Campus & community, Campus news, Events at Berkeley

After 19 pandemic months, Lawrence Hall of Science reopens to the public

The Halloween weekend celebration included costumes, pumpkin carving and new science exhibits

By Public Affairs, Public Affairs

children climb on a whale statue in the fog
Children play on the giant whale outside the Lawrence Hall of Science, which reopened Oct. 30 for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (UC Berkeley photo by Sofia Liashcheva)

November 1, 2021

children climb on a whale statue in the fog
Children play on the giant whale outside the Lawrence Hall of Science, which reopened Oct. 30 for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (UC Berkeley photo by Sofia Liashcheva)
a child and adult woman play at a yellow table that demonstrates how gravity effects a ball
During the 18-month closure, staff at the Lawrence Hall of Science engaged with schools and communities. (UC Berkeley photo by Sofia Liashcheva)
children and parents play inside the lawrence hall of science near a bucket of colored tubes
Visitors to the Lawrence Hall of Science are required to wear masks. (UC Berkeley photo by Sofia Liashcheva)
children and parents in costume walk to the entrance of the lawrence hall of science with a sign that reads lawrence hall of science
Many of the visitors to the Lawrence Hall of Science wore costumes during the Halloween weekend reopening. (UC Berkeley photo by Sofia Liashcheva)
a child and adult man play at a colorful board of gears with a reflected image on the left side of the photo
Parents were happy to have the Lawrence Hall of Science's interactive exhibits back. (UC Berkeley photo by Sofia Liashcheva)

The Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley’s public science center, reopened this weekend for the first time since closing 19 months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The opening weekend featured Halloween events, costumes, glow-in-the-dark pumpkins, a new exhibit on pandemic detectives and all of the beloved hands-on science exhibits.

“While our public science center was closed, our staff was hard at work engaging with schools and communities to get science into your homes and keep science in your hearts,” said director Rena Dorph. “We also used the time to plan for a lot of new and exciting things that we will unfold in the months to come. Closing to the public enabled us to weather this crisis, while continuing to embody our mission, lead the way, serve our community, redesign and refresh our space, and emerge renewed, ready, and strong for the work that lies beyond this crisis period.”

The Lawrence closed on March 16, 2020, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. All visitors must wear masks to enter and exhibits are regularly cleaned. Hand sanitizer is also widely available, according to the Lawrence Hall of Science website.