HOLIDAY IMAX FILM CLASSIC RETURNS THIS WEEKEND!

Infuse a little magic into your holiday season with the stunning, stop-animation film The Light Before Christmas, returning to the Chrysler IMAX Dome Theatre on Saturday, Nov. 13. The film begins with a cold, blustery Christmas Eve, when two lost children, Katie and Makean, are rescued by their friend, The Candleman, an old sage who imparts wisdom, hot chocolate and stories. Knowing a little holiday magic will raise the children's spirits, The Candleman opens a weathered book and begins to read the classic tale, "The Night Before Christmas." To their astonishment, Katie and Makean find themselves as characters in the poem, where they experience the wonder and delight of Santa's visit to their home, complete with Hob the Elf and a full team of reindeer.

Click HERE for show times and information on other great Chrysler IMAX Dome Theatre films.

What is Mole Day?

Mole Day is designated as October 23 each year to celebrate Avogadro’s Number, approximately 6.02×1023 which defines the number of particles (atoms or molecules) in one mole of substance. It is only a coincidence that Avogadro slightly resembles the animal by the same name.

Chemistry activities are ongoing throughout the Detroit Science Center, presented by American Chemical Society from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Chemistry Demonstrations by University of Detroit Mercy students will be on the Chrysler Science Stage at 12:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m.

The Detroit Science Center thanks our National Chemistry Week supporters:

and the Aline Underhill Orten Foundation

Bug Exhibit Creeps into the Detroit Science Center!

The Detroit Science Center will explore all things buggy from October 27 – November 7, 2010.

In celebration of Rose Pest Solutions’ 150^th anniversary, they are bringing a comprehensive collection of bug specimens from around the world to the Science Center. The collection, belonging to world-famous bug collector Dan Capps, was at one time the largest personal collection of bugs in the world! The exotic and tropical specimens include beetles, walking sticks, butterflies, moths and much more.

Birthday Kick-Off and Press Event – October 27 (begin 11:00 am)

The exhibit will kick off with a special press event to celebrate Rose Pest Solutions’ 150^th birthday. The anniversary celebration is open to the public and will include talks by Dan Capps, Russ Ives (President of Rose Pest Solutions), and some interactive “Show & Tell” presentations featuring live bugs and specimens as well as Incredible Edible Insects with the Bug Chef. Finally and most importantly, you can’t have a birthday without cake! Free cake will be available to visitors while supplies last, of course! The cake will not contain any bugs—we promise!

Special Presentations

We will have additional special presentations throughout the short run of this exhibit, including more presentations by Rose Pest Solutions’ entomoligists such as Show & Tell with Mark “Shep” Sheperdigian and chef demonstrations by Gene White, AKA “The Bug Chef”.

Oct 30: Presentations with Mark “Shep” Sheperdigian (part of Spooky Science) includes live bugs, learning the basics of insect identification, how to create an insect collection and much more @ 11:30am, 1:30pm, 3:30pm

Nov. 7: Incredible Edible Insects with The Bug Chef. Visitors will learn about the overall health value of eating insects and sample tasty treats such as Chocolate Chirp Cookies, Bug-A-Boo Brownies, Jell-O-Shots called “Wigglers,” chocolate covered crickets and mealworms, and “Buglava.” Shows @ 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30pm

About Rose Pest Solutions

Rose Pest Solutions has its roots in the nation's oldest pest management company - Rose Exterminator Co., originally known as Rose's Rat Exterminator Co., founded by Solomon Rose around 1860 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Rose Pest Solutions currently serves Michigan and Ohio in extermination services for both residential and commercial markets.

Dan Capps

Dan Capps is an avid bug collector whose collection includes a wide variety of specimens from the insect world, including everything from butterflies with wingspans the size of a dinner plate to walking sticks as long as a man’s forearm. At one time, it was the largest insect collection in the world before Capps began donating portions of it to museums and schools. It also has been on display at the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) and Disney World’s Epcot Center, along with hundreds of schools and museums nationwide.

Dan Capps is also in the Guinness Book of World Records holding world cricket spitting record since June 1998 at 32 feet and one-half inch.

Gene White (Bug Chef)

Mr. Gene White is a native Ohioan who earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Glenville State College, Glenville, West Virginia. Gene's career in Urban Pest Management began in 1981 with experience as technician, sales consultant, supervisor,

district manager, and corporate trainer. In 1993, he enrolled at Purdue University and completed his MS degree in Entomology in December of 1996 and is an ESA Board Certified Entomologist. He currently works as the Director of Education and Training for Rose Pest Solutions in Troy, Michigan.

Gene’s professional activities include memberships in the Entomological Society of America, Pi Chi Omega and the American Society for Training and Development. He is currently the chair of the Purdue Entomology Development Council and member of the Michigan Pest Management Associations’ education committee.

Mark Sheperdigian

Mark Sheperdigian is an entomologist delighted to serve with Rose Pest Solutions as an ambassador for entomology, science education, and the urban pest management industry. Known better as just “Shep”, he has attained a presence both locally and nationally within the pest management industry. Eternal optimism and a positive mental outlook are his most prominent characteristics.

Graduating in 1982 from Michigan State University with his Bachelors of Science in Entomology, Sheperdigian has spent the last 26 years working in the urban pest management industry. Over that time, he has held a variety of positions in service, sales, management and technical support. He currently serves as Vice President of Technical Services for Rose Pest Solutions based in Troy, Michigan.

Chemistry Fun

As we continue National Chemistry Week at the Detroit Science Center, we are all about chemistry!

You Know You’re a Chemist When…

1. All your shirts have holes.
2. You know what saline water is composed of.
3. You hear that someone had a bicycle crash and you think that he couldn’t handle working with Naphthalene.
4. You stare at the bottle of water and begin to wonder how you would separate all those ions.
5. You hear the word “Molar” and teeth are the last thing on your mind.
6. The first thing you reach for in the morning are your prescription goggles

Chemistry makes up many of the everyday things that we use, but being in Detroit, we lean a little automotive. Courtesy of Gary Weaks, a Detroit Science Center docent and professional chemist, here are some fun chemistry facts about automotive paint:


1) Did you know that your car wears sunblock? It's true. Ultraviolet light is that part of the radiation coming from the sun that has a shorter wavelength than visible light (so we can't see it). However, just as it can damage our skin and cause sunburn, it can also damage the polymers that form the paint on your car. Paint manufacturers will add a family of polymers known as ultraviolet light absorbers (UVA's) to filter out the ultraviolet light while letting the brilliant, visible colors still shine through. Without UVA's your car's paint would crack and fall off in only a few months in the bright sunshine.

2) Did you know that white paint is white for the same reason that snow is white? Snow is frozen water, a colorless, clear material. However, when formed into crystals (snow flakes) it bends the light that travels though it. This bending is caused by the fact that light travels slower through water than it does though air. This difference in the speed of light is known as the refractive index. Pile up billions of crystals and bend the light billions times, and any image is lost, but the light is not. It just gets scattered and we see all colors at the same time, or white light! This is also why clouds are white. In paint, chemists will add Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) if it is to be white in color. Titanium Dioxide is also a colorless material. In a crystal form known as Rutile, it has the highest refractive index of any known material. Thus, the light entering it is returned completely scattered and it appears to us a white light.

3) How much paint does a car need? Your car's metal skin is protected by a very thin layer of paint. Typically, it is only about 5 to 8 microns, or the thickness of a couple sheets of notebook paper. A micron is 1/1000 of an inch! On average, it requires about 2 gallons of liquid paint to accomplish this thickness of coating. Some of the liquid paint is lost to inefficient transfer (it misses the car when being spray-painted) and some is lost through evaporation. The remaining material forms a protective and colorful coating.

So Much Fun, It's SCARY!

The Detroit Science Center has so much fun in October that it's SCARY! But the good kind, appropriate for all ages!

As you make your October plans, be sure to add the Detroit Science Center as a must-see destination!


Here's our line-up of activities in October:


Oct. 17 - 23: National Chemistry Week Special chemistry demonstrations and presentations

Oct. 23: Mole Day
Celebrating Avogadro's Number which is a geeky way of saying molecular chemistry fun


Oct. 27: Rose Pest Solutions Birthday Celebration and Bug Exhibit Launch
Bug presentations, the unveiling of a remarkable bug exhibit and birthday cake!


Oct. 27 - Nov 7: Rose Pest Solutions Bug Exhibit & Special Presentations
Creepy-crawly bugs of all types and special presentations throughout including entomologists, a bug chef and other experts.


Oct. 30: Spooky Science
Safe Halloween fun with a science twist for all ages. Kids in costume get in free with a paid adult. Activities and goodies through the Science Center as well as the Detroit Children's Museum.


For more information on these activities, visit our website or contact us via phone (313.577.8400).

It's All About Chemistry!

The Detroit Science Center is concocting the formula for fun for National Chemistry Week, October 17 – 23, 2010.

Oct. 17 – Chemistry Week Kickoff

Chemistry demonstrations in the Centennial Lab by Emil Lozanov, Wayne State University professor at 1:15, 2:15, 3:15, 4:15 and 5:15 p.m.

“You Be the Chemist” by PVS-Nolwood Chemicals, Inc on Level 2 throughout the day.

Oct. 20 – 22 – Demonstration Days

Special DNA activities in our Cell Lab and Centennial Lab Chemistry Demonstrations hourly

Oct. 23 – Mole Day

Mole Day is designated to celebrate Avogadro’s Number, approximately 6.02×10²³ which defines the number of particles (atoms or molecules) in one mole of substance.

Chemistry activities are ongoing throughout the Detroit Science Center, presented by American Chemical Society from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Chemistry Demonstrations by University of Detroit Mercy students will be on the Chrysler Science Stage at 12:30 p.m. & 2:30 p.m.

The Detroit Science Center thanks our National Chemistry Week supporters:

Aline Underhill Orten Foundation

DSC Fan Mail: A Membership Well Worth the Investment

Please accept our most sincere appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for the exceptional learning experience that our son, Karol, enjoyed on 19 September at the Detroit Science Center.

The new and improved Science Center is truly a marvelous place. As members we visit the Science Center every month, and discover something new every time. We are often amazed that there is so much to learn, from floor to ceiling.

The Detroit Science Center is an extraordinary storehouse of scientific information, and fortunately the Science Center is staffed by individuals of the utmost skill, intellect, and dedication.

Individuals such as Nino Torres strive to make science exciting and interesting. He has a talent for making each presentation new, vibrant, and informative. If anyone leaves one of his presentations without being educated and entertained, it is probably because they are comatose. It is readily apparent that Nino has a wealth of scientific knowledge at his command, and he maintains a highly professional demeanor, yet every time we visit the Science Center, he makes us feel as though we are his closest friends. Because of the efforts of individuals such as Nino, our beloved son Karol is far advanced in science over his contemporaries. For this, Nino and the Detroit Science Center have our heartfelt gratitude.

We most certainly will be renewing our membership in the Detroit Science Center, and urging our friends and associates to join. Our membership in the Detroit Science Center is one of the best investments in our son's education that we have ever made.

Thank you, Nino. Thank you, Detroit Science Center. Your efforts on our behalf mean more to us than you can imagine.

With most sincere respect and esteem,

The Lesnick Family