Bradbury teen ambassadors host Henna & Tea at museum

The Bradbury Ambassador Teens hosted a Henna & Tea event May 15 at the Bradbury Science Museum, bringing a social, hands-on gathering to 1450 Central Avenue in downtown Los Alamos. The free event added a community-centered layer to one of the county’s most visible institutions, giving teens a public role as hosts inside the Lab’s official museum and public gateway.

That matters in Los Alamos, where the Bradbury Science Museum is more than a stop for visitors to learn about the Manhattan Project and the Laboratory’s research. Operated by Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Community Programs Office, the museum has more than 40 interactive exhibits spread across three galleries focused on history, defense and research. It is free to the public and open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., with Monday closures.

Henna & Tea fit that mission by making the museum feel less formal and more communal. Instead of a typical exhibit visit, the event gave residents a reason to linger, talk and experience the building as a gathering place. For families, students and anyone looking for a low-key cultural outing, the appeal was not just the tea or the henna, but the chance to see local teens shaping the atmosphere at a flagship county institution.

The Bradbury Ambassador Teens have already shown a pattern of using the museum for youth-facing outreach. A public event listing showed they hosted a free teen-only Strawberry Extravaganza on March 11, 2026, and a previous Los Alamos Reporter item noted a Teen Takeover Night on April 30, 2025. Henna & Tea extended that sequence, suggesting the ambassador program is becoming a steady channel for student leadership, not a one-off volunteer assignment.

The Bradbury Science Museum Association, the museum’s official nonprofit partner, supports STEAM education and special events, reinforcing the broader framework behind these programs. The museum also offers free K-12 STEM programs, linking public events like Henna & Tea to a larger effort to build future engagement around science, culture and civic life. In a county that depends heavily on strong institutions and active volunteers, a teen-run event at Bradbury helps keep the museum connected to the community it serves.