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Park After Dark

  • Crosby Farm 2595 Crosby Farm Road Saint Paul, MN, 55116 United States (map)

Explore Crosby Farm Regional Park’s nocturnal side with a program that engages the natural world through science, culture, and art. 

Want to learn about nighttime nature? Join entomologist Jessica Miller as she uses lights to attract insects and shares her knowledge about the world of moths, fireflies, crickets, and everything with six legs. Don’t like bugs? You might like bats! Saint Paul Parks educator Mary Henke-Haney will use an ultrasonic detector to do an informal bat survey. We’ll talk a little bit about Minnesota’s bats and what we can do to support them for the health of our ecosystem. Meanwhile, ranger-led night hikes will explore the forest, the riverbanks, and search for signs of wildlife that comes alive at night.

There’s more: Learn about Dakota Star Knowledge through augmented reality with Dakota artist Marlena Myles. Visitors will immerse themselves in the Native stories contained in the stars using their cell phones and Adobe Aero.

Then enjoy s’mores at a beach bonfire and interact with sounds of the river through Monica Moses Haller’s ongoing work, Listening to the Mississippi, for which she records sounds of the river from below its surface. The sounds include animal, human, machine, and water noises.

This is a drop-in event. Come anytime, stay as long as you’d like. Free parking is available in the Crosby Farm Park parking lot. Meet at the pavilion.

ATTENTION: We kindly request all attendees to immerse themselves in the darkness. As part of this experience, we kindly ask you to keep your flashlights and phone brightness to a minimum.


Park After Dark is a partnership project of the City of Saint Paul, National Park Service, Wakpa Triennial Art Festival, and Mississippi Park Connection.

Earlier Event: August 17
Mystery on the Mississippi