Highlights of BATS
Exhibit Opens February 13, 1999

SAN FRANCISCO (January 1999) — Some visitors to "Masters of the Nights: The True Story of Bats" at the California Academy of Sciences may feel like they are on the set of a horror movie as they enter the exhibit through a gargoyle flanked neo-Gothic castle to the creepy sounds of organ music. But despite these effects which reinforce our fears of bats, the exhibit actually dispels popular misconceptions about bats and proves that they are beneficial to humans.

Some exhibit highlights:

• Upside-down myth gallery: Neo-Gothic portal leading into the home of an 18th-century bat enthusiast, examples of historic bat art, folklore and myth -- all displayed upside-down.
• Interactive cave: (entrance simulates daytime, exit at dusk). Real-life behaviors such as roosting and hibernation, bat fossils, guano, hands-on sensory activities, baby bat nursery.
• Interactive rain forest: More hands-on activities relating to echolocation (sonar ability), pollination, diet, flight and conservation.
• Curator’s office: Recreated Bat Admiration Society office with models of oversized bat heads, specimens, bones, and comparisons of bat and human anatomies.

"Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats" will close on May 2, 1999.