Annual Earth Day Celebration Open House at SOFO
2025-04-26 | SOFO
Join us for a day full of outdoor nature activities and crafts in celebration of Earth Day! Fun for all ages.
The “Meet the Animal Ambassadors” animal show by Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center will be from 2-3 PM. This show has an associated fee of $5/member and $12/non-member. There is limited space available! To register and secure your spot, please sign up using the link below:

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Birding for Beginners
2025-04-26 10:30, 2025-05-10 10:30 (America/New_York) | 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 Leader: Cindy Lenkiewicz and Dave Polek, SOFO Docents
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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SOFO’s Young Environmentalists Society (YES!) Presents: Ivohiboro, the Lost Forest (Madagascar)
2025-04-26 11:00 - 13:00 | Sag Harbor
Join SOFO for a documentary film screening and Q&A with Stony Brook University Department of Anthropology Scientists at Sag Harbor Cinema. Cinema refreshments will be available for purchase.
Co-sponsored by SOFO, Stony Brook University and Sag Harbor Cinema.
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Birding with Joe Giunta─Spring Migration at Promised Land
2025-04-27 08:00 | Amagansett
Join Joe, an expert birder, international birding-tour leader, and delightful teacher on this very popular walk to see birds such as woodpeckers, nuthatches, titmice, chickadees, and bluebirds.
Walk Leader: Joe Giunta, birding instructor for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, trip leader for New York City Audubon and lecturer for many local chapters, and owner of Happy Warblers LLC, a birding and educational travel company.
This program is for adults.
For non-members, there is a $15 fee for adults 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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“Meet the Frogs” Story Time with Crystal
2025-04-27 10:30, 2025-04-27 13:30 | SOFO
Did you know that not only can you find frogs in ponds but there are also tree frogs on Long Island too? Join us for some fun stories to learn about our hoppy, slippery froggy neighbors and get an up-close look at some of SOFO’s resident frogs.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Education Specialist
This program is for children ages 3-7.
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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MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group
2025-04-28, 2025-05-22

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 1 pm)
2025-04-29 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-05-06 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-05-14 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-05-19 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-05-20 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-05-21 10:00 - 13:00

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 2 pm)
2025-05-01 10:00 - 14:00

Walking Dunes Geology & Maritime Botany Walk
2025-05-03 10:00 - 11:30 | Montauk
Join Rob “Rockfish” Gelling on a hike through a most unique and spectacular ecosystem, The Walking Dunes of Montauk. Learn the fascinating story of their geologic formation and identify the maritime plants that thrive on their dry dune crests and those that grow in the wetland bog swale in between. We will look carefully for carnivorous plants like the sundew and a delicate Grass Pink orchid!
Walk Leader: Rob “Rockfish” Gelling, SOFO Marine Adventure Summer Program Director
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.

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Creating Bird Habitats ─ A Gardening and Bird Walk with SOFO and NFAS
2025-05-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Greenport
Creating a habitat that is attractive to birds is something that can be done in a nature preserve or in your own backyard. Removing invasive plants and planting native pollinator plants and cover vegetation will attract birds by providing food and shelter for nesting. Join North Fork Audubon Society (NFAS) and SOFO for a short talk about planting native species for birds followed by a walk at Inlet Pond Preserve and notice the native grasses, pollinators, trees and shrubs while we see what the birds are doing.
Co-sponsored with North Fork Audubon Society (NFAS)
Gardening Talk: Ellen Birenbaum, NFAS Board Member
Walk Leaders: Peggy Lauber, NFAS President, and Melanie Meade, SOFO Education Director
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.
Photo: Hermit Thrush by J. Jensen

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Coastal Creations ─ Beach Combing and Fine-Line Shell Art
2025-05-03 11:00 | Westhampton
Join Environmental Educator Victoria Panuccio at Westhampton Beach for a peaceful 2 hour workshop of beach combing, fine-line shell painting, and learning about the role your shell plays in the ecosystem. Transform your pained shells into jewelry dishes, decor, ornaments, gifts, and more!
Program Leader: Victoria Panucci, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program is for adults and older teens ages 16+.
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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What Goes Buzz in the Night?
2025-05-03 19:00 - 20:30 | SOFO
Join SOFO educator Moe Kennedy and find out what goes “buzz” in the night. 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! This method of mothing or light-sheeting is an activity used by scientists studying nighttime insects to catch and identify local species.
Program Leader: Moe Kennedy, 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.

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Family Gardening Fun
2025-05-04 11:00 | SOFO
Come create a seed ball using a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds that are native to Long Island. Bring your creation home, throw your seed ball in your yard, and watch your native flowers bloom!

Program Leader: Sydney Mantione, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program is for families.
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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Pop Up Pond Workshop
2025-05-04 13:30 - 16:00 | SOFO
When we stand at the edge of a pond, we tend to notice the larger animals like frogs, turtles, and birds. But why do those animals choose to live at or visit the pond? We would need to get in the water to see the multitude of smaller animals that keep a pond healthy, but mud would be easily stirred up by a diver or ROV.
Join Crystal after she has collected pond water in a variety of containers, with plenty of time for mud to settle and creatures to start moving and help collect and identify the secret life in the pond with a variety of magnifiers and microscopes. This pop-up exhibit will be held the first Sunday of the month, April through September, so stop by to see how pond life changes through spring and summer!
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Education Specialist
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: Maintenance Day
2025-05-07

Memorial Nature Walk for Naturalist and SOFO Founder Larry Penny
2025-05-10 09:00 | SOFO
Larry Penny spent many years guiding children and adults in exploring and understanding our natural world. He was one of the original founders of the South Fork Natural History Society in 1989 and a noted East End naturalist and educator; his weekly column “Nature Notes” was featured in the East Hampton Star for many years. He served as East Hampton Town Natural Resources Director for 28 years.
Join us, and experience nature for yourself, in his memory. Light refreshments will be available.
“He was a very good naturalist; I really admired him for his work, his writing, and his dedication to stopping development” ─ Andy Sabin, SOFO Board of Directors President
Walk Leader: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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East End Environment Series: Eastern Tiger Salamander Tracking Research Update
2025-05-10 16:00 - 17:00 | SOFO
This is the fourth lecture of our East End Environment Series!
Join SOFO for light refreshments and a presentation with SOFO’s Reptile & Amphibian Specialist Jake Kushner about SOFO’s Eastern tiger salamander tracking study. Over the past spring/summer, Jake has been tracking Eastern tiger salamanders in the Long Pond Greenbelt using radio telemetry. This presentation will include a quick introduction to and demonstration of this important tracking technique, followed by an update about the data collected thus far.
Presenter: Jake Kushner, SOFO Reptile & Amphibian Specialist
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+.

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Spring Beach Walk
2025-05-11 11:00 | Hampton Bays
Join SOFO on a beachside walk in the spring! Learn about the things we find regularly on our shores and are a mystery to you. Spring brings many migratory birds and other animals to our beaches, let’s see what we can find.
Walk Leader: Rebecca Rogers, 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.

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Young Birders Club Meeting
2025-05-17 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.

Young Birders Club Leader: Aidan Perkins
This FREE program is for ages 8-18. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (1 pm - 4 pm)
2025-05-17 13:00 - 16:00

MUSEUM CLOSED: Birthday Party (2 pm- 4 pm)
2025-05-18 14:00 - 16:00

Spring Migration - Birding at Hither Hills with Wayne Whitmore
2025-05-24 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. Limited enrollment.
Program Leader: Wayne Whitmore, SOFO Board Trustee
This program is for adults and teens ages 16+.
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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