I was five when my dad taught my brother and me how to catch fireflies on warm summer nights in Texas. Catching the tiny creatures that illuminate the sky was like catching a little bit of magic. We proudly displayed them in mason jars and would study the way they lit up. For years after, catching fireflies marked the beginning of summer for my siblings and me.

Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) is giving Coloradans a peek at those summer-night creatures (and more), with the unveiling of Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence. The new exhibit focuses on the world of living creatures that blink, glow, flash, and flicker, from fireflies to some of the strangest creatures lurking in the ocean.

Creatures of Light teaches kids the importance of luminescence for animals and plants, with fun interactive displays and giant models of bioluminescent mushrooms, fireflies, and jellyfish. The dimly lit exhibit is accompanied by a classical music soundtrack and a video of waves in Puerto Rico’s luminescent lagoon created by “pyrotechnic” plankton called dinoflagellates, that light up when they are disturbed.

Dr. Frank Krell, curator of entomology in the Zoology department at DMNS showed me around the exhibit. “With this exhibit, we want to raise interest in this natural phenomena that most people don’t get to experience. Here in Colorado, we see mountains and forests all the time, but we don’t see light in nature very much,” he says. “The natural world is so diverse and has so many wonderful aspects for people to see, and light in nature is just one part of it.”

additional in-depth content about bioluminescence. ©AMNH\D. Finnin The jellyfish has a mysterious glow that is both bioluminescent and fluorescent. ©AMNH\D. Finnin
Visitors can learn more by interacting with iPads, which offer engaging videos, animations, photographs, and additional in-depth content about bioluminescence. ©AMNHD. Finnin
This oversized model represents a jack-o-lantern mushroom around 40 times the mushroom’s actual size. ©AMNH\D. Finnin

Here are 6 interactive ways for kids to explore the Creatures of Light exhibit:

  1. Take a peek into a model of a New Zealand cave and look up at simulations of twinkling glowworms—which are just as pretty as stars.
  2. Try imitating fireflies’ mating signals in a code—similar to Morse code.
  3. Maneuver a display that shows how different light makes ocean coral glow shades of pink, orange, and green.
  4. Check out the “Does It Glow” black light activity that puts minerals, scorpions, and anything in your pockets to the glow test. Hint: Try out your credit cards and Colorado driver’s license.
  5. Peek into a tank of live GloFish and a protective container housing a scorpion—a live animal portion of the exhibit.
  6. After admiring all that bioluminescence and biofluorescence provides the earth, discover how luminescence plays a part in our daily life, from fluorescent lights to crime scenes.

Whatever you do, don’t leave without getting a picture of the gigantic models of growing mushrooms, fireflies, and jellyfish. Kids will gain a deeper appreciation for the many wonders that the world offers, whether it’s an ugly Anglerfish or the soft crest of glowing waves illuminated by plankton hitting the shore.

Creatures of Light runs from February 23 to June 10, 2018, and is included with the price of museum admission.

Megan Forgey

Megan Forgey is a Denver-based freelance writer.