News From the Museum
By Lillian Willis, Executive DirectorSpring has sprung, and new life is blossoming at the Museum, literally! Director of Education Betsy Bennett Stacey has returned from maternity leave, so visitors occasionally may glimpse charming Mackenzie Claire Stacey, born on February 7, 2009. Other recent new additions involve exhibits, programs, and the building itself.
Exhibits. A most appropriate stone sculpture arrived (see Catamount article), and plans call for a mystery specimen to be unveiled at the Museum’s Birthday Party on May 23. Meanwhile we are negotiating with artists and collectors to have a new artistic exhibit and/or collection every month or two. These exhibits will complement our permanent collections, seasonal displays, and featured programs. For instance, fishing season opened in April, so we have insect, amphibian, and fish exhibits on display. Rotating every two weeks now through fall, there also will be one or more live amphibians or reptiles visiting the Museum. Starting in May, courtesy of Dick Warren, honey bees once again will be visible in an enclosed hive on the second floor. An article on those insects, vital to farming and sustainable agriculture, is in this newsletter.
Programs. Starting in May a new monthly series of guided hikes for women will take place, in different locations in Vermont and New Hampshire and with different leaders, on the second Tuesday of each month from 9:30-11 AM. If men wish such a hike, let us know. We also are aiming for one weekend hike a month for families and individuals. We welcome your suggestions for locations and leaders.
Our renowned summer Nature Journaling/Writing Institutes for educators will continue again this year. Interested teachers may go online to get information or call Betsy Stacey. And because it isn’t just through writing that people interpret and learn from nature, the Museum is offering free to visitors sketching pads and pencils that they may use in the Museum or gardens and then return to the desk. Our birds hold still enough for people of all ages to draw and compare them! Other still-life wildlife may be brought from our archives upon advance request.
Creations inspired by nature will continue with the Museum’s hosting of the first Fairy House Tour to be held in Vermont! Watch for more information about the tour on September 26 and 27, when participants can meet Fairy House books author Tracy Kane.
Building. We’ve brought benches into the Museum to make people comfortable when discussing a diorama or exhibit, and are working on securing some seating created out of Vermont wood by a Vermont woodworker. We’re making changes to the Museum’s exhibits, entrance area, and to the Second Nature Shop, which has new merchandise for sale and now has items and books sorted by topic.
New Mission Statement. The Museum’s 2009 Mission reflects its work in hands-on, place-based environmental education for people of all ages through its school, library, and public programs; hikes; workshops; teacher and volunteer training sessions; and exhibits at the Museum and at the Fish Ladder facility on the Connecticut River in Bellows Falls.
The Nature Museum is a regional resource for nature, science, and environmental education in the Vermont and New Hampshire communities of the Connecticut River Valley. The Museum provides information and experiences which engage and enlighten its audiences and inspire stewardship of the natural world.
Come visit often. Hope to see you at the Museum’s Birthday Party on May 23, if not before!
