Bust out your planners, calendars, and PDAs (if you are throwback like that), it’s time to mark your calendars for the HMNS events of this week! 

An Evening with Owls 
Monday, September 14 – Members Only 
Friday, September 18 & Saturday, September 19 – Public 
Flutter, flutter butterfly! Spend an evening with the Owls at the Cockrell Butterfly Center this September. Marvel at the incredible sight of hundreds of Owl Butterflies as they flutter around the rainforest at twilight and witness them at their most active. These stunning butterflies will whirl about and if you are lucky, come up to meet you. 

Lecture – The Write Stuff – How Writing Began By Denise Schmandt-Besserat
Tuesday, September 15
6:30 p.m.
No other human invention has changed mankind more than writing. It affects how we communicate, remember, dream, explore the world, and even the way we think. Today, we learn to count and write at such an early age that our ability to think about the meaning we assign to symbols is taken for granted. Explaining how writing began with man’s urge to capture ideas and thoughts in a physical form, Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat takes us on a human odyssey to discover how–from tokens to text–we found the ‘write’ stuff. Dr. Denise Schmandt-Besserat is professor emerita at the University of Texas at Austin.
This lecture is cosponsored by AIA, Houston Society with support from Aramco.

Class – Introduction To Minerals: Origins, Classifications And Uses
Saturday, September 19
9:00 a.m.
Using over two-hundred specimens representing one-hundred different species that you will be encouraged to touch, this introductory workshop will focus on the way different minerals form and how they are classified. Industrial and commercial uses of minerals will also be an emphasis to allow you the pleasure of identifying and appreciating minerals in your day to day life. Following the classroom instruction, the class will continue in the Museum’s Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals and select displays in the Hall of Ancient Egypt and Gemstone Carvings. The instructor of this class is geologist and paleontologist James Washington, HMNS staff trainer, who will take you behind-the-scenes in the Museum’s staff training lab where hundreds of specimens are uniquely presented in a hands-on road maps.

Class – Geology, Plate Tectonics And Earth Science: Rocks, The Environments That Make Them
Saturday, September 19
1:00 p.m.
Study Earth’s many environments and structures while explaining the rocks they produced in this interactive workshop. You will be able to hold and examine more types of rocks than you knew existed! Then learn how ancient peoples exploited or were impacted by these rocks and their environments. As long as you live on the Earth these topics will apply to you. Following the classroom instruction, the class will continue in the Museum’s Wiess Energy Hall for geology concepts of plate tectonics and sedimentation, before seeing examples of ancient architecture and art in the McGovern Hall of the Americas and Hall Ancient Egypt. The instructor of this class is geologist and paleontologist James Washington, HMNS staff trainer, who will take you behind-the-scenes in the Museum’s staff training lab where hundreds of specimens are uniquely presented in a hands-on road maps. Although it builds on the Introduction to Minerals class, this session can stand alone.

Fan Faves for 30 Day Film Festival
September 1-30, 2015
Experience the 7 greatest adventures on Earth in a single day!
From the depths of the ocean to the top of the clouds, from ancient ages to modern marvels, now you can embark on seven astounding expeditions, and never leave your seat! The most popular movies return to the Houston Museum of Natural Science during the Fan Faves for 30 Days Film Festival. Relive these amazing 3-D adventures or catch them for the first time! But hurry, the fun ends Sept. 30.