Birds, bees, bones: ‘Mating Game’ fun at nature museum
By Madeline Lines
It may or may not surprise you that this month’s edition of Nature Nocturne — the after-hours event at the Canadian Museum of Nature planned for Feb. 23 — took inspiration from high schoolers. The idea for this month’s theme, “The Mating Game,” came in part from project leader Katherine Day’s memories of running school workshops at the museum and the way kids perked up at the mention of sex.
Day recalls leading an “interesting” workshop on polar bears. She asked the class to consider what happens when polar bear and grizzly bear habitats begin to overlap. Will they fight, will they be curious about each other? As it turns out, they might mate.
“The students go ‘What?!’ and their attention is completely focused on you,” said Day. “It’s that curiosity, from when you’re a teenager, and all through adulthood. It’s just a part of nature.”
“The Mating Game” will deal with themes of courtship and mating in the natural world. This season of Nature Nocturne has seen many sold-out nights, according to Day, and people have been asking her about this one often.
Activities related to the theme of mating and courtship in nature will take place throughout the night. But humans won’t be kept out of the conversation: speed dating will be the featured activity, although registration starts early and there’s limited space.
Other activities will include mating-related trivia, a challenge to imitate courtship dances of birds, and a photo booth with themed props.
A walrus penis bone, called a baculum, will be on display, as well as walking stick bugs that have been getting busy lately. A giant mechanical snail from an old, very popular European exhibit called “Fatal Attraction” is coming out of retirement and will show off its penis as well.
“You’ll get to hug a giant snail and feel its love darts. There is a love dart that actually will emerge from its underbelly,” Day said.
Katie MacLaurin, a social work student at Carleton University, laughed when she heard about the giant snail. She’s planning to attend the event with a group of classmates as a “novel” night out to celebrate a few of their birthdays.
“I think if it had been something less provocative I might not have been as interested, so I give the museum credit for coming up with something fun like that,” said MacLaurin.
MacLaurin and her group are toying with the idea of dressing up in animal costumes. Some of her friends will be trying out the speed dating, but MacLaurin said she’ll pass — she’s been married for 15 years.
“I am hopeful that this is reflective of some of the public policy changes we’ve seen in the last decade,” said MacLaurin. “I’m hoping that our national institutions are taking a cue from a bit of a liberalist bent to sexuality in Canada to kind of allow for these types of things to happen without any particular protests, or anything like that.”
The Nature Nocturne events, which include a cash bar, have succeeded in getting a wider demographic interested in the McLeod Street museum’s content. Other museums may have to take a different approach, said Catherine Emond, education officer at the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
“We are looking for more things for adults and night events, that’s something we’d like to do,” said Emond. “But we know we’re not in the centre of town — we don’t have as accessible bus routes as Nature does.”
“The Mating Game” event starts at 8 p.m on Feb. 23.
“I’d call it interesting for the curiosity seeker,” said Day. “You’ll learn a lot of interesting new facts about nature, and where we fit in to that as humans.”