• printer for a Mac-OSX 10.3.9
• desk lamp and floor lamp
• picnic table & attached benches
• metal shelving
• portable DVD player
• regular DVD player
• single-cup electric brewing machine for tea and coffee for volunteers
• modern office desk that holds hanging files in one or more drawers and has pull-out shelf  on the left

Special Request for February Program Operation Take-Apart

Naming Opportunities

"Cool, perfectly awesome, amazing, magical, the best, so much fun, fantastic, wonder-full, a feast for the eye and soul, inspiring..."

"We loved it! Congratulations on a fabulous first. We look forward to next year. Great job."

"Ages 16, 7, and 3 all had a blast! Arrived early, 10:30 and left late, 4:30."

"We have looked forward to this for a month. The houses were terrific and we loved the story time, too. Thank you for a great outdoor event."

Before September 26 and 27, 2009, some were not true believers; they hadn't experienced fairy houses before. They didn't know that the building of them would inspire children to read, talk to their grandparents, go outside and look closely at nature, use their imagination, cooperate, play happily for hours, interact with their parents and siblings, and create astonishing engineering and artistic feats from free natural materials found around them. Disbelief has been dispelled. Anyone who was involved understands the great, good power of fairy houses. In educator terms, they support the No Child Left Inside movement to combat nature-deficit disorder, promote interest in science and place-based education through close nature observation, and create hands-on involvement that fosters literacy and artistic expression.

Fairy houses are special little places in the garden, field, and woods that can entice wee folk. They are personal structures that may be inspired by fairy tales, books, movies, school, jobs, or hobbies. Surely no fairy house builder or observer will ever look at nature in the same way again. A hole in a tree, a group of roots, a bend in a branch...all are future fairy houses brimming with possibilities, waiting for someone to do something simple and magical.

On the last weekend of September 2009 visitors of all ages came to the Museum to see more than 30 structures along a trail at the Village Park. Then they crossed a field awaft with magical bubbles to hear author Tracy Kane read from some of her fairy books, and to build their own fairy houses from myriad natural materials gathered in advance for them. The delight of families enjoying the museum and building houses in the garden was palpable. One little girl at the end of the tour was in tears. Her mother anxiously asked, "What's wrong?" She sobbed, "I don't want it to end." Tears turned to squeals of joy when told she could build her own fairy house in the garden!

Credit for the success of the first-ever Fairy Houses Tour in Vermont goes to Co-Chairs Sue Nostrand and Kathleen Willis of Chester; to our extraordinary volunteers; to all of our enthusiastic and talented exhibitors; and to event sponsors Cota & Cota, VTel, Salmon and Nostrand Attorneys at Law, Anne and Tom Grape, and Snow & Lear/Newton Business. Special thanks go to the Windham Foundation and its grounds crew for parking and other facilities help, to The Old Tavern at Grafton for hotel accommodations for Tracy and Barry Kane, and to NewsBank in Chester for printing the colorful event posters and program.

Although the newsletter could not do justice to all the marvelous constructions that were created, your can see here a sampling of those that were exhibited or created on the spot. More photos and information coming soon.

Then please mark your calendars for September 25 and 26, 2010, for the next Fairy Houses Tour. Author Tracy Kane has already reserved the date and said about our first tour, "You had some fabulous fairy architects!"

Let us know if you would like to be involved either as an exhibitor or as a volunteer by contacting Lillian Willis at the Museum at 802-843-2111. We want more people to enjoy this back-to-nature hands-on experience. We urge you to be a part of our next remarkable adventure and to help us spread the word about it to others.

Your support goes directly towards:

• Engaging both frequent and new visitors with our interactive exhibits
• Developing and implementing high quality, affordable school programs and
• Providing public programs that engage a diverse section of our regional communities in the natural world.

For a Museum and staff of our size, we offer a tremendous amount to our region and we still have more we can do.

Over the past year, we have implemented new ideas such as a teacher training series, leading discussion groups in sustainable living, acquiring new collections, and expanding our summer camp offerings.

We have also continued adding touches to our standard offerings by rotating exhibits, revamping and adding new school program offerings, and offering a wide range of public programs that meet the interests of learners of all ages.

Please make a gift to the Museum today and join us as we carry our mission forward of fostering respect, understanding, and delight in the natural world.

Help Support the Museum and our great Educational Programs and Camps- Donate online securely at JustGive.org

For more information on contributing to The Nature Museum or to discuss options, please contact:

Lillian Willis
Executive Director
#802-843-2111
LillianWillis@nature-museum.org

All donations are tax deductible as allowed by the law.

These offerings help the Museum support its ambitious Mission statement, created in 2009.

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.

Through our varied educational programming and our ever-evolving exhibit spaces, in 2009 the Museum served the greater community with over 425 Education Programs for teachers, schools, libraries, and the public. The Museum building and its satellite facility at the Fish Ladder Watershed Visitor Center in Bellows Falls hosted over 2,500 people, and the Museum served over 11,600 people all together.

Please help Support the Museum and our great Educational Programs and Camps by donating today!

Volunteers are very important to us at the Nature Museum. They broaden the Museum's capabilities and resources while helping us to keep costs down.

Would you like to welcome visitors, lead a hike, assist in keeping the animals or be our photographer? These are just a few of the great opportunities there are to help out at the Nature Museum. Download this PDF to read about descriptions of current volunteer opportunities.

If you are interested in volunteering please use this form: Volunteer Application Form

We also urge you to let us know if you have special skills you'd like to share or ideas for special projects or programs you think would benefit the Museum and the communities it serves. To discuss these and other volunteer opportunities, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Lynn Morgan at 802-843-2111 or staff@nature-museum.org.

Young people can volunteer too!

You don't have to be an adult to volunteer for The Nature Museum! If you like nature and science or like to interpret animals or plants through art, you should consider volunteering. There are lots of different ways to introduce people to nature and help them enjoy the outdoors and learn from the exhibits. Some of the ways, but not all of them, are listed on the Volunteer Opportunities Form, which also gives a brief description of each of the basic positions.

Look especially at descriptions of the positions listed below:

• Docent: 19 to adult
• Office Assistant: 16 to adult
• PR (Public Relations) Assistant: 16 to adult
• Magazine Resource Manager: 15 to adult, or younger with supervision
• Photographer: 16 to adult
• Historian: 15 to adult
• Trail Adopter: family
• Program Assistant: 16 to adult
• Camp Assistant: 15 to adult
• Assistant Animal Keeper: 15 to adult

We also have special opportunities for different ages at workdays and special events, such as the Pale Blue Dot on May 28 and 29, and the Fairy House Tour on September 25 and 26, 2010.

If you would like to volunteer, please complete the Volunteer Application Form and mail it to the Museum so we know a little more about you and can try to find the perfect spot for you.

If you would like to assist at an event, are serious about participating but younger than the beginning ages listed, or have another idea of how you can help the Museum, please call the Museum at 802-843-2111. Any staff person would be happy to speak with you about the possibilities and to figure out a job that would both help the Museum and fit your interests and schedule

We hope to hear from you.

The donations from our Annual Fund supporters help to cover insurance, electricity, and other operating costs, as well as some of the costs of programs and exhibits. These supporters are essential to the success of the Museum. Below are donors as of March 1, 2011.

Becoming a member provides you with many great benefits. Please bring your membership card with you to show your support and current membership status, and to make it easy for you to take advantage of your special discounts.

• Admission to the Museum. Free all year long
• Programs. NEW! Starting in 2010, members may participate in all Museum programs (except fundraising events, camps, and programs for which there is an additional cost to the Museum) at no charge.
• Updates. Through our website¹s Calendar of Events or via email notice (if you send us your email address), you can discover upcoming events, additional last-minute programs, or other items of interest.
• Information. Environmental and natural history articles appear in most Museum newsletters and on the website.
• Discounts. 10% on gifts bought at our Second Nature Shop.
• Admission Discounts. Through the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance, Museum members may enjoy admission discounts at 185 museums, galleries, and historical societies in and around Vermont if they show their Nature Museum membership card. Check with Museum staff or at the front desk for a list of those other cooperating institutions.

Joining the Museum also supports exciting programs for school children, and helps spread appreciation for the glories of nature. 

Please download our application for membership form.

Yearly membership fees:

• Senior/Student - $20
• Individual - $25
• Family - $50
• Supporting - $75
• Sustaining - $100
• Patron - $250

The Museum offers different learning opportunities for a variety of ages both at the building itself and throughout surrounding communities in Vermont and New Hampshire all year long. Membership provides the best way to take advantage of those offerings, so we urge you to join and participate.

If you have other ideas, we are happy to hear about them. Please contact us at 802-843-2111 or email staff@nature-museum.org so we can set up a meeting.

Most of our internships are designed for graduate level or undergraduate level college students, but we are happy to work with other ages if appropriate projects are available.

The Nature Museum at Grafton opens the door to New England's natural world for all ages to explore, touch, and learn. Using a combination of our museum exhibits, hands-on activities, and outdoor spaces, we strive to bring rich experiences to our visitors.

Education Internships

Design & Implement Programs for Early Education

Internship Description: The Museum has a strong commitment to leading and developing early education programs and services to meet the special needs of younger learners. We currently develop and lead education programs in preschools and host preschool-age nature series for preschoolers and their families at the Museum.

Join our education team and teach environmental education concepts to preschoolers and their families.

The intern will be responsible for designing and leading two preschool age series of museum-based programs for preschoolers and their parent/caregiver or designing one series and one school-based program. Be involved in all aspects of developing, designing, and leading the programs. This internship can be designed to be either a 150- or 300-hour internship.

Qualifcations: We are looking for an individual who would like to gain experience in working with preschoolers. An individual should have interest in family programming. A background in environmental education is a plus.

Design & Implement After-School & Vacation Programs

Internship Description: Join our education team and teach environmental education concepts in an after-school and vacation-camp setting. The intern will be responsible for designing and leading two (plus) school vacation camps as well as design and lead a museum-based after-school series for elementary youth. The combination of responsibilities is flexible depending on an intern's interest and the length of the internship.

Qualifications: We are looking for an individual who would like to gain design and teaching experience with elementary youth. A background in environmental education is a plus, but not necessary.

Exhibit and Natural History Internships

Natural History Exhibit Design

Internship Description: We are seeking an intern to help design and implement exhibits and to help with the general maintenance of the museum's current exhibits. This internship would provide a great introduction to museum exhibit design; possibly including such elements as exhibit label writing, creating a theme within a display, and the implementation of your design. We are somewhat flexible depending on your knowledge and interest base. Together we will come up with a specific project that can be done in the 150-hour practicum time limit. Currently we have a Vermont Bird Exhibit, a Bones Exhibit and a local geology exhibit where we need help.

Natural History Museum Curation

Internship Description: We are seeking an intern to help curate the museum's biological and/or geological collections. This internship would provide a great introduction to museum collections in general. You will learn about the work that is necessary in caring for natural history collections; including the identification, cataloguing, and conservation of specimens.

Grafton Village Park Botanical Inventory

Internship Description: The Nature Museum manages The Grafton Village Park which is a 40-acre wooded area with trail access that is close to the museum. We are seeking an intern to help to complete a botanical inventory of the area. We are especially interested in the trees, ferns, and wildflowers, and invasive species, but all identifications would be helpful.

General Internships

Grant Researcher

Internship Description: Working with our Director, conduct research into private, corporate, and federal grants. This practicum would involve researching grants that the Museum would be eligible for and documenting background information on the granting organizations and the specific grant requirements. The practicum would also produce a timeline of when various grants are due.

Qualifications: We are looking for an organized individual who would like to gain experience in grant research.