Pop-up Pond Life Exhibit
2024-05-05 13:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | SOFO
The ponds in Vineyard Field are an important habitat for turtles, frogs, birds, and especially the Eastern Tiger Salamander, but not without the tiny life found in the water and in the mud. We will have tanks, trays, magnifiers, and microscopes set out on tables on our bottom deck to help us all discover the secret life in our ponds. Join us the first Sunday of the month April through October.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Specialist
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: Maintenance
2024-05-07, 2024-06-04

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 1 pm)
2024-05-09 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-05-21 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-05-22 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-05-28 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-05-29 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-05-30 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-05-31 10:00 - 13:00

Wild Long Island with The Fish Guy
2024-05-11 10:30 | SOFO
Learn about the fascinating wildlife that can be found in the air, land and sea around Long Island.
Program Leader: Christopher Paparo, Fish Guy Photos.
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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Deep Dive into the Magic of SCUBA
2024-05-11 14:00 | SOFO
How do SCUBA divers stay safe underwater? How do fish survive the pressure down deep in the sea? Learn about water pressure and how divers and sea creatures can survive underwater without getting squished.
Program Leader: Rebecca Holloway, 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.

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Make a Shell Windchime
2024-05-12 10:30 | SOFO
The shoreside habitats of Long Island support a diverse population of mollusks, animals with hard shells. From clams to snails their shells decorate the wrack line left behind by every high tide. Join SOFO and upcycle our shores into wonderful shell wind chimes while learning about our coastal sea life.
Program Leader: Ian Robinson, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program is for children ages 3-7.
For non-members, there is 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 and Outreach Event
2024-05-14

SOFO’s East End Outdoor Nature Education with Crystal at Sweezy Pond Preserve’s Cranberry Bog, Riverhead
2024-05-17 13:00 - 15:00 | Riverhead
*Please Note: This program has been postponed to Friday, 5/17 at 1 pm due to wet weather in the forecast for Wednesday, 5/15*
SOFO is offering a monthly program which will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month and following Saturday 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 May 15, 2024, exploring Cranberry Bog Nature Preserve trail around Sweezy Pond. We will focus on common wetland plants and animals, hopefully finding some turtles or nesting signs, and some stories, simple nature journals, 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!
This program is for children ages 3-7.

There is a $10 per child admission/material fee, which includes a participating adult. 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
2024-05-18 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 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 here for you to use.
Club Leader: Frank Quevedo, Executive Director, SOFO
This FREE program is for ages 8-18. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Birding for Beginners Walk in Vineyard Field
2024-05-18 10:00 - 11:00 | 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 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+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Celebrate Love a Tree Day─Go on a Tree ID Walk
2024-05-18 13:00 | SOFO
Learn how to identify our native trees in Vineyard Field behind SOFO. We’ll go over how to use a dichotomous key during this leisurely walk. Bring a tree field guide if you have one.
Program Leader: Erin Hwong, 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.

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SOFO’s East End Outdoor Nature Education with Crystal at Sweezy Pond Preserve’s Cranberry Bog, Riverhead
2024-05-18 13:00 - 15:00 | Riverhead
SOFO is offering a monthly program which will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month and following Saturday 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 Saturday May 18, 2024, exploring Cranberry Bog Nature Preserve trail around Sweezy Pond. We will focus on common wetland plants and animals, hopefully finding some turtles or nesting signs, and some stories, simple nature journals, and worksheets to take home.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, the program leader, 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!
This program is for children ages 3-7.
There is a $10 per child admission/material fee, which includes a participating adult. 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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Full "Flower Moon" Hike with Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
2024-05-23 20:30 | SOFO
Join Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt and South Fork Natural History Society on a leisurely-paced hike through open-field trails. In most areas, flowers are abundant everywhere during this time. Thus, the name of this Moon. Other names include the Full Corn Planting Moon, or the Milk Moon. Meet at the SOFO Museum parking lot, 377 Bridgehampton Turnpike, 200 yards north of the RR tracks. Hikes are limited to 25 participants. To register by email, contact greenbeltnews@aol.com.
Co-sponsored by SOFO and Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt.
Walk Leader: Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt, 631-599-2391.
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Joint Bird Walk with SOFO and North Fork Audubon Society
2024-05-24 08:00 - 10:45 | Shelter Island
Frank Quevedo, Executive Director of SOFO, will team up with North Fork Audubon Society (NFAS) to travel to Shelter Island and explore the Mashomack Preserve. Bring a snack and water.
Co-sponsored by SOFO and NFAS
Program Leader: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.
Photo: Piping Plover by J. Jensen

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Spring Migration - Birding at Hither Hills with Wayne Whitmore
2024-05-25 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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Black Racer Snake Search with Andy Sabin
2024-05-25 09:30 | SOFO
Andy Sabin, known to us as the “Salamander Commander,” is equally as interested in snakes as he is in salamanders. In fact, Andy is fascinated by all kinds of reptiles and amphibians, so he is just the right person to lead us on a search for the Northern black racer snake (Coluber constrictor). What’s more, we’re in luck— the field behind SOFO, known as Vineyard Field, is the perfect habitat for this very active, diurnal (it comes out during the day) reptile. To ensure we can find them, we’ve put boards out in the field which these snakes like to hide under. So, we’re very likely to see some snakes on our search with Andy.
Walk Leader: Andy Sabin, President, SOFO 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.

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Salamander Seining and Some Frogs too, With Andy Sabin
2024-05-25 10:00 | SOFO
Many salamanders breed in water, and here’s your chance to see the larval aquatic stage of the endangered Eastern Tiger Salamander before it comes on land to live. You’ll also see some of our local frog tadpoles as Andy Sabin—“Mr. Salamander”—wades into a freshwater pond and, using a seining net (a large two-person fishing net with weights at the lower edge and floats at the top), brings to the surface the pond-stages of these young animals, members of the Class Amphibia.
Walk Leader: Andy Sabin, President, SOFO 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.

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Young Environmentalists Society (YES!) Meeting
2024-05-25 10:30 | 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, an 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 program is for ages 10-16.
This is a free program, thanks to the generosity of a foundation that prefers to remain anonymous. Please contact SOFO at (631) 537-9735 or info@sofo.org for up-to-the-minute information.

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Storytime & Meet the Animals: Box Turtles
2024-05-26 10:30 | SOFO
Eastern Box Turtles are out and about in our backyards, woods, and crossing the roads searching for their favorite spring foods. Join us for a drop-in story about box turtles, have an up-close visit with our exhibit Eastern Box Turtles and meet the rescued turtles in our outdoor Turtle Pen.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor 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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Birds of the Meadow and Woods─Eric Salzman Memorial Bird Walk with Eastern Long Island Audubon Society (ELIAS)
2024-06-01 08:30 | 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.
Program Leader: Member of ELIAS
This FREE program is for adults and teens. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Marine Biology Boat Trip—Go Hands-On Trawling with the Experts
2024-06-01 10:00 - 13:00 | Shinnecock
Marine life viewed from the shore is very different from that seen in the deep waters of Shinnecock Bay. On this adventure, you’ll participate in the variety of activities performed by marine biologists as you trawl the waters of the bay to learn about its biology and ecology. You’ll help bring in, then study, finfish, invertebrates, and plankton. You’ll do benthic grabs to examine the sandy or muddy bay bottom—all this and much more, aboard Stony Brook University’s 45-ft. research vessel, RV Peconic. Children under 12 must have their own life jackets.
Program Leaders: Naturalists and Marine Biologists, SOFO and Southampton Campus, Stony Brook University
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+.
For members, there is a $35 fee per person, and for non-members, there is a $45 fee. 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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Pop-up Pond Life Exhibit
2024-06-02 13:00 - 15:30 | 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 Specialist
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Horseshoe Crab Survey with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)
2024-06-04 20:30 | Westhampton
Horseshoe crabs are described as living fossils, one of the oldest living species on Earth. Their eggs, deposited in abundance in the beaches of Long Island’s bays and estuaries, are an essential energy source for migrating shorebirds–Ruddy Turnstones, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and are particularly important for the survival of the Red Knot, a recent addition to the federal endangered species list. Their copper-based blood turns blue when exposed to the oxygen in the air and contains cells that are extracted and used as the primary safety test for bacterial contaminants in human drugs, vaccines prosthetics and other medical devices. Participants in this survey will help collect data on spawning abundance, size, sex, and tag returns around the full and new moons from May to July. The annual Horseshoe Crab Monitoring Project is conducted by Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Marine Program with funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). This data, together with data from monitoring programs up and down the Eastern Seaboard, is used to assess the status of horseshoe crabs in the New York marine district and to assist with the management and conservation of this important marine species.
Program Leader: SOFO and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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