When was the last time you visited the Buffalo Museum of Science? Remember Seymour the Mastodon and Stanley the Albertosaurus? They’re still there. They say hi, by the way.
We know field trips are usually reserved for school kids, but the museum has special tours and programs just for adults including the Behind-the-Scenes Collections Series. These tours allow visitors to go more in-depth with what the museum offers. They feature items in the museum’s collection that are used for things like research but not usually displayed. Visitors get to bypass the usual exhibits and go behind closed doors.
"For people who have seen the movie Night at the Museum, it's very similar to that,” Director of Collections Kathy Leacock explains. “Things don't come alive--at least-for the most part,” she added playfully.
The museum has really flung open its freak doors with a tour called “Cabinet of Curiosities.” It is a mind-bending, spine-tingling, hair-raising assortment of the fascinatingly strange but you’ll also learn that, centuries ago, the phrase and all those weird items were actually quite common.
"Wealthy people collected strange things and showed them off to their friends. So, a lot of natural history museums grew out of those cabinets of curiosity," Leacock said.
Not to give too much away but you can see everything from a two-headed calf born in Lancaster in the 19th century who Leacock calls “pretty loveable” to a seven-footed frog.
The museum is also serving up science along with the sideshow--focusing on what these items can teach us about our natural world. For example, what looks like a room out of a horror movie for most of us with all kinds of creatures floating in jars is a treasure trove for researchers, particularly those studying the Great Lakes. Leacock says the collection is incredibly valuable beyond its curiosity factor.
The Buffalo Science Museum's Cabinet of Curiosities: it's creepy, kooky and completely unique.
If you think you’re up for it, you can learn more about how you can take part by clicking the link below.