South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center

Searching for Seals with SOFO
2025-03-30 14:00 (America/New_York) | 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.
Walk Leader: Sydney Mantione, 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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MUSEUM CLOSED: Outreach Event
2025-04-01

MUSEUM CLOSED: Maintenance Day
2025-04-02

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (1 pm - 4 pm)
2025-04-04 13:00 - 16:00

Early Spring Bird Walk
2025-04-05 09:00 - 10:00 | Southampton
*PLEASE NOTE* This event is currently sold out. To join the waitlist, please call Peconic Land Trust at 631-283-3195 (ext. 122) or email events@peconiclandtrust.org.
April is a great time to get outdoors to view both overwintering birds as well as early spring migrants. While too early for warblers, you may see yellow-bellied sapsucker, brown creeper, and pine warbler along with cardinal, tufted titmouse and more. This walk will be led by Frank Quevedo, Executive Director of South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO). Dress for the weather, bring binoculars and water. Space is limited, reservations required. Rain cancels. This program co-sponsored between SOFO and Peconic Land Trust.
This FREE program is for adults. Advanced reservations are required for all events.
Photo: Peconic Land Trust

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The American Chestnut Story and Elliston Park Chestnut Tree Survey
2025-04-05 10:00 - 11:30 | Southampton
Join Environmental Educator Rockfish Rob and Horticulturist April Gonzalez for nature walk & tree tour in Emma Elliston Memorial Park. The tree identification and talk will focus on the American Chestnut, its importance, its decimation by a fungal blight and the latest on the restoration and the cultivation of blight resistant varieties. Participants will get to take with them a chestnut seed to watch germinate at home!
Walk Leaders: April Gonzalez and Rob “Rockfish” Gelling, SOFO Environmental Educator
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Make Your Own Nature Greeting Card
2025-04-05 11:00 - 12:00 | SOFO
Join SOFO in celebrating National Greeting Card Day by making your own greeting cards using natural materials. We’ll use leaves, flowers, and paints to decorate greeting cards; participants will be able to bring home their handmade cards.
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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East End Environment Series: Latest Results of the Long Island Mammal Survey
2025-04-05 16:00 - 17:00 | SOFO
This is the third lecture of our East End Environment Series!
Join SOFO for light refreshments and a presentation with Mike Bottini, Seatuck Environmental Association’s Wildlife Biologist.
We will discuss the major changes in the distribution of terrestrial and semi-aquatic mammals on Long Island since the last survey done in the 1960’s by Paul Connor, along with some interesting natural history and behavior facts for certain species. Attendees will also learn how this information will be used in future management of our furbearers, as well as how to get involved in the ongoing survey, and what data gaps need to be filled.
Program Leader: Mike Bottini, Seatuck Environmental Association’s Wildlife Biologist
This FREE program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Pop Up Pond Workshop
2025-04-06 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: Private Event (2 pm - 4 pm)
2025-04-11 14:00 - 16:00

Vernal Pool Exploration
2025-04-12 10:30 | Bridgehampton
Vernal pools, a type of small seasonal wetlands, are incredibly important ecosystems here on Long Island. Join Jake for a deep dive into these wonderful wetlands. We’ll take a short walk to several pools, all while learning about their formation, function, and ecological importance. Attendees will have the opportunity to observe some of the invertebrate species that call these pools home, as well as the egg masses left behind by breeding amphibians.
Program Leader: Jake Kushner, 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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Full Pink Moon Hike with Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt
2025-04-12 20:00 - 21:00 | SOFO
The Pink Moon name comes from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.
Co-sponsored by Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt & the South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO).
Meet at the SOFO Museum parking lot, 377 Bridgehampton Turnpike, 200 yards north of the RR tracks. To register, email: greenbeltnews@aol.com.
Hike Leader: Jean McDermott, 631-599-2391.

Nature & Bird Watching Cruise with Stony Brook Southampton
2025-04-13 09:45 - 13:00 | Southampton
Let’s venture by boat into the remote areas of Shinnecock Bay onboard Stony Brook University/Southampton’s 45-ft. research vessel, R/V Peconic, and marvel at the wealth of migratory birds and waterfowl that inhabit the region at this time of year. We’ll cruise along areas of the salt marsh and flats that are not visible by land and hopefully witness the activities of a variety of wildlife. Bring binoculars and a light snack.
Program Leader: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 8+.
For non-members, there is a $45/person fee. For SOFO members, there is a $30/person 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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Make a “Stained Glass” Window
2025-04-13 11:00 | SOFO
Join Rebecca and be creative using upcycled materials to create faux stained-glass art of springtime plants and animals to take home!
Program Leader: Rebecca Rogers, 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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Spring School Break Week: Scavenger Hunt
2025-04-14 10:30 | SOFO
Join SOFO’s Environmental Educators for our Spring School Break Nature Education Programs!
These programs are for children of all ages.
This FREE program is for all ages. There is a separate museum admission fee to explore the museum ($10/adult and $7/child ages 3 and up). Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Spring School Break Week: Spring Bingo
2025-04-15 10:30 | SOFO
Join SOFO’s Environmental Educators for our Spring School Break Nature Education Programs!
Program Leader: SOFO Environmental Educator
This FREE program is for all ages. There is a separate museum admission fee to explore the museum ($10/adult and $7/child ages 3 and up). Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Spring School Break Week: Animal Signs
2025-04-16 11:30 | SOFO

SOFO’s East End Outdoor Nature Education with Crystal at Wolf Swamp Preserve, Southampton
2025-04-16 13:00 - 15:00 | Southampton
SOFO is offering a monthly program 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.
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 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. Members are free. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Spring School Break Week: Animals and Weather
2025-04-17 10:30 | SOFO

Spring School Break Week: Searching for Sleeping Insects
2025-04-18 10:30 | SOFO

Young Birders Club Meeting
2025-04-19 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: Frank Quevedo, SOFO Executive Director
This FREE program is for ages 8-18. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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Let’s Make a Bug Hotel!
2025-04-19 11:00 | SOFO
Ladybugs, bees, butterflies, and more! Our local insects need safe spaces to shelter, hide from predators, and raise their young. Join SOFO for an educational presentation and craft to learn about some of our local insect species and where they like to build their homes. Design an insect hotel to take home and put in your yard to watch your buggy visitors.
Program Leader: Moe Kennedy, 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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The Natural History of Long Island with Tara Rider
2025-04-19 17:00 - 18:00 | Bridgehampton
What’s intriguing about Long Island and our surrounding waters is that so much of the story happened in the last 12,000 years, when humans were here. This talk will discuss the features that make Long Island’s geology distinctive and have shaped the peoples who have inhabited this island. From salt marshes and cranberry bogs to hardwood forests and the Hempstead Plains, our Island has been continuously being reshaped and it influences our society today. Join us at the historic Nathaniel Rogers House for a trip through the past to learn about Long Island’s natural history.
Co-sponsored by SOFO and the Bridgehampton Museum
Presenter: Tara Rider, Professor, Stony Brook University School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
This program is for adults, teens, and children ages 10+.
There is a suggested donation of $20 for this program.
Event Location: The Nathaniel Rogers House, 2539 Montauk Highway, Bridgehampton, NY 11932

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Search for Singing Frogs − Spring Peepers
2025-04-19 19:30 | SOFO
Signs of spring are finally here! On a warm spring night, you can hear the unique sound of a Spring Peeper chorus. Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer), one of Long Island’s tree frogs, produce some of the earliest sounds of spring and for many are a sign that winter’s everlasting chill has finally come to an end. The loud, sleigh-bell chorus that we hear is how the males search for a mate. Although very loud, these tiny frogs are rarely seen. Join Jake at dusk for a search through the wetlands in Vineyard Field to locate this elusive chorus of frogs.
Program Leader: Jake Kushner, 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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MUSEUM CLOSED: Easter
2025-04-20

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 12 pm)
2025-04-21 10:00 - 12:00

MUSEUM CLOSED: School Group (10 am - 1 pm)
2025-04-22 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-04-23 10:00 - 13:00, 2025-04-25 10:00 - 13:00

Earth Day Beach Clean Up
2025-04-22 15:00 - 17:00 | Sag Harbor
Celebrate Earth Day with SOFO and friends by helping to remove litter and floatable trash from a local beach. We welcome you to an engaging day of toes in the sand with family, friends and new acquaintances, raising awareness about litter and plastic pollution.
Co-sponsored by SOFO, Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island, the Office of Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker, and relic.
This FREE program is for all ages. Advanced reservations are required for all events.

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