South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center

“BioBlitz”─Surveying the Life of Vineyard Field
2026-06-07 10:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | 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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MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 1 pm)
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, 2026-06-16 10:00 - 13:00

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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YES Presents: LongHouse Reserve Tour
2026-06-20 13:00 - 14:30 | East Hampton
Come join us for a docent-guided experience at LongHouse Reserve, in East Hampton, NY where art and nature exist in perfect harmony. This stunning 16-acre reserve offers a peaceful yet inspiring landscape filled with outdoor sculpture, curated gardens, and thoughtfully designed natural spaces.
Program Leader: Mare Dianora, Young Environmentalists Society (YES!) Director
This program is for all ages.
This FREE program is for adults & children ages 10 and up. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: Birthday Party (2 pm - 4 pm)
2026-06-20 14:00 - 16:00

The Secret Life of a Pond: Life Cycles and Survey of Freshwater Invertebrates
2026-06-24 13:00 - 15:00 | 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 Outdoor Education Specialist
This program is for children ages 7 and up, in Grades 1-12.
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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Meet the Martins—Purple Martin Life Cycle & Chicks with John Shemilt
2026-06-27 10:30 | SOFO
Join us for an exceptional opportunity to see just-hatched Purple Martin nestlings. In this program with John Shemilt—who is the SOFO Purple Martin Steward and has been fascinated by purple martins since the age of 3—you’ll go out into the field behind SOFO to see the colony of man-made gourds that house SOFO’s newest population of purple martins. You’ll help John lower the gourds and you’ll be able to see the newly laid eggs and the just-hatched nestlings. After this rare experience, you can help John collect the data on this newest brood of SOFO purple martins.
Program Leader: John Shemilt, SOFO Purple Martin Steward
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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Meet Millenium Falcon with Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center
2026-06-27 13:00 | SOFO
Join the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Center for a special story time visit with Millennium, their resident peregrine falcon. Peregrine falcons are the fastest animals in the world. While Millennium can no longer fly, he has a big personality and is a great ambassador. We’ll read a story book that teaches little ones about rescue and rehabilitation, featuring a true story about a peregrine falcon.
Program Leader: Tammy Flanell, EAWRC
This FREE program is for adults & children, ages PreK and up. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Horseshoe Crab Survey & Tagging with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)
2026-06-27 20:30 | Westhampton
From mid-May to June, thousands of horseshoe crabs have gathered at Long Island’s bay beaches. It’s an incredible sight to see- made more so in the light of the full moon. The horseshoe crabs are there to bury their eggs in the sand; their eggs provide food for seabirds to fuel themselves on their long spring migration journeys north along the East coast of North America. The use of horseshoe crabs by humans for fishing bait and the harvesting of their blood for use in testing human medicines has an impact on the horseshoe crab population numbers. Data needs to be collected to document and assess the status of horseshoe crabs in our waters. You can help! Join SOFO and CCE to assist in collecting information for this study, while you witness one of nature’s most amazing annual wildlife events.
Walk Leader: Sydney Mantione, SOFO Environmental Educator, and Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Hoodoos and Other Curious Geologic Features of Montauk Point
2026-06-28 10:00 | Montauk
While Earth is 4.5 billion years old, Long Island is only about 11,000. Why is it such a geologically young area? How did it form? Why aren’t there any mountains? The answer? Glaciers! Evidence of Long Island’s origins can be seen all around us, but one of the best spots to find it is at Montauk Point. Learn about moraines, hoodoos, erosion from waves and weather, erratic cobbles, and more geology on this exciting educational hike at Shadmoor State Park.
Walk Leader: Tommy Steinbrecher, 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 – Terrific Turtles
2026-06-28 10:30, 2026-06-28 13:30 | SOFO
The turtles are on the move in our backyards, ponds, and even in the nearby salt marshes! Join us for some fun stories to learn about our turtle neighbors, meet SOFO’s resident turtles, and make a fun turtle craft to take home.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Outdoor Education Specialist
This program is for families.
For non-members, this program is included in the museum admission fee. Members are free. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: Outreach Event (2 pm - 4 pm)
2026-06-28 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-07-01 14:00 - 16:00

Full Strawberry Moon Hike
2026-06-29 21:00 - 22:00 | SOFO
This name was universal to every Algonquin tribe. It was christened for the strawberry because the relatively short season for harvesting strawberries comes each year during the month of June. Join us on this leisurely-paced hike through Vineyard Field’s open field trails and homemade Strawberry Shortcake afterward.
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.

Turning Shells into Art with Decoupage
2026-07-05 11:00 | SOFO
Come learn about seashells while we turn them into artwork. We will be decorating them with decorative napkins and paint. Feel free to bring your own shells to decorate, or choose from our collection of clam, mussel, and scallop shells.
Program Leader: Sydney Mantione, SOFO Environmental Educator
This program is for adults & children ages 3 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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EcoHikes
2026-07-07 10:00 - 11:30 | Sagaponack
Join us for our Outdoor Nature Hikes! Today, we will be exploring Sagg Swamp Preserve.
We will lead an EcoHike every Tuesday & Thursday of the summer: July 7th through August 13th. Rain cancels.
Fun and educational for all ages! Advance registration is not required.

EcoHikes
2026-07-09 10:00 - 11:30 | East Hampton
Join us for our Outdoor Nature Hikes! Today, we will be exploring Northwest Harbor County Park.
We will lead an EcoHike every Tuesday & Thursday of the summer: July 7th through August 13th. Rain cancels.
Fun and educational for all ages! Advance registration is not required.
