Join us for Night Light (18+), an evening of adults-only fun and exploration at the Luminarium. Tap into your sense of wonder and see all there is to discover in our 125+ interactive exhibits. The evening also features special programming and thought-provoking conversations to participate in. Learn about all the night’s activities and purchase your tickets below!
Luminarium Prototype Night
Be among the very first to experience several new Luminarium exhibits that are in development. Your participation and feedback will help inform the production of new museum experiences, designed to spark curiosity and inquiry.
“The Scopes Trial at 100: History, Reality, and Legacy”
Faculty from Creighton University(opens in a new tab) join us for a panel discussion, focusing on one of the most contested moments for science in the Twentieth Century.
2025 marks the one hundredth anniversary of the Scopes Trial(opens in a new tab), widely recognized as one of the pivotal moments for perceptions of the relationship between science and religion in the United States. What happened to cause the trial? What issues were at stake? What really happened at the trial itself? And what are some of the legacies of the trial for today? There are a variety of sides to the story: historical, legal, biological, philosophical, and religious.
Bringing expertise from across disciplines, this panel of experts will discuss these and other questions. Dr. Ted Burk has been engaged in the ongoing evolution/creation debate for almost 50 years, having been a doctoral student of the controversial evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. He will comment on scientific and legal aspects (including possible future legal considerations), as well as describing the evolving position of the Catholic Church on biological evolution. Fr. David Paternostro will bring his expertise in philosophy and theology to shed light on the implications of Scopes for discussions of science and religion. Dr. Trish Ross, a historian who specializes in the relationship of science and religion, will share what developments led to the Scopes Trial, what happened at the trial itself, and some of the legacies of the trial up to the present. Together, the panelists will contribute to the important, ongoing dialogue about the relationship of science and religion past and present and invite participants to join them in this discussion.
