Bellon first got involved with the event when Danita Brandt, professor of geological science and adjunct curator of the museum, discovered the Victorian suit in the museum collection and asked if he would be interested.

“Danita just asked me (to join), and I said ‘Well, that sounds like fun,’” Bellon said.

Bellon has studied Darwin extensively, and said he enjoys his role in the event.

“It’s a really exciting way of bringing science and history of science to an enthusiastic audience,” he said. “You don’t get to do that often.”

As Bellon wandered the halls of the museum, chatting with patrons and taking pictures, he said the scene around him resembled a birthday party, as long as the party was being held in a natural history museum.

Brandt said the event probable is the museum’s biggest of the year.

“It’s the one day of the year where you can come and you are actually invited to touch (the exhibits),” she said. “It’s very hands on.”

The concept to honor Darwin on his birthday began about nine years ago at MSU when Brandt stumbled across a website dedicated to Darwin’s birthday and decided the museum should hold a celebration, she said. With only about two weeks to prepare, she said the first Darwin Day featured cake and balloons and a talk she gave about fossils and not much else. The next year, the celebration was much bigger and has become a museum tradition.

Besides Bellon and his Darwin impression, Darwin Discovery Day serves as a chance to show off the rest of the museum, Brandt said. The exhibits all are open and available to be explored, with extra elements added to some of the exhibits for the day. The hall dedicated to showcasing the various habitats in North America doubles as a chance to “Ask a Scientist,” according to the official museum guide, where patrons can learn more about various types of fossils.

One of the more popular exhibits was down the hall, where the MSU Bug House had live insects — cockroaches and scorpions, among others — on display. Patrons could hold some of the insects in their hands, if they dared.

East Lansing resident Chandra Colaresi, a first-time visitor to Darwin Discovery Day, with her 7-year-old son, Landon, couldn’t pick a favorite exhibit, but said they enjoyed the experience overall.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said, smiling. “It’s all a lot of fun.”

Brandt said she’s already looking forward to the day next year. Each year’s day is based on a different area of Darwin’s research. Nine years in, Brandt said the museum still has a lot of research left to explore, especially with the 10-year anniversary of the first Darwin Day coming up next year.

“We’re not going to run out of ideas any time soon,” she said.