From endangered animals to planispheres, weird science will be the theme of the day as the monthly First Saturday series returns to the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience this weekend.

This Saturday’s event is titled “Weird Science: Out of this World.”

From 1-2 p.m. in the museum’s multipurpose gallery, Meaghan Huseman of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science will give a special presentation and live animal demonstration titled “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.” The presentation is free with museum admission.

She will be accompanied by two guests. Bo, a gopher tortoise, is an endangered species in Mississippi, and Russ, a baby American alligator, is a protected species. Museum guests will learn how they can help our state’s wildlife continue to survive, said Kasey Daugherty, The MAX’s youth educator.

Being up close and personal with both animals will help visitors better understand how Mississippi artists, such as Walter Anderson, were inspired by the flora and fauna around them, she said.

Before the traveling animal exhibit, Paige Anderson, a science teacher at Clarkdale Elementary, will be on hand from 10 a.m. until noon to help museum guests create planispheres for the day’s Make + Take activity, Daugherty said. Free with museum admission, the 30-minute creative workshop is open to participants of all ages.

Anderson, who has a fascination for all things dealing with space, is a solar system ambassador for NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Mississippi. She volunteers on behalf of NASA to plan outreach programs in the community.

Anderson will be working with visitors to make a planisphere, or a simple hand-held chart that shows a map of which stars are visible in the night sky at any particular time and which constellations are visible at different times of the year. Visitors can stop by any time during the two hours to participate.

According to her NASA solar system ambassador profile, Anderson and her husband are budding astrophotographers who spend their nights with clear skies taking photographs of the Milky Way, distant galaxies, and stunning nebulae.

Located at 2155 Front Street in downtown Meridian, The MAX is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to the museum is discounted during First Saturday events, costing $5 for adults and $1 for ages 6-17. Children 5 and under are admitted free.