Winter School Break Outdoor Nature Programs: Where Do Animals Go in Winter?
2024-02-19 10:30 - 11:30 (America/New_York) | SOFO
Join SOFO’s Environmental Educators for our Winter School Break Nature Education Programs!
These programs are for children of 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.

Sign Up Here!

Winter School Break Outdoor Nature Programs: Spruce Up Your Tree Knowledge
2024-02-20 10:30 - 11:30 | SOFO

Winter School Break Outdoor Nature Programs: Where Do Bugs Go in Winter?
2024-02-21 10:30 - 11:30 | SOFO

SOFO’s East End Outdoor Nature Education with Crystal at Birch Creek Pond
2024-02-21 13:00 | Flanders
SOFO is offering a monthly program that will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 1 PM for children ages 3 to 7 years and is geared toward 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, February 21, 2024, exploring the trails next to Birch Creek Pond, learning about pond edge plants and the Pine Barrens, and searching for last year’s bird nests, including some stories and simple nature journals.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Education Specialist. Crystal has worked as an environmental educator at SOFO since 2005 and part-time since 2019 after her son Wyatt was born. Crystal and Wyatt look forward to meeting you and learning with you!
There is a $5 per child admission/material fee, participating adult included.

Sign Up Here!

Winter School Break Outdoor Nature Programs: Nature Bingo
2024-02-22 10:30 - 11:30 | SOFO

Winter School Break Outdoor Nature Programs: Birding for Beginners
2024-02-23 10:30 - 11:30 | SOFO

Young Birders Club Meeting
2024-02-24 10:00
Birding is a wonderful way to make new friends, learn about the environment, and get outdoors. Join our Young Birders Club! The Club meets at 10 AM 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 for you to use.
Club Leader: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director
This FREE program is for anyone ages 8-18.
Advanced reservations are required for all events.

Sign Up Here!

SOFO Young Environmentalists Society (YES!) Meeting
2024-02-24 10:00 | SOFO
The mission of SOFO’s Young Environmentalists Society, known as YES!, for ages 10 to 16, is to engage young minds in developing a fuller awareness and understanding of the current state of our environment. The group works together and, through experience-based learning, place-based learning, critical thinking processes, and local activism, develops strategies for individuals and the community that are designed to shape how we live on this planet now and in the future. The Club meets on the last Saturday of each month, from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
Club Leader: Mare Dianora, YES! Director, educator, and the mother of two young sons, is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice involves building community and exploring connections to home and place.
This is a FREE program, thanks to the generosity of a foundation that prefers to remain anonymous, for ages 10 to 16.
The date may change for this program. Please contact SOFO at (631) 537-9735 for info@sofo.org for up-to-the-minute information.

Sign Up Here!

Seal Cruise, co-sponsored with CRESLI
2024-02-24 12:00 - 14:00 | Southampton
This year the Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island (CRESLI) and the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center (SOFO) are co-sponsoring seal cruises.
Join us as a CRESLI scientist leads 2 hour expeditions to view, photograph and gather information about the diversity and distribution of the seals in Shinnecock Bay. You’ll learn about the different species of seals in our waters, as well as the characteristics and behaviors that allow these animals to thrive. You’ll hear about the history of seal exploitation and recovery and see these animals in their natural habitat.
CRESLI Seal Cruises on the RV Peconic around Shinnecock Bay will meet and board 30 minutes before the listed departure time at the dock area.
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+. The cost for the cruise is $40 per person.
Spaces are limited and registration is required. Registrations can be made by visiting cresli.org.

Full "Snow Moon” Hike with Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
2024-02-24 17:30 | SOFO
The Farmer’s Almanac tells us that, since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February’s full moon the Full Snow Moon. Join us on this leisurely paced, one-hour hike through open-field trails behind the South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO) and stay afterward for some light refreshments and convivial conversation. Hikes are limited to 25 participants. To register by email, contact greenbeltnews@aol.com. To contact the hike leader, Jean Dodds, on the day of the hike, call 631-599-2391.
Cosponsored by Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt and South Fork Natural History Museum
Walk Leader: Jean Dodds, Secretary, Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
This free program is for all ages.
Advanced reservations are required for all events.

Seal Walk at Cupsogue Beach County Park
2024-02-25 13:30 | Westhampton
Several species of seals come to visit Long Island during the colder winter months in search of food. The three most common species that visit Long Island at this time of year are harbor seals, gray seals, and harp seals. Join us for a guided walk during low tide and learn more about these mammalian winter visitors and how to safely view them. Limited enrollment.
Program Leader: Ian Robinson, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+.
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.

Sign Up Here!

MUSEUM CLOSED: Outreach Event (1 pm - 4 pm)
2024-02-28 13:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-02 13:00 - 16:00

Origami Animals
2024-03-02 10:30 | SOFO
Learn more about the native animals in SOFO’s backyard, and learn how to create these animals out of origami paper! Open to all origami enthusiasts, regardless of experience. Materials fee: $3.
Program Leader: Erin Hwong, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+.
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.

Sign Up Here!

MUSEUM CLOSED: Maintenance
2024-03-05

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 12 pm)
2024-03-08 10:00 - 12:00

Sea Stars, an Up-Close Observation: The Biology & Adaptations of the Common Sea Star Asterias forbesi with Rob “Rockfish” Gelling
2024-03-09 10:30 - 12:00 | SOFO
Come meet our resident sea stars living in the Touch Tank. Get hands on with them and see how all their external features connect to their internal anatomy. Do sea stars have eyes? How do they move? Are they a predator? Observe the sea star with the unaided eye and a hand lens, making sketches of the aboral (top, dorsal) surface and the oral (bottom, ventral) side. Next, learn how to use a stereoscope to see magnified views of your sea star! Materials fee: $5.
Program Leader: Rob Gelling, SOFO Environmental Educator and Aquarist
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+.
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.

Sign Up Here!

Seal Cruise, co-sponsored with CRESLI
2024-03-09 12:00 - 14:00 | Southampton
This year the Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island (CRESLI) and the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center (SOFO) are co-sponsoring seal cruises.
Join us as a CRESLI scientist leads 2 hour expeditions to view, photograph and gather information about the diversity and distribution of the seals in Shinnecock Bay. You’ll learn about the different species of seals in our waters, as well as the characteristics and behaviors that allow these animals to thrive. You’ll hear about the history of seal exploitation and recovery and see these animals in their natural habitat.
CRESLI Seal Cruises on the RV Peconic around Shinnecock Bay will meet and board 30 minutes before the listed departure time at the dock area.
The cost for the cruise is $40 per person.
Spaces are limited and registration is required. Registrations can be made by visiting cresli.org.

MUSEUM CLOSED: Birthday Party (2 pm - 4 pm)
2024-03-09 14:00 - 16:00

Another Blue-spotted Salamander Search with Andy Sabin
2024-03-09 19:30 | Montauk
Here is another opportunity to join SOFO’s “Salamander Commander” Andy Sabin on an additional nighttime expedition as we search for this unique native salamander species, the Blue-spotted Salamander. Montauk’s vernal ponds are some of the few places in the world where the Blue-spotted Salamander, in its purebred form, can be found. Please bring a flashlight and wear boots, as late winter rains will make the ground soggy. This walk will take place only if there have been heavy rains.
Walk Leader: Andy Sabin, President, South Fork Natural History Museum Board of Directors
This program 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.

Sign Up Here!

DIY Wildflower Seed Packets
2024-03-10 10:30 | SOFO
Join SOFO for spring preparation of clay wildflower packets. In this program, we will learn about some native flowers and their importance for spring success while creating easy planting wildflower packets.
Program Leader: Ian Robinson, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 5+.
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.

Sign Up Here!

Young Birders Club Meeting
2024-03-16 10:00 | SOFO

Andy Sabin’s Annual Spotted Salamander Search
2024-03-16 20:00 | Bridgehampton
On this walk to one of our vernal ponds, we’ll be searching for the Spotted Salamander, one of our four native mole salamanders. This salamander is a beauty, with its shiny black body and bright yellow spots. It, like the Eastern Tiger Salamander and the Blue-spotted Salamander, as well as the early-autumn breeding Marbled Salamander, is called a mole salamander because it spends most of its time underground. Please bring a flashlight and wear boots, as late winter rains will make the ground soggy. This walk will take place only if there have been heavy rains.
Walk Leader: Andy Sabin, President, South Fork Natural History Museum Board of Directors
This program 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.

Sign Up Here!

Nature Journaling Walk at Emma Rose Elliston Park
2024-03-17 10:30 | Southampton
Embark on a sensory journey with our Nature Journaling Walk at Emma Rose Elliston Park in Southampton! Explore the rich biodiversity of the area, sharpen your observation skills, and capture the beauty of nature in your journal while enjoying the serene landscapes of this picturesque park. We recommend wearing rain boots for this hike, as some parts of the trail often get muddy!
Program Leader: Ian Robinson, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program 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.

Sign Up Here!

Family Trivia Night
2024-03-17 19:00 - 21:00 | SOFO
Family Nature Trivia Night events at SOFO will have questions based on our fall calendar programs and fall nature facts based on what’s featured in our museum exhibits. Questions will also include identification of plants, animals, and animal signs. Join us for a fun evening. There will be light refreshments and please bring your own beverage.
Program Leaders: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director, and Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Education Specialist
This FREE program is for all ages.
Advanced reservations are required for all events.

Sign Up Here!

SOFO’s East End Outdoor Nature Education with Crystal at Cupsogue Beach County Park, Westhampton Beach
2024-03-20 13:00 | Westhampton
SOFO is offering a monthly program that will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 1 pm for children ages 3 to 7 years and is geared toward 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 March 20, 2024, at Cupsogue Beach County Park searching for shells, wintering birds and seals with the aid of binoculars and telescopes, learning why some animals spend the winter in the waters around Long Island, including some stories and simple nature journals (wind and weather permitting).
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Education Specialist. Crystal has worked as an environmental educator at SOFO since 2005 and part-time since 2019 after her son Wyatt was born. Crystal and Wyatt look forward to meeting you and learning with you!
There is a $5 per child admission/material fee, participating adult included.

Sign Up Here!

Birding for Beginners Walk in Vineyard Field
2024-03-23 10:00 | 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 jays, black-capped chickadees, starlings, northern mockingbirds, and red-tailed hawks. Listen to the voices and observe the behavior of the birds to help identify them. No prior experience is 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 6+.
Advanced reservations are required for all events.

Sign Up Here!

Carl Safina Book Reading “Alfie and Me: What Owls Know, What Humans Believe,” followed by a Q&A with the author
2024-03-23 15:00 | SOFO
“One can travel the world and go nowhere; one can be stuck keeping the faith at home and discover a new world. Safina’s relationship with an owl made him want to better understand how people have viewed humanity’s relationship with nature across cultures and throughout history. Interwoven with Safina’s keen observations, insight, and reflections, Alfie & Me is a work of profound beauties and magical timing harbored within one upended year.” ─ Alfie & Me
Meet environmentalist and author Carl Safina as he shares excerpts from his book and his insight into understanding humans and nature.
Program Leader: Carl Safina, Author and Environmentalist
This FREE program is for all ages.
Advanced reservations are required for all events.

Sign Up Here!

Free Community Event: Wood Frog & Salamander Search with SOFO
2024-03-23 19:30 | Bridgehampton
Please invite your organization’s friends and families to this special event!
Join SOFO on an adventure into the nighttime woods in search of wood frogs and spotted salamanders. Don’t miss a rare opportunity to see these unique animals as they make their way to the pond to mate and lay their eggs. Please bring a flashlight and wear boots, as late winter rains will make the ground soggy.
Program Leader: Andy Sabin, President, South Fork Natural History Museum Board of Directors
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

Sign Up Here!

Unraveling the Glacial Mysteries of Montauk
2024-03-24 10:30 | Montauk
Believed by many to be Long Island’s most spectacular geological exposure, the “Ditch Plains Section” has been studied by geologists for more than 100 years and is still full of the mysteries of our glacial past. On this walk you’ll follow magnificent trails, down to the ocean, that lead to rare and unusual geologic formations – hoodoos, bizarre, fluted pinnacles of clay, – ice contact deposits, known as Montauk till, the rocks and soil material carried by the glacier and then left behind when it melted, approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.
Walk Leader: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+.
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.

Sign Up Here!
