Family Owl Prowl

Saturday, April 1 at 7 PM at BEEC

Hoot it up with Harris Center naturalist Susie Spikol on a magical twilight walk. Together, we’ll look and listen for Vermont’s most common owl species, learning as we go. Perfect for families with elementary-aged children and up.

Susie Spikol is a naturalist, writer, and youth program educator extraordinaire. She is the author of  The Animal Adventurer’s Guide: How to Prowl for an Owl, Make Snail Slime and Catch a Frog Bare-Handed. Parents, you will want a copy of this indispensable activity guide for nature-loving kids.

Babes in the Woods

Children ages 3-5 and their caregivers are invited to take a spring stroll and enjoy the woods at BEEC. We will meet the trees and look for clues of who lives in or nearby them. We will use all of our senses to experience the wonders of the woods. Bring your snack! Pre-registration is required at www.beec.org or by calling 802-257-5785.

This event is part of Month of the Young Child, which is sponsored by Winston Prouty Center, Early Education Services, Windham Early Childhood Educators Coop and Hilltop Montessori School. For a full list of free events, visit www.winstonprouty.org/moyc

Nature Explorers Spring Camp

April 17th – 21st, Five day camp for children in grades K – 4

Drop off 8:45 – 9:00 am,  Pick up 3:00 – 3:15 pm

We will explore, create and find the mysteries and magic of springtime!

More information and registration: www.BEEC.org

December Mighty Acorns Club — Fire and Ice: Welcoming Winter and Campfire Safety

Mighty Acorns Club invites young adventurers to explore the natural world through interactive and hands-on lessons, activities, and outdoor adventures. This program is held at The Nature Museum and all sessions involve exploring nearby areas that include forest, meadow, our native plant garden, and more!

The Mighty Acorns Club (MAC) program series aims to provide special learning experiences for budding young naturalists. These programs offer creative, open-ended, exploratory programs focused towards children ages 3 to 6 and their caregivers. Our goal: to foster an early love of the natural world and an eagerness to explore and have fun outside!

Our Senior Environmental Educator, Jay DeGregorio, leads this program each month. Although this program series aims to meet the learning needs of students ages 3-6, older students are welcome if interested.

$15 in advance per child, registration required. Caregivers are free.

Session 3 Description: 12/09/22

Fire and Ice: Welcoming Winter and Campfire Safety

As we near the Winter Solstice, this time of year presents us the opportunity to embrace the new season and changes. We’ll learn about the hows and whys of winter and explore the winter landscape. What better way to enjoy this chilly time of year than with a campfire? We’ll introduce campfire safety and start our own campfire! We’ll sing songs, read a story, and even do some campfire cooking.

This program occurs at The Nature Museum. Parking is in the lot across the street from the museum.

Mighty Acorns Club will happen rain, snow, hot, cold, or shine! We feel it’s important and fun to spend time exploring the outdoors safely in all conditions. Although there may be some time spent indoors during programs, make sure that you and your mighty acorn(s) are prepared to spend the entire program outdoors in whatever the weather has in store for us! If there are unsafe weather conditions (e.g. thunder/lightning, high winds, extreme cold, etc.), we will have alternative indoor activities/exploration. The Nature Museum follows the decision of Grafton Elementary School regarding closure due to weather. If the museum is closed, programming will not take place.

Mushroom Journaling Workshop

Join artist Madge Evers for a mushroom journaling workshop. The class will begin at the museum, where participants will make their own nature journals using a simple paper fold. Next, participants will go on a walk across the river to the Wantastiquet trails, where Evers will lead a nature observation and journaling program focused on finding and identifying mushrooms and recording them as drawings or spore prints.

Foraged materials inform the work of Madge Evers. She has been paying close attention to signs of fungi since 2015, when she began making mushroom spore print art. Learning of and seeing the Herbarium that Emily Dickinson created as a student inspired Evers to see the plants all around us with new eyes.

This event is presented in connection with the exhibit Madge Evers: The New Herbarium.

This program is for participants ages 14+, or child and parent pairs if children are ages 10+. All materials provided. Participation is limited to 15 people. Rain date: Sunday, October 30.

This is an in-person program.

ADMISSION: $50, $45 BMAC members

Kids Outdoor Exploration

Southern Vermont Natural History Museum
Hogback Bush-wack

Meet Museum educators at the VAST parking lot across from VT Distillers on the north side of Route 9, Hogback

We’re going off the trail and seeing what we can find. Not much more to say- the kids will follow their noses and the adults will try to keep up! This activity is kid-directed and we never really know where we’ll end up!  Be sure to dress for the weather and for likely muddy trail conditions. Kid’s Explorations are free to attend but donations towards the Museum’s Educational programming are accepted and appreciated.

 

 

 

Animal Adventurers: Family Nature Fun

Come to BEEC for an animal adventure with the marvelous naturalist Susie Spikol, author of The Animal Adventurers Guide, a resource for the parents of young nature enthusiasts. Susie will introduce the book and will take the group out into the woods and fields for an animal adventure. Susie has been sharing her enthusiasm for creatures of all kinds over her 30 year career as a naturalist. Learn more and register at www.beec.org.

Foraged Materials Sculpture Workshop

Artist Beth Galston leads a workshop at River Gallery School on making sculptures with natural foraged materials. Participants will go for a walk across the river to collect materials (leaves, acorns, sticks, etc.), then walk back to River Gallery School to construct their sculptures. River Gallery School is located at 32 Main Street, Suite 201, Brattleboro.

Beth Galston is known for creating immersive environments, sculptures, prints, and public art commissions that combine nature, technology and light. Galston earned the SMVisS degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) for five years. She studied with sculptor Dale Eldred, earning a B.F.A. at the Kansas City Art Institute, and received a B.A. from Cornell University. Galston has exhibited and created public art commissions throughout the United States. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 2013 Massachusetts Artists Fellowship in Sculpture/Installation, a two-year Bunting Institute Fellowship at Radcliffe, a National Endowment for the Arts InterArts award, a MacDowell Fellowship, a Yaddo Residency, and a funded Residency at Sculpture Space, Inc.

ADMISSION: $50 ($45 for BMAC members). For adults and teens 14 and up. Materials included.
Space is limited. Registration required.

Free Nature Programs: Summer Unplugged in Bellows Falls, VT

Join us for our FREE summer programming to learn about our local ecology.

Thanks to the generous support from Great River Hydro, The Nature Museum is excited to once again bring free environmental education programming to public libraries in Chester, Springfield, Walpole, NH, Charlestown, NH, and the Bellows Falls Fish Ladder and Visitor Center during the summer of 2022.

Programs run on Wednesdays through Saturdays for seven weeks, from June 22nd to August 6th.

These programs aim to be engaging and highlight topics related to the unique ecology and landscape of Northern New England. Geared towards youth ages Pre-K through elementary grades, all are welcome. Programs will be 45 minutes long with dedicated time for a story reading and any nature-related questions you may have for our expert educators. Library programs will be outdoors on good weather days and indoors on bad weather days. Join us to unplug, discover, and learn!

No registration is required, see our website for full schedule details: https://www.nature-museum.org/summer-unplugged

WEEK 1: BUSY BEAVERS

WEEK 2: ALL ABOUT BATS

WEEK 3: OUR BLACK BEARS

WEEK 4: THE WORLD OF OWLS

WEEK 5: POLLINATORS

WEEK 6: MAGNIFICENT MIGRATORS

WEEK 7: FAIRY HOUSE BUILDING

The Bellows Falls Fish Ladder and Visitor Center (FLVC), Bellows Falls, VT

Main location: 17 Bridge St, Bellows Falls, VT 05101

Fridays

06/24, 07/01, 07/08, 07/15, 07/22, 07/29, 08/05

10:00AM – 10:45AM

Saturdays

06/25, 07/02, 07/09, 07/16, 07/23, 07/30, 08/06

10:00AM – 10:45AM

Free Nature Programs: Summer Unplugged in Bellows Falls, VT

Join us for our FREE summer programming to learn about our local ecology.

Thanks to the generous support from Great River Hydro, The Nature Museum is excited to once again bring free environmental education programming to public libraries in Chester, Springfield, Walpole, NH, Charlestown, NH, and the Bellows Falls Fish Ladder and Visitor Center during the summer of 2022.

Programs run on Wednesdays through Saturdays for seven weeks, from June 22nd to August 6th.

These programs aim to be engaging and highlight topics related to the unique ecology and landscape of Northern New England. Geared towards youth ages Pre-K through elementary grades, all are welcome. Programs will be 45 minutes long with dedicated time for a story reading and any nature-related questions you may have for our expert educators. Library programs will be outdoors on good weather days and indoors on bad weather days. Join us to unplug, discover, and learn!

No registration is required, see our website for full schedule details: https://www.nature-museum.org/summer-unplugged

WEEK 1: BUSY BEAVERS

WEEK 2: ALL ABOUT BATS

WEEK 3: OUR BLACK BEARS

WEEK 4: THE WORLD OF OWLS

WEEK 5: POLLINATORS

WEEK 6: MAGNIFICENT MIGRATORS

WEEK 7: FAIRY HOUSE BUILDING

The Bellows Falls Fish Ladder and Visitor Center (FLVC), Bellows Falls, VT

Main location: 17 Bridge St, Bellows Falls, VT 05101

Fridays

06/24, 07/01, 07/08, 07/15, 07/22, 07/29, 08/05

10:00AM – 10:45AM

Saturdays

06/25, 07/02, 07/09, 07/16, 07/23, 07/30, 08/06

10:00AM – 10:45AM