Bats are taking over the Science World dome, again! Join us for Bat Week, an international celebration of bats and their importance, from October 24 to 31 as we celebrate the 15 species that call BC their home.
Get Batty with Us!
Bats aren’t often portrayed as playing an important role in our ecosystem. We may see them haunting houses in pop culture, but did you know they pollinate our bananas, keep us safe from harmful insects, and help disperse seeds to regenerate forests?
Learn more amazing bat facts like these at our special featuring of the BATS: Out of the Darkness exhibit produced by the Kelowna Museums Society and partners. Fly around the dome to find all the pieces of this exhibit as you learn all about our local bat species and their importance to BC.
In addition to this special feature exhibit, explore our other Bat Week happenings (Games! Videos! Activities!) to walk away understanding:
- unique bat biology
- how bats are crucial to our world
- the challenges bats face (e.g. declining populations)
- the ways people are supporting them (e.g. conservation efforts like bat counts)
Choose-Your-Own Bat-astic Adventure
Don’t miss out on Bat Week’s winged wonderland of activities.
On Throughout The Day
| Check It Out | Where | Description |
| Bat Biology 101 | Search: Sara Stern Gallery | Explore bat facts and myths and accept our Bat-n-Seek challenge to find Lower Mainland bat species around the gallery. |
| Mission ‘Batellite’ | Artemis Space Adventure | Remote Sensing: Mission Batellite! Learn about how both bats and satellites use different types of remote sensing to map out environments. |
| Echolocation Challenge | Eureka! Gallery | Explore sound waves and how bats use echolocation to navigate and hunt at night. |
| Bat Skin Biology | BodyWorks | Can you feel the air? Uncover how bats feel their way around through exploring all things senses, skin, and hair through a tactile sensory activity. |
| Explore Like a BC Bat | Ken Spencer Science Park | Gather your cauldron of friends to explore the Science Park like a bat! Fly to different stations learning how bats benefit our world and how we can help protect them. |
| Super-Hearing Sound Station | Puzzles & Illusions Gallery | Discover cool facts about how bats use echolocation as you explore ways to create the illusion of human super-hearing using the Whisper Dish Exhibit. |
Special Events at Select Times
| Origami Bats | Tinkering: The WorkSafeBC Gallery | Join us to build an origami bat! 🦇 Happening October 29 – 31. |
| ‘Save-the-Bats’ Short Film | Science Theatre | Enjoy "The Importance of Bats," a short 12-minute film by Marvin Tuttle, renowned bat conservationist of 50 years. Screenings happen daily at 12:30pm and 2:30pm. |
| Once Upon a Bat | Wonder Gallery | On October 27 (3pm), October 30 (10:30am) and October 31 (10am), join us for a bat-tastic storytime! |
| Bat Art Screen Printing | Tinkering: The WorkSafeBC Gallery | Happening only on October 25, join us for a special Maker Studio to try screen printing bat art! Engage in the design cycle and listen to your gut when it comes to safety. |
About Bats: Out of the Darkness
Developed by the Kelowna Museum in collaboration with scientists, chiropterologists, environmental educators and representatives from the Syilx/Okanagan Nation, Bats: Out of the Darkness aims to highlight the critical need for bat conservation in British Columbia. By focusing on local bat species and their importance to our environment, the exhibit encourages the public to recognize these creatures as essential allies in sustaining the health of ecosystems. Through this exhibit, visitors are encouraged to take action in protecting bat habitats and help mitigate threats like climate change, disease, and habitat destruction.
For more details, please visit the Kelowna Museum website.