Museum of Science College Night Draws Hundreds

Deal-savvy college students acquainted themselves with the Museum of Science in Boston by exploring the intersection of art, music, and science during its annual College Night on Friday.

College Night, which drew hundreds of students from across the city, offered free admission to anyone with a college ID.

James R. Preiss, the museum’s marketing coordinator, said, “It’s a really good chance for us to give back… to college kids who wouldn’t necessarily be able to come on another night, especially since it’s September and everyone’s almost settled in at this point in the Boston area.”

Many college students and organizations planned outings to College Night for this very reason. Hundreds of students could be seen wandering the museum during the event.

Jeremy A. Goodsnyder, a student at Brandeis University, and Ben Palmer ’20, who were close friends in high school, decided to use College Night as an opportunity to meet up again after beginning college.

“It was something fun to do and I got to see [Ben],” Goodsnyder said.

Elaine Zhang and Marlin Elizalde, undergraduates at Babson, attended College Night as part of a “scholarship event” hosted by their sorority.

“It’s nice to relax and de-stress from school, especially on a Friday night,” Elizalde said.

Many student attendees cited the free tickets as a major draw. But while admission was free with a college ID, attendees still had to pay for some of the museum's shows.

One popular show was "SubSpace: Prince," the Museum’s newest addition to its SubSpace Project, which consists of a series of artist tributes in the museum’s planetarium.

Students who visited the show were immersed in images of spinning galaxies and molecule structures pulsating to the beat of Prince’s “Purple Rain” soundtrack.

SubSpace: Prince was just one example of the museum’s work this year to combine art and science, according to Preiss. The museum used the event to highlight its new lobby and the Yawkey Gallery.

“We’re really excited to show people the new face of the museum, how everything is constantly changing and on the cutting edge,” Preiss said.

Although College Night is over, the museum plans to continue hosting events geared toward adult museum-goers. The SubSpace series will continue with Tom Waits and Lady Gaga.

Many students said they enjoyed spending their Friday evening at College Night.

“This only happens once,” Jack H. O’Shea, a student at Tufts, said. “When you were little you couldn’t understand all of the science behind [the exhibits]. Now it’s cooler to understand what’s going on.”