MUSEUM CLOSED: Private Event
2026-05-24

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 2 pm)
2026-05-26 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-05-28 10:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)

Joint Bird Walk with NFAS - Mashomack Preserve, Shelter Island
2026-05-29 08:00 - 10:45 | Shelter Island
Frank Quevedo, Executive Director of SOFO, and Aidan Perkins, SOFO naturalist and Suffolk County “Big Year” record holder, will team up with North Fork Audubon Society (NFAS) to travel to Shelter Island and explore the Mashomack Preserve.
Co-sponsored with the North Fork Audubon Society
Walk leaders: Frank Quevedo and Aidan Perkins, SOFO
Photo: Great Blue Heron by J. Jensen

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MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 1 pm)
2026-05-29 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-01 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-02 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-04 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-09 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-10 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-11 10:00 - 13:00, 2026-06-12 10:00 - 13:00 and 1 more date

Spring Migration – Birding at Hither Hills State Park Trail with Wayne Whitmore
2026-05-30 08:00 | Montauk
Montauk is a migration trap for migratory birds. Join Wayne, SOFO Board Trustee, on this leisurely paced bird walk in search of spring migrants and breeding warblers. Wayne will lead you on the access roads and nature trails in Hither Hills searching for the many birds that utilize this habitat. Some species likely to be observed are blue-winged warbler, American redstart, prairie warbler, yellow warbler, ovenbird, and many others. Please bring binoculars.
Walk Leader: Wayne Whitmore, SOFO Board Trustee
For non-members, there is a $5 fee per person for this program. Members are free. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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What Goes Buzz in the Night?
2026-05-30 21:00 | SOFO
Mothing or light-sheeting is an activity used by scientists studying nighttime insects to catch and identify local species. By setting up a light trap, a large light directed at a white sheet, we’ll be able to see which moths (and more!) are flying about our dark skies! Join SOFO educator Moe Kennedy and find out what goes “buzz” in the night.
Program Leader: Moe Kennedy, SOFO Environmental Educator
For non-members, there is a $5 fee per person for this program. Members are free. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Story Time: Fantastic Flowers
2026-05-31 10:30, 2026-05-31 13:30 | SOFO
A common saying goes ”April showers bring May flowers.” Flowers add lots of color to our spring and summer, and bring many people enjoyment, but what is a flower for and what is it made of? Join us for some fun stories before we see what is flowering in SOFO’s pollinator gardens and learn how the different flower parts help the plant and animals.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Outdoor Education Specialist
This program is FREE for families, with Museum Admission.

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Full Blue Moon Hike
2026-05-31 21:00 - 22:00 | SOFO
Join Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt and South Fork Natural History Society on a leisurely-paced hike through open-field trails. Whenever two full Moons appear in a single month, the second is christened a “Blue Moon.” Due to our calendar days, the appearance of a Blue Moon is actually a relatively rare occurrence, as one rises on average only once every 2 1/2 to 3 years.
Co-sponsored by Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt & SOFO.
Meet at the SOFO Museum parking lot, 377 Bridgehampton Turnpike, 200 yards north of the RR tracks. To register, email: info@longpondgreenbelt.org.
Hike Leader: Jean McDermott, 631-599-2391.

MUSEUM CLOSED: Maintenance
2026-06-03

MUSEUM CLOSED: BioBlitz
2026-06-07
The museum exhibits will be closed all day for the BioBlitz. Please join us outside for this Citizen Science Survey!

“BioBlitz”─Surveying the Life of Vineyard Field
2026-06-07 10:00 - 14:00 | SOFO
A BioBlitz is a snapshot in time of a community of living things. It can be as long as 24 hours or for just a few hours. When making this type of scientific survey, scientists and volunteers work together to identify as many species of plants, animals, fungi, and other organisms as possible in a specific location. These events combine citizen science with ecological monitoring to document local biodiversity. SOFO has been doing a BioBlitz in Vineyard Field for a few years now so join us and help track ecological changes to this habitat.
Please note: the museum exhibits will be closed all day for the BioBlitz.
Program Leaders: SOFO Environmental Educators
This FREE Citizen Science event is for adults & children ages 8 and up. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Celebrate National Dragonfly Day
2026-06-13 10:00 - 13:00 | SOFO
Join Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, the Children’s Museum of the East End, and SOFO in celebrating the wonderful world of dragonflies and damselflies. Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni will present the Dragonfly Day proclamation at 10:30am, SOFO’s Moe Kennedy will present a dragonfly slide show at 11:00am, followed by a guided dragonfly search in the field behind the museum. Enjoy children’s crafts and refreshments, and make it a fun day for everyone!
Co-sponsored with Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt (FLPG), The Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE), and SOFO.
This FREE rain or shine outdoor event is for all ages. Museum Non-Member Admission: $7 children, $10 adults

Birding for Beginners−When Dragonflies Are Around, So Are the Birds!
2026-06-13 10:30 | SOFO
Explore Birding as a new hobby: Take a walk with volunteer docents Cindy & Dave in the Vineyard Field behind the Museum and learn how to identify the birds that we might find, including blue jay, black-capped chickadee, starling, northern mockingbird and red-tailed hawk. Listen to the voices and observe the behavior of the birds to help identify them. No prior experience required. Bring binoculars if you have them.
Program Leaders: Cindy Lenkiewicz and Dave Polek, SOFO Docents
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10 and up. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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East End Environment Series: Carnivorous Plants and Their Habitats
2026-06-13 15:00 - 16:00 | SOFO
Join SOFO for light refreshments and a presentation with Matthew Kaelin, author and carnivorous plant ecologist.
Across the world, there are over 580 species within 16 genera of carnivorous plants. On Long Island, we have 3 species of sundews (Drosera), 12 species of bladderworts (Utricularia), and 1 species of the American pitcher plants (Sarracenia).
Please join us for an engaging and educational presentation that will delve into the carnivorous plants of Long Island, with vivid photography to provide a look into the habitats where they live, identifying features of the different species we have here, and examples of other curious flora and fauna that could be found among them as well.
The talk will be followed by a discussion session for questions, and then the option to visit the nearby Long Pond Greenbelt for a guided tour around one of its coastal plain ponds, where attendees will be able to observe carnivorous sundews and bladderworts in their natural habitat.
Matthew M. Kaelin is the author of The Sinister Beauty of Carnivorous Plants. He is an accomplished cultivator of carnivorous plants, having registered two Nepenthes cultivars, and has over two decades of experience. Beginning in early 2012, he also engaged in a continuous, comprehensive evaluation of the habitats of native carnivorous plants of Long Island, NY, where he is credited for discovering populations of the Sundew hybrid, Drosera rotundifolia x intermedia, which were the first recorded observations of these plants in New York State.
Optional Carnivorous Plant Walk, 4:30-5:30 PM
Carnivorous Plant Walk at Crooked Pond for adults & children ages 10 and up
This FREE program is for adults. Advanced reservations are required for all events.
Presenter: Matthew Kaelin, author and carnivorous plant ecologist

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Carnivorous Plant Walk at Crooked Pond
2026-06-13 16:30 - 17:30 | Bridgehampton
Across the world, there are over 580 species within 16 genera of carnivorous plants. On Long Island, we have 3 species of sundews (Drosera), 12 species of bladderworts (Utricularia), and 1 species of the American pitcher plants (Sarracenia). After an engaging and educational presentation that will delve into the carnivorous plants of Long Island, please join us for a guided tour around one of the Long Pond Greenbelt’s coastal plain ponds. Attendees will be able to observe carnivorous sundews and bladderworts in their natural habitat.
This FREE program is for adults. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Birds of the Meadow and Woods−Eric Salzman Memorial Bird Walk
2026-06-14 08:00 | SOFO
For many years, the late Eric Salzman, a SOFO board member of long-standing, led this walk to explore the avian life of the meadow behind the South Fork Natural History Museum and the adjacent Greenbelt woodlands and wetlands. With his keen musical ear, Eric was adept at identifying birds simply by their songs and calls. We hold this annual walk in his memory and cosponsor it with the Eastern Long Island Audubon Society, an organization in which he was very active.
Co-sponsored with Eastern Long Island Audubon Society (ELIAS)
Walk Leader: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director, and Byron Young, President, ELIAS
This FREE program is for adults and teens. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Discovery Nature Walk
2026-06-14 11:00 | SOFO
Come join us at SOFO for a nature walk around the trails where we will discover the creatures who may be hiding in our backyard!
Walk Leader: Sydney Mantione, SOFO Environmental Educator
This family walk is for all ages.
For non-members, there is a $15 fee for adults and a $10 fee for children for this program. This program fee will also provide non-members with free admission to the museum on a day of their choice. Members are free. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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East End Outdoor Nature Education at Orient Point State Park
2026-06-17 13:00 - 15:00 | Orient
SOFO is offering a monthly program which will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 1 pm geared towards homeschooling families. Programs will have a variety of activities to strengthen language development, literacy, math, and science and will take place at various locations on Eastern Long Island.
We will continue our adventures on Wednesday, June 17 at Orient State Park in Orient, exploring the beach wrack line for shells and treasures and using a seine net and dip nets to meet our marine neighbors. We will enjoy some fun stories, simple nature journals, beginner graphing and worksheets to take home.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes has worked as an environmental educator at SOFO since 2005 and part-time since 2019 after her son Wyatt was born. “Wyatt and I look forward to meeting you and learning with you!”
There is a $10/child material fee (participating adult included) for this program. This program fee will also provide non-members with free admission to the museum on a day of their choice. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Young Birders Club Meeting
2026-06-20 10:00
Birding is a great way to make new friends, learn about the environment, and get outdoors. Join our Young Birders Club! The Club meets at 10AM on the third Saturday of every month and is open to anyone ages 8 to 18 who is interested in learning about birds. Since Long Island has many great habitats that are home to a wide variety of species, we concentrate on birding in local areas. Please bring binoculars if you have them (we will have a few pairs to lend) and a field guide to birds of the eastern United States. If you don’t have a field guide, we’ll have one here for you to use.
Club Leader: Aidan Perkins, Wildlife Biologist
This FREE program is for children and adults ages 8-18. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Celebrate Pollinator Week! Insect Encounter at SOFO's Pollinator Garden
2026-06-20 11:00 | SOFO
Join SOFO educator Moe Kennedy for a brief presentation about some of our favorite outdoor neighbors, followed by an exploration of our pollinator garden and the field behind the museum. Learn to identify some of your favorite critters including birds, butterflies and beetles, plus some less popular (but just as important!) pollinators like wasps, ants, and even mosquitoes!
Program Leader: Moe Kennedy, SOFO Environmental Educator
This hands-on program is for adults & children ages 5 and up.
For non-members, there is a $15 fee for adults and a $10 fee for children for this program. This program fee will also provide non-members with free admission to the museum on a day of their choice. Members are free. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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