South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center

MUSEUM CLOSED: Outreach Event (2 pm - 4 pm)
2024-04-20 14:00 - 16:00, 2024-03-25 14:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)

SOFO’s East End Outdoor Nature Education with Crystal at Munn Point Preserve, Southampton
2024-04-20 13:00 - 15:00 | Southampton
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 April 20, 2024, exploring Munn Point Preserve crossing a boardwalk over a salt marsh tidal creek to a Shinnecock Bay beach to search for shells, and possibly seining for fish and crabs for up-close observations. We will also enjoy some stories, simple nature journals, and worksheets to take home.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Specialist. 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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Celebrate Arbor Day─Create Leaf Rubbings and Prints
2024-04-20 10:30 | SOFO
Learn how to identify the fallen leaves of our native trees and make beautiful leaf art. We’ll have a variety of materials to work with, including crayons, watercolor paints, and paper. Materials fee: $3.
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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Young Birders Club Meeting
2024-04-20 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 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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MUSEUM CLOSED: Outreach Event
2024-04-19, 2024-04-12

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 1 pm)
2024-04-18 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-04-17 08:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-16 10:00 - 13:00, 2024-04-15 10:00 - 13:00

SOFO’s East End Outdoor Nature Education with Crystal at Munn Point Preserve, Southampton
2024-04-17 13:00 - 15:00 | Southampton
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 April 17, 2024, exploring Munn Point Preserve crossing a boardwalk over a salt marsh tidal creek to a Shinnecock Bay beach to search for shells, and possibly seining for fish and crabs for up-close observations. We will also enjoy some stories, simple nature journals, and worksheets to take home.
Program Leader: Crystal Possehl-Oakes, SOFO Environmental Outdoor Specialist. 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.

Sign Up Here!

What’s in the Water? Exploring Long Island’s Water Quality and Harmful Algal Blooms
2024-04-14 10:30 | East Hampton
In anticipation of the annual spring algal bloom, we will visit Georgica Pond Preserve to conduct a water quality assessment. During this investigation, participants will gain an understanding of the restorative efforts by the Peconic Land Trust and the impact these environmental restoration measures have had on this body of water. We will also be discussing some of the problems of Harmful Algal Blooms in general.
Program Leader: Ian Robinson, 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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In Search of the American Woodcock
2024-04-13 19:00 | Sagaponack
The American Woodcock is well camouflaged with brown dappled leaf tones, and its foraging behavior keeps the bird’s movements close to the ground making it hard to spot during the daytime. But at dawn and again at dusk during late winter and early spring these birds really put on a show. Join SOFO for a short walk through the field and forest of Poxabogue County Park at dusk. As darkness falls, we will listen for the American Woodcock male’s “peent” call and watch for his aerial acrobatics as he tries to woo a female. Limited enrollment.
Walk Leader: Melanie Meade, SOFO Education 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.

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Alewife Trail Walk (0.5 mile) with Peconic Baykeeper, Peter Topping
2024-04-13 09:30 | Southampton
Streams and rivers along the East Coast once “ran silver” every spring as alewives and other diadromous fish made their annual spawning migrations from saltwater to freshwater. Join Peconic Baykeeper Peter Topping and SOFO staff as we search for alewives in Southampton’s Alewife Creek. Along the way, we will learn about the history of these threatened and ecologically important fish as well as the efforts being made to protect their future on Long Island. This will also be a great opportunity to see osprey, herons, and egrets so bring binoculars! Ticks may be present, please take tick precautions. Limited enrollment.

Walk Leader: Peter Topping, Peconic Baykeeper
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 2 pm)
2024-04-11 10:00 - 14:00

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group
2024-04-09

Solar Eclipse Viewing and Live Stream from NASA
2024-04-08 14:00 | SOFO
Join SOFO and Friends of Long Pond Greenbelt to view the 2024 Solar Eclipse at SOFO. Bring your own folding chair or blanket. Limited Eclipse Viewing Glasses will be available for a small fee.
Co-sponsored by SOFO and Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt.

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Pop-up Pond Life Exhibit
2024-04-07 13:00 - 15:30 | SOFO
The ponds in Vineyard field are an important habitat for turtles, frogs, birds, and especially the Eastern Tiger Salamander. But none of these animals would be able to survive 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 discover the secret life in our ponds. Join us on 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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New York Marine Rescue Center Seal Advocacy Program Level II In-Field Training
2024-04-06 12:00 - 13:30 | Sagaponack
Level I lecture plus Level II In-field Training further prepares attendees in assessing a seal’s behavior to provide New York Marine Rescue Center staff with better information and informs on how to educate the public at crowded beaches where a healthy seal may be resting!
Program Leader: New York Marine Rescue Center staff
This FREE program is for ages 18 or older, unless accompanied by an adult. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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New York Marine Rescue Center Seal Advocacy Program Level I Lecture
2024-04-06 10:00 - 11:00 | SOFO
Come join SOFO and the New York Marine Rescue Center for a Seal Advocacy Lecture and training workshop to learn about the seals of New York- including what is normal behavior, challenges they face, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and how you can help educate others!
Level 1 Lecture discusses the types of seals found in New York and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Program Leader: New York Marine Rescue Center staff
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: Maintenance
2024-04-02

MUSEUM CLOSED: Easter
2024-03-31

Honeybees and Honey with Bonac Bees
2024-03-30 10:30 | SOFO
Children will learn about honeybees and honey via a PowerPoint presentation, including the difference between honeybees and other insects, how honey is made, and why honeybees and other pollinators are important. Explore the simple biology of honeybees and their communication skills.
Program Leader: Deborah Klughers, Certified Eastern Apicultural Society (EAS) Master Beekeeper and owner of Bonac Bees, Hampton Bays, NY
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 2-9.
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
2024-03-30 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.

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MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 12 pm)
2024-03-26 10:00 - 12:00

Full "Worm Moon” Hike with Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
2024-03-25 18:30 | SOFO
The full Worm Moon was given its name by the Algonquin tribes that ranged from New England to Lake Superior. At the time of this spring moon, the ground begins to soften, and earthworm castings reappear, inviting the return of robins. In some regions, this is also known as the Sap Moon, as it marks the time when maple sap begins to flow, and the annual tapping of maple trees begins. Join us on this one-hour, leisurely paced hike through open fields, and then enjoy 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, Dai Dayton, on the day of the hike, call 631-745-0689.
Co-sponsored by Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt and South Fork Natural History Museum
Walk Leader: Dai Dayton, President, Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
This FREE program is for ALL AGES.
Advanced reservations are required for all events.

Seal Cruise, co-sponsored with CRESLI
2024-03-24 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.
The cost for the cruise is $40 per person.
Spaces are limited and registration is required. Registrations can be made by visiting cresli.org.

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.

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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.

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