You don’t have to be a nerd to admire how the South Australian Museum continues to innovate. After more than 165 years, their ideas to keep the space relevant continue to surprise and delight.
Live music? Yep. Local trio, Nights on Mayfair, sung up a treat and got your feet dancing.
Magic? Abracadabra! Illusionist and host Rob Ellinger made the hours disappear.
Fright night? If patting a lizard or handling crawling critters from Bugs and Slugs didn’t make you squirm, you must be the hero we’ve been holding out for.
For the nerds themselves, there were bite size science talks. Arty folk got to sketch and create things. The child in us could squat on the floor with giant Connect 4 or a jumbo Jenga, while the more stylish sipped wine and cocktails as they wandered the hallowed halls.
And if it all got too much, there were bean bags to sink into and chill.
This was nothing special. Well, it was, but it’s something true acolytes have already done a number of times before, even though they still hold out for each event more than that hero. It was the latest incarnation of the SA Museum’s award-winning Night Lab – an adults-only, after dark playground where only big kids are allowed. The staff and many punters dressed for the occasion in clever, ridiculous and utterly sensational costumes that matched the night’s theme. The rest enjoyed the spectacle as they explored the museum in new and outrageous ways.
Congratulations to the winning couple whose outfit of Ned Kelly and his horse stole the popular costume parade as they whinnied their way to the win.
Interactivity is the key to any Night Lab – see, touch, taste, and listen (but thankfully not smell) selected exhibitions and activities on each of the five floors and in spaces not often open to the public.
Night Lab: Hide and Chic was the August edition with a masquerade theme of exploring all things hidden – from microscopic life to the secret lives of lizards… which incidentally, aren’t that icky to pat. The costumes were fit for a ball and made the evening truly glamourous.
Staff and volunteers of the SA Museum put in countless hours to develop and run the Night Lab and it always pays off. The hidden gem is not something found behind a glass panel, but the entry ticket for these triumphant one-night-only events. There’s so much to explore, and so many quirky ways to do it that Night Lab is never mundane. The inspired minds behind the night are to be commended as much as those who make it happen.
Sadly, there’s a long wait between Night Lab events. They are months in the making, which is pittance compared to how long you will talk about it. Visit https://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/event/NightLab for the scoop on what to expect next and to rediscover past events.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
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