Matthew Carroll stands looking at the display of bullets and assorted historic ammunition. He sets to work meticulously photographing each individual item for research.

“I thought it might give me some tips on the museum I’m trying to run,” said the elementary-aged Carroll. “I turned my room into a museum.”

With the goal of running a museum when he is grown, Mississippi State University’s Science Night at the Museums was a perfect event for Carroll to gain inspiration.

The annual event held its sixth program on Saturday and hundreds of people filed through Hilbun and Cobb halls on campus to enjoy about 30 unique booths and activities.

“It is kind of meant to highlight a few of the museums we have here on campus, specifically the Dunn-Seiler Museum of Geosciences and the Lois Dowdle Cobb Museum of Archeology,” said Amy Moe-Hoffman, instructor of geosciences, curator of the Dunn-Seiler Museum and chair for the Museums and Galleries Committee, which hosts the event. “It’s really meant to get the general public onto campus and get them excited about science and learn about some of the things we do here on campus.”

Over the years, the challenge lies in keeping the event fresh and keeping crowds coming out.

“I found out early on that people, it seems like they are really hungry to come to campus and have an event like this,” Moe-Hoffman said.

“… So, there’s more interest from the faculty and graduate students who want to present their research here. You have some of the kind of standard things that people really like year after year, like the chemistry demonstrations and astronomy and those kinds of things. But then you get fresh blood coming in all of the time with new ideas and new ways to engage the public. It’s a good balance this year, I think, of things people may have seen before and things that are new coming in.”

One thing that is tried and true, and also proved to be a fan-favorite was “Topsy” the Triceratops head.

“I just saw a lot of sparkly (rocks) and a big triceratops head,” said Kassidy Ware, 6.

Carroll also enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit. He regularly goes to Plymouth Bluff to dig for fossils — such as assorted shells and animal teeth— for his museum.

“I probably like dinosaurs the most,” he said.

Along with “Topsy” there were a variety of exhibits and demonstrations for all ages to enjoy. Some of the options included stone tool crafting, the Partnership Middle School Robotics team, a simulated volcano made with ping pong balls and liquid nitrogen, fun with microscopes and Bob Swanson, the singing meteorologist.

Ultimately, the event serves to connect the general public with science and make it more accessible.

“A lot of times, people think, ‘Oh, math and science are scary, I don’t understand it.’” Moe-Hoffman said. “There’s just a hesitancy about it. We want people to see that science is fun and it’s accessible and that anybody can be a scientist.”