapping, snapping, fascinating creatures await. Come by in costume anytime from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 31 and receive a special discount off museum admission ($3 off for adults, $1 off for youth & children)—we'll have plenty of candy for the kids and a cash bar for adults.