This year at Space for Life, we’re celebrating fall and Halloween starting October 5. In the Main Greenhouse at the Jardin botanique, Esmerelda the friendly witch is inviting you to come visit her new home, cheerfully decorated with hundreds of pumpkins, as always. At the Insectarium, spiders are in the spotlight, teaching us their hidden secrets! Throughout the fall, we’re celebrating the generosity of nature and how it makes our beautiful planet so inviting.
The Great Pumpkin Ball
October 5 to 31 – daily, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. – at the Jardin botanique
How to dwell in better ways on our planet is a topic that’s also of great concern to Esmerelda the witch. She counts on the help of a surprising biodiversity of friendly critters, who are startlingly life-like in her new home: spiders, bats, grasshoppers and slugs! The whole family will have fun at the Pumpkin-Decorating Contest (open to the public until October 14), at the Great Pumpkin Ball, where over 800 gourds are artistically transformed, at the Little Monsters Courtyard, an outdoor play area for young children, and at the fascinating squash counter.
| POUAH! Bébé sorcière Back by popular demand – additional show times After its great success last year, the storytelling session POUAH! Bébé sorcière is back again this year with even more show times! Don’t miss this fun story that delights children from 4 to 8. Check the show times (IN FRENCH) at on the website of Montréal Space for life. Directed by Jean-Francois Guilbeault based on the book of the same title, written by Lucie Papineau and illustrated by Steve Beshwaty, presented in cooperation with Les Amis du Jardin botanique de Montréal. |
Spiders Unmasked
October 5 to 31 – daily – at the Insectarium
Spiders, frightening? No, they’re clever! Throughout the month of Halloween, our Insectarium guides will be revealing the most ingenious tricks of spiders – skills that make them fearsome hunters, spinners of intricate webs and possessed of extraordinary vision. You’ll find many more reasons to admire them than fear them!
Nature is Your Shelter – immersive experience
Until October 31 – daily, self-guided tour – at the Jardin botanique Arboretum
Make the most of your visit and explore the immersive Nature is Your Shelter exhibition. Walk among giant animal shelters built to human scale: climb into a red Cardinal’s nest, crawl into a woodpecker’s home and stretch out in insect cocoons!
| IMPORTANT – GARDENS OF LIGHT If you plan on touring the Gardens of Light during your visit to the Jardin botanique or Insectarium, make sure to reserve your date and time of visit and purchase your tickets online. Note: Your Gardens of Light tickets give you access to all the Great Pumpkin Ball activities. |
#GardensOfLight #GreatPumpkinBal
Visuals (photo and video) available
Nature dwells within us
In 2018, Space for Life is taking a look at the many ways we dwell on our planet through inspiring ideas and thought-provoking talks and discussions to encourage citizens to become involved. This year at Space for Life, nature dwells within us more than ever!
Montréal Space for Life is made up of four attractions on the same site: the Jardin botanique, Biodôme, Insectarium and Planétarium Rio Tinto Alcan. These four prestigious municipal institutions form Canada's largest natural science museum complex. Together, they are launching a daring, creative urban movement, urging everyone to rethink the connection between humankind and nature and cultivate a new way of living.
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