Local Nature Lab

We use an 8-foot tall sculpture of a Northern Red Oak to jumpstart appreciation and curiosity about oaks and trees. We commissioned Data Vandals to co-design and build the sculpture. There are four diptychs representing the four seasons of the year. The left side of each diptych represents the seasonal look of a red oak while the right side is decorated with medallions (ex: acorn) providing ecological and cultural information about oaks.

Explore Birds is a mobile education program for public spaces and classrooms. Using museum quality bird specimens and bio-facts, we provide hands-on exploration of birds you can observe in NYC. Explore Birds was first piloted in Washington Square Park, and we have also worked on "open streets" and in gardens and plazas. The program is a great fit for teachers who would like to complement existing bird curriculum or to jump-start bird studies.

Wing-It Bird Box is a program that highlights local bird diversity, while integrating arts and science in a hands-on format for children of all ages. Wing-It is an in-person workshop that can take place in virtually any park in NYC. Wing-It includes three components: a presentation about an aspect of birds using specimens, use of materials in the Bird Box to design that aspect of the bird, and a bird excursion through a nearby greenspace.

Your Bird Story is a monthly podcast about everyday birders and bird watching in cities, and first aired in September 2020. In Seasons 3 and 4 of Your Bird Story we try to capture people and birds in place, sparked by bird specimens in the education collection. CHIRP is made possible by a Voice for Foundation grant. We recommend listening to Bird Times at a Manhattan Middle School which was recorded in an eighth-grade science classroom.