Join local adventure traveler and SM&NC board member Jay Vivian, as he takes visitors through his spring 2009 trip through Nepal with amazing stories and breathtaking photographs, on April 14 at 3:30 pm in the Bendel Mansion (main building). This program is free with gate admission as part of SM&NC’s Family Take A Hike Week, April 13 through 15.
There is no better cure for Spring Fever than Family Take a Hike Week at Stamford Museum & Nature Center! Enjoy three days of fun, hands-on activities April 13 through 15 with your entire family. All activities are free with gate admission, with all hikes beginning at the Overbook building.
The Stamford Museum and Nature Center will kick off the fun on Tuesday, April 13, with the Vernal Pond Ecology Hike at 9:30 am and 11 am with Lindsey DeVito from Greenwich Audubon. The Vernal pond is one of the Museum’s most unique habitats that act as a “nursery of the forest.” In the springtime, it comes alive with frogs, salamanders and many other creatures. This hike will teach you about the vernal pond and about the flora and fauna found at this special place. The Museum's popular Scavenger Hunt begins at 12:30 pm. Have fun testing your riddle solving and orienteering skills while exploring the trails around the Museum. Pick up your first clue at the front gate to start your adventure. At each destination, participants will take part in a hands-on activity before being given a clue to their next destination.
Join SM&NC naturalists on Wednesday, April 14 at 9:30 am or 11 am for the Bugs & Beasts Hike, to learn about some of the coolest small critters that live in the forest. From spiders to slugs and butterflies to beetles, these often overlooked animals are very important to their habitats. Search for insects, invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles that call our woods home. Visit the “Rotten Log Hotel” to see how has checked in, look for animal tracks in the mud, and see who is waking up from their long winter naps.
SM&NC's Ecology Walk begins at 1 pm and 2:30 pm, led by Eric Morgan, Curator of Botany at the Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens. This walk will give hikers a chance to examine the local flora and gain an understanding of the ecological processes occurring each year in our Northern woodlands. At 3:30 pm, local adventure traveler and SM&NC Board member, Jay Vivian will share his stories from abroad in the Bendel Mansion (main building). His talk, Trekking in Nepal: One Man’s Story, will feature photographs and videos from his spring 2009 trek to Nepal, ranging from the mighty Himalayas to the subtropical Chitwan National Park, to the mystical and legendary Kathmandu. His images and commentary will highlight trekking around the spectacular Annapurna massif among local Nepali farmers and herdsmen.
Learn about organic lawn care at the Organic Lawn Care Workshop at 7 pm in the Bendel Mansion (main building). The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) will lead a free workshop for homeowners on the benefits of organic lawn care. The workshop will provide homeowners will the tools and resources needed to practice organic landscape care themselves, or to easily find a landscaper who has the knowledge to maintain lawns and landscapes organically.
On Thursday, April 15, start with an early hike, For The Birds at 7:30 am. This early morning bird walk will help beginner birders learn how to identify many of the common birds found here at SM&NC and in their own backyards! Visit the Museum’s birdfeeder station on the Wheels in the Woods Trial and learn how to attract birds to your own yard using feeders, gardens and natural plants. At 10 am, 11 am or 1 pm, visitors can join world-famous naturalist “Wildman” Steve Brill for the ever-popular Wild Edibles Hike. Learn how to identify often overlooked edible and medicinal wild plants that grow throughout our region. Enjoy generous helpings of science and conservation, a pinch of folklore and mythology, a dash of history, and an all-natural extract of cooking information; all tossed together with his jokes, humor, and anecdotes. Use your senses as your guide for the Five Senses Hike at 2 pm and 3 pm. Museum staff will lead a guided nature hide for beginners along the Museum's woodland trails. Participants will use their sense of smell, sight, hearing, and touch to explore the natural world as they hike around.
Learn about the vernal pond through hands-on activities during SM&NC’s Family Take A Hike Week, April 13 though 15 at Stamford Museum & Nature Center.
Family Take a Hike Week is sponsored by Aquarion Water Company and IBM. It is open to all ages and is free with gate admission: Members, Free; Non-Members: Adults $10, Seniors & Students $8, Children $5, Children 3 & under, Free. For more detailed information on the hikes, visit www.stamfordmuseum.org. Visitors are invited to stay and enjoy the rest of the SM&NC site including Heckscher Farm, a working traditional New England farm with more than 50 animals including cows, goats, llamas, sheep, pigs, as well as Animal Embassy, home to live exotic animals. Stop in the Bendel Mansion Museum Galleries to see the exhibition Gerberich’s Gadgetry: Art That Moves.
Getting there
Stamford Museum & Nature Center is located at 39 Scofieldtown Road, Stamford, CT (3/4 mile North of Merritt Parkway Exit 35.) For more information call 203.322.1646 or visit www.stamfordmuseum.org.
Stamford Museum & Nature Center’s Mission
Stamford Museum & Nature Center is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of art, the natural and agricultural sciences, and history. The Museum is a vital cultural and educational resource for the community, and a focal point for family activity and interaction, seeking to inspire creativity, foster self-discovery, and nurture an appreciation for lifelong learning through exhibitions, educational programs, and special events that enhance the visitor’s experience on its unique site.
