First Friday: The Artist’s Palette

We live in a vibrant, colorful world! This First Friday, explore how artists capture the colors of nature through pigments, paints, and dyes.
Watch recreations of historical paint-making techniques, learn about the toxic beauty of poisonous pigments, examine the tools of the artist’s trade, and enjoy pop-up displays from our special collections. You’ll also learn about natural dyes like indigo and henna, and take home your very own henna design!
About First Fridays
Spark your curiosity while exploring the exhibits after hours! First Fridays bring together a myriad of activities covering everyday science, historical oddities, and everything in between. Grab your friends, and kick off an evening of discovery, surprise, and a little nerdy fun.
First Fridays at the Institute are always free and open to the public. Attendees will receive a 10% discount to National Mechanics restaurant.
More events
Science in Humanities, Humanities in Science: Embedded Connections
Historians and social scientists of science, technology, and medicine discuss their collaborative work to develop and deploy “embedded connections” in the humanities and STEM fields.
What’s Behind a Nobel Prize?
In this course Roger Turner will show how the Nobel Prize can be an entry point for more inclusive stories about the people who work in science.
First Friday: Whodunit? A Forensic Science Mystery
Join us for a night of “whodunits” and solve a historical forensics murder mystery.