REGINA -- Giggling and enthusiastic conversations emanate from the bubble exhibit at the Saskatchewan Science Centre, suggesting that the centre has been successfully transformed into a playground for adults.
Setting down their wine glasses, two visitors bathe large circular rings in soap and strategically move them through the air to create massive bubbles. It's a far cry from the bubble-blowing reminiscent of kindergarten.
On another day, the exhibit might be swarmed with children on a school field trip, but on adult science night, visitors aged 19 and older are the ones to boast a look of wide-eyed amazement.
Nearby a platform beckons.
Here the goal is to stand in the centre of a hoop that is sitting in soap and pull a lever to make the hoop move slowly upward. The exhibit treats visitors to a brief moment when they are standing inside a bubble -- if it doesn't burst.
Leslie Lerat, 25, said she didn't know adult science nights had arrived in Regina.
"I love it. It's nicer to be here without worrying about running into kids; (you can) just relax," she said, adding that her favourite part of the night was building her own miniature Mars Rover. "We're coming back in February."
The centre touts a wide array of educational exhibits -- you can learn about the sport of hockey, how to mine uranium or how soil erosion affects farming, which is particularly fitting for the prairie setting.
Organizer Merissa Scarlett said almost every science centre across Canada opts for adult-only nights, where visitors can explore exhibits with an alcoholic beverage in hand. It's also a trend taking off in many museums, including the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, where nights dubbed Nature Nocturne transform the building into a multi-stage bar and club.
Scarlett is sitting near a station where adults can fire foam rockets in the air. Intermittently, a "pop" sound warns bystanders to look up in preparation for the rocket's descent.
"Sometimes as adults we forget the importance of play, and the opportunity of learning together," Scarlett said. "You're coming out to learn something and have fun while doing it."
Spokesman Ryan Holota said the centre committed to regular adult-only nights for 2014 and they took off in popularity. He said an average night now attracts around 80 visitors.
"We create programming that's more oriented towards adults," he said, adding that this has included the chance to dissect a pig's heart.
It was part of a love-themed Valentine's Day science night.
"You learned how the heart works, all of the chambers, all of the valves, that kind of thing," he said, adding that the theme for the event on the upcoming Valentine's Day will be ionic bonding.
Other themes have related to the popular Game of Thrones franchise, a survival science class and a night with the stars, where science enthusiasts could watch a show in the planetarium.
"It's a really interesting way for people to rethink what they see at the science centre," Holota said. "It doesn't matter if you're ... 36 or 60. "
There is no shortage of hands-on activities, whether it's solving a puzzle, racing miniature cars or watching a mock hot air balloon fill with air and rise to the roof. In one corner, a science centre employee takes keen visitors to a small platform where they can make their hair stand on end with static electricity.
Danelle Finney, 21, who studies biology at the University of Regina, said the event is especially appealing to science students.
"Biology doesn't have a lot to do with this, but I'm interested in a lot of aspects of science," she said. "We'll come back."
