Science and Technology
UMD Planetarium Show: Expedition: Moons
Our solar system has more than 150 moons. Hop in the MWAP spaceship to explore some of the most interesting moons our solar system has to offer. There’s a moon full of volcanoes, another with a giant ocean, and more.
Each show is followed by a live presentation of the night’s sky.
Admission is $8 for adults; $5 for senior citizens ages 60 and up, kids ages 3-12 and University of Minnesota Duluth students; and free for kids age 2 and under. Tickets are available at tickets.umn.edu or at the door. UMD students are required to show their student identification for the discounted admission.
Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Food and drinks are not allowed in the planetarium. Proof of purchase must be ready to show at the door.
Bong Airport Open House 2026
The Lake Superior Squadron and the Blue Water Big Band present a day of food, flying and fun at the Bong Airport in Superior. Rides are available for purchase from Superior Flying Services and on the Commemorative Air Forces Minnesota Wing’s BT-13.
Full schedule of events here.
UMD Planetarium Show: Sunstruck
Discover the wonders of the Sun. Its incredible energy has supported life on earth for millennia, but is now threatening human technology and our way of life. Travel to the distant future to discover the Sun’s connection to the universe’s cosmic cycle of life and death.
The June 13 showing at 4 p.m. is a special sensory-friendly edition.
Each show is followed by a live presentation of the night’s sky.
Admission is $8 for adults; $5 for senior citizens ages 60 and up, kids ages 3-12 and University of Minnesota Duluth students; and free for kids age 2 and under. Tickets are available at tickets.umn.edu or at the door. UMD students are required to show their student identification for the discounted admission.
Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Food and drinks are not allowed in the planetarium. Proof of purchase must be ready to show at the door.
UMD Planetarium Show: Out There: The Quest for Extrasolar Worlds
For thousands of years, mankind thought the Earth was the center of the Universe. It is now known that planets like Earth are nothing special in the cosmos. The Sun is just one ordinary star among hundreds of billions in the Milky Way galaxy. With the world’s most powerful telescopes, humans are able to explore more and more of the universe. What has been found so far has surpassed even the wildest expectations of scientists as well as authors of science fiction. Most stars have planets — it turns out they are more common than thought. A huge diversity of different worlds is out there, just waiting to be discovered.
Each show is followed by a live presentation of the night’s sky.
Admission is $8 for adults; $5 for senior citizens ages 60 and up, kids ages 3-12 and University of Minnesota Duluth students; and free for kids age 2 and under. Tickets are available at tickets.umn.edu or at the door. UMD students are required to show their student identification for the discounted admission.
Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Food and drinks are not allowed in the planetarium. Proof of purchase must be ready to show at the door.
Forces of Flight with the Duluth Children’s Museum
Children and their caregivers can learn about the science of flight from Duluth Children’s Museum representatives during this event by hearing a story and making and testing paper airplanes and gliders.
This program is sponsored by Anderson-Claffy American Legion Post 109.
BogVenture Series: Alborn Fen
The Alborn Fen is a true fen in a landscape that primarily features bog habitats, making it a unique wetland site in the Sax-Zim Bog area. So far, this site has offered up some exceptional species for the area, including Bog Copper, Spoon-leaf Sundew, Meager Sedge, Rose Pogonia and Zigzag Darner. This field trip has the exciting potential to add even more species to that list. The goals of this field trip are to explore this amazing habitat, see some of the more rare or localized species found in the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem, and to show off the diversity of bogs and fens. Attendees can expect to be hiking off-trail in wet, sometimes uneven terrain and rubber/waterproof boots are recommended.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at 10 a.m. The field trip concludes at 3 p.m.
Dragonflies and Damselflies Field Trip
This field trip will focus on seeing and catching adult dragonflies and damselflies. All ages and ability levels are welcome. Extra nets and hand lenses are available for those who would like to use them. Registration is required.
Mid-season Sax-Zim Bog Butterflies Field Trip
The Sax-Zim Bog is home to a diverse set of plants, and most of those plants have a particularly close relationship to butterflies and moths. Through the seasons, butterfly communities can vary greatly, and July is one of the best months to see an abundant diversity of butterflies in this area. This field trip seeks to provide some encounters with uncommon (to the area) southern species like Black Swallowtail and Silver-spotted Skipper, as well as wetland specialists like Baltimore Checkerspot, and fast-moving Skippers and Blues.
All ages and ability levels are welcome. Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at noon. The field trip concludes at 5 p.m.
Fix-it Clinic
Whether it’s cracked, torn, stained, missing a piece or just not working properly, broken things can be made good as new with the right skills and tools. WLSSD has partnered with Duluth Folk School and Duluth Makerspace to host regular events where people can learn how to fix their stuff. Volunteers specialize in a variety of repair skills, including electronics and small appliances, woodworking and furniture, watches and jewelry, clothing and upholstery, sports and outdoor gear, ceramics, artwork and more.
People can sign up in advance to be paired with a skilled volunteer or volunteer their skills to help fix other folks’ stuff. For more information or to register visit wlssd.com/fix-it or call 218-722-3336. Walk-ins are welcome but not guaranteed a time slot.
Fix-it clinics are held on the second Saturday of alternating months.
Sax-Zim Bog Fungi Foray and Workshop
This experiential course presented by Ariel Bonkoski, mushroom ID expert, author and owner of Ariel’s Mushroom Co.will consist of an indoor and outdoor portion. The goal of the course is to introduce the fundamentals of mushroom foraging, including edible mushrooms, toxic mushrooms and identifications. Inside, participants begin to build identification skills and foundational information needed to recognize important regional mushroom species. Then everyone heads outdoors to exercise newly found skills and see a few mushroom species to practice those skills through the Sax-Zim Bog.
This course is open to all experience levels and for ages 16 and up. Plan on bringing a lunch, water, note taking materials and appropriate footwear. Much of our time will be spent on boardwalks or trails, with the potential for off-trail exploration into the Bog. Dress for both indoor and outdoor time. Additionally, bring along a basket or mesh bag to forage mushrooms during the class.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at 9 a.m. The field trip concludes at 3 p.m.
Hartley Sustainability Workshop Series
This workshop series aims to connect community members with local environmental experts to instruct about local environmental challenges and solutions shaping the region. Workshops take place on the third Thursday of each month and will run through July 2026.
LLO Science on Deck
Scientists and staff of the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory invite the community to board and tour the Blue Heron research vessel on the Duluth Harbor behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. The Science on Deck event is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tours are provided by scientists, crew and students to provide an overview of the R/V Blue Heron’s layout and research capabilities.
This edition of Science on Deck is a collaboration with the Duluth Public Library for its “Libraries Love Lakes.” It offers interaction with graduate students working on freshwater research. In addition, lists of lake-related literature are provided and a special guest author gives a presentation at 1:30 p.m.
The Blue Heron is part of the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System and is chartered by research scientists to explore any of the Great Lakes. For more info visit scse.d.umn.edu.
Bugs at the Library
Discover the aquatic insects that live in Minnesota waters during this Nature Connect event. Participants have the chance to interact with live insects while learning all about their life cycles, adaptations, what they can tell us about water quality, and roles in the ecosystem.
This program includes live invertebrates in interactive touch tanks. It is for all ages and takes place in the Two Harbors Library Meeting Room.
Carnivorous and Odd-ball Plants Field Trip
The Sax-Zim Bog is a network of habitats that allows for a large and interesting diversity of flowering plants. Some species are especially odd considering the ways they have adapted to thrive in less-than-ideal conditions, like those found in bogs and the shallow, acidic soils of northern Minnesota. This field trip places a special focus on the plant “weirdos” found within the Sax-Zim Bog, including pitcher plants, sundews, ghost pipe, pinesaps, coralroots, bladderworts and more.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at 10 a.m. The field trip concludes at 3 p.m.
Upland Forest Plant Community Investigation
The Sax-Zim Bog is a network of habitats, but what makes those habitats so distinct from one another? Environmental conditions like precipitation and temperature help mold ecosystems, as do the soils that influence the plant communities. While upland forests are not what most visitors seek out during the winter, they are beautifully diverse during the summer season and offer some good hiking opportunities. This new field trip is focused on learning how to define and better know upland forest plant communities.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at 10 a.m. The field trip concludes at 3 p.m.
Planning Your Lake Superior Circle Tour
Attendees can learn about the landscape, 1.1 billion-year-old geology, industrial “ghost lines” in the forest and deep Indigenous history. This class for adults is led by Emily Macgillivray, a PhD-trained historian and veteran of the Circle Tour who taught field courses for college students about the watershed.
Moths and More Evening Field Trip
At nearly 900 species documented in the greater Sax-Zim Bog, moths are the most species-rich group documented so far. Even though they are one of the most diverse groups of insects in our region, moths often don’t get the same attention as their day-flying relatives, butterflies. Moths are worthy of special attention and often exceed their cousins in interesting color, pattern, behavior and their specialized relationships to plants. This field trip will serve as a good introduction to the moth diversity in northeastern Minnesota. Attendees may also have the opportunity to enjoy listening for night-singing insects, birds, mammals and more. Because this field trip is at night, plan on bringing a head-lamp or flashlight. This field trip can also be fairly stationary, so feel free to bring a folding chair.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at 8:30 p.m. The field trip concludes at 11 p.m.
Species Finding Field Trip: Lesser Rattlesnake Plantain
With all the biodiversity in the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem, seeing the uncommon, rare or difficult-to-find species can require special, targeted effort. This field trip focuses on spotting one of the most difficult orchid species to find in the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem: Lesser Rattlesnake Plantain. This orchid is small, specialized and a real stunner.
This is a strenuous field trip with almost all the hiking done off-trail in uneven and wet conditions.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at noon. The field trip concludes at 5 p.m.
Forensic Psychologist and True Crime Author Frank F. Weber
Forensic psychologist and true crime author Frank F. Weber is speaking about his 2025 release Heartbreak Hollow, which involves the case of a young woman who was promised a future and woke up fighting for her life.
Eliana Castillo was on the brink of a new beginning — an engagement to the heir of a powerful Midwestern crime family. Instead of getting the ring, she wakes up battered and bloodied in the woods outside Detroit Lakes, with no memory of how she got there — or why someone wanted her dead.
Weber’s 2026, A Superior Affair, a murder mystery that takes place in Duluth, will also be available during this event. Weber will walk attendees through profiling a case that lacked evidence, and give a live demonstration of a lie detector test.
Weber will be at Two Harbors Public Library signing books and answering individual questions in the Meeting Room by 1 p.m. and is available after the event. This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Two Harbors Public Library.
Species Finding Field Trip: Subarctic Darner
With all the biodiversity in the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem, seeing the uncommon, rare or difficult-to-find species can require special, targeted effort. This event is the third of this year’s new, species-focused field trip series. It is focused on finding one of the few odonates with special conservation status in Minnesota: Subarctic Darner. This is a large dragonfly of open peatlands, with a preference for areas with Buckbean.
This will be a strenuous field trip with almost all the hiking done off-trail in uneven and wet conditions.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at noon. The field trip concludes at 5 p.m.
Lowland Conifer Forest Plant Community Investigation
The Sax-Zim Bog is a network of habitats, but what makes those habitats so distinct from one another? Environmental conditions like precipitation and temperature help mold ecosystems, as do the soils and substrates that influence the plant communities. This field trip seeks out the beautiful lowland conifer forests the greater Sax-Zim Bog ecosystem is most known for. Participants learn how to define and better know Lowland Conifer Forest Plant Communities.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at 10 a.m. The field trip concludes at 3 p.m.
LLO Science on Deck
Scientists and staff of the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory invite the community to board and tour the Blue Heron research vessel on the Duluth Harbor behind the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. The Science on Deck event is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tours are provided by scientists, crew and students to provide an overview of the R/V Blue Heron’s layout and research capabilities.
At 1:30 p.m. the LLO’s Dr. Craig Hill gives a presentation titled “The Waves on the Great Lakes: Energy and Observations.”
The Blue Heron is part of the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System and is chartered by research scientists to explore any of the Great Lakes. For more info visit scse.d.umn.edu.
Introduction to Mosses Field Trip
Journey into the world of mosses on this introductory field trip discussing both the natural history and identification of this diverse and challenging group. Mosses are all around in the Sax-Zim Bog, and they make up an important part in both the creation and support of bog ecosystems. However, mosses and their bryophyte relatives can be difficult to identify. With a group of species that is hard to identify, it is always a good approach to start by learning the familiar and common species. This field trip uses this approach to help familiarize attendees with common mosses.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at 10 a.m. The field trip concludes at 2 p.m.
Tiger Beetles Field Trip
Tiger beetles are a colorful, yet overlooked group of beetles that are becoming quite popular to amateur entomologists and naturalists. The species is often found in gravel pits or open sandy areas. Their large eyes, bright colors and tenacious attitudes are something to experience. Participants in this field trip learn a little more about these colorful and fast predators. The trip will likely encounter all eight species of tiger beetle in the region, with a chance to document the final species present in the region.
Field Trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at noon. The field trip concludes at 5 p.m.
Spiders and Webs Field Trip
Spiders are an interesting bunch: some folks have nothing but nice things to say about them, while others cannot bear to be within several hundred feet of these eight-legged wonders. The Sax-Zim Bog has more than 130 species of spider, including several first state records and dozens of new county record species documented in the past few years. This field trip is a chance to learn a little more about the many different species of spiders in Minnesota and spend some time observing these misunderstood critters.
Field trip attendance is free for Friends of Sax-Zim Bog members. The $25 membership fee covers free entry to all field trips and programs, excluding workshops, in a 12-month period.
Registration is required at saxzim.org. Registrants meet at the Friends of Sax-Zim Bog Welcome Center and Lois King Education Center at noon. The field trip concludes at 5 p.m.