Author to Read Her Book in Next ‘Storytime’ Event
The Vanderbilt Museum’s next Storytime Under the Stars is set for Sunday, February 26, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm in the Reichert Planetarium. Join author Nana Brew-Hammond for a live reading of her award-winning book Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky.
Tickets: $10 | $8 for Members.
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Discover a world of creativity and tradition in this fascinating picture book that explores the history and cultural significance of the color blue. Children and parents will see the story come to life on the Planetarium dome as they listen to the author read.
While the author reads her book, the pages will be projected overhead on the Planetarium dome for all to enjoy the stunning illustrations and for readers to follow along. Many pages will be accompanied by visual and audio effects to complement the narrative.
Following the reading, families can take part in related craft activities in the planetarium lobby.
Questions? Email beth@vanderbiltmuseum.org
“Stunning and informative—and as profoundly rich as the color blue.” (Kirkus Reviews)
Brew-Hammond was a nominee for the 54th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work. Her book was named among the best books of 2022 by National Public Radio, the New York Public Library, Evanston Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, and The Center for the Study of Multicultural Literature.
https://47321.blackbaudhosting.com/47321/tickets?tab=2&txobjid=5f542bdd-a1bd-4a79-80f8-5fa843dd28d1
The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth
On Thursday, March 16, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum will host Michael Mehta Webster, Professor of Practice in Environmental Studies at New York University (NYU, for an evening lecture on global warming and nature’s inherent resilience.
Webster’s lecture will draw heavily from his 2022 book The Rescue Effect: The Key to Saving Life on Earth (Timber Press). In The Rescue Effect, Webster offers cause for optimism in the often-disheartening discourse around anthropogenic climate change. Through a series of compelling animal stories—from tigers in the jungles of India to cichlid fish in the great lakes of Africa and coral reefs in the Caribbean—Webster will highlight how certain species have adapted to a rapidly changing world. He will also explore how other species, like the mountain pygmy possum, are at risk of extinction without substantive but practicable efforts on the part of conservationists, activists, and concerned citizens of our planet.
Webster argues that we have good reason to expect a bright future because, almost everywhere we look, we can see evidence of nature rescuing many species from extinction. The Rescue Effect provides a much-needed roadmap to discovering what we can do to make a healthier Earth for future generations of humans and wildlife.
The lecture will take place at 7:00 pm in the Museum’s Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium.
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Michael Mehta Webster is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Environmental Studies at New York University. He earned a Ph.D. in Zoology at Oregon State University, and a B.S. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin.
Webster is an expert in ecology, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management, and philanthropy. His research focuses on how to promote the adaptation of species and ecosystems to ongoing environmental change. Much of his recent work has centered on reef-building corals, which are struggling to adjust to warming ocean temperatures and a host of other environmental changes.
Prior to joining NYU, Webster led efforts to improve the management and conservation of coral reefs as the Executive Director of the Coral Reef Alliance. He has also held positions as a Visiting Research Scientist at NYU, a Visiting Professor of Practice at Cornell University, and a Postdoctoral Researcher at Oregon State University.
Summer Science Fun for Children in Grades K-5
Fascinating, fun summer learning for grades K-5! Vanderbilt Museum science educators will offer Junior Explorer and Astronomer workshops for children in two, week-long sessions in July and August. Sail the seas, dive the oceans, make unique art. Advance registration is required.
Summer Science Fun
July 10-14 or August 14-18
9 am – 12 pm
$200 non-members | $180 members
Interested in membership? Learn more here.
Become a Member
Space is limited and spots fill quickly! Advance registration is required.
For more information and to register, please contact dawn@vanderbilltmuseum.org.
Junior Explorer Workshop Grades K-3
Explore the world at the Vanderbilt Museum!
Join us for a week of creative science and history workshops. We’ll sail the seas, dive the deepest oceans, soar among the tallest trees, and make unique art inspired by nature and the collections.
Registration is open for children entering Kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Register JULY Jr Explorer Workshop Register AUGUST Jr Explorer Workshop
Junior Astronomer Workshop Grades 3-5
The Reichert Planetarium presents an exciting program for young astronomers!
Junior Astronomers have the opportunity to learn about multiple astronomy topics including our solar system, how to use a telescope, and how to identify constellations they can see from their own backyard. This program focuses on hands-on learning with STEAM activities and crafts supplemented by immersive live and pre-recorded fulldome presentations in our Planetarium theater.
Registration is open for children entering 3rd through 5th grade.
Register JULY Jr Astronomer Workshop Register AUGUST Jr Astronomer Workshop
The July and August sessions of each workshop will feature the same activities.
For this reason, we recommend against registering a child for the same workshop twice.
Curator to Lead Morning Birdwatch-Architecture Tours
On select spring dates at 8:00 am, the Vanderbilt Museum will offer an early morning Birdwatch and Architecture Tour with the Vanderbilt’s director of curatorial affairs. Participants will enjoy the unique opportunity to view the Vanderbilt estate in the early dawn hours, when the grounds are still closed but the birds are active.
Schedule: March 18 | April 1, 15, 29 | May 13
Tickets are free for members, $12.00 for non-members.
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Sturdy hiking footwear is strongly suggested. Participants are asked to bring their own binoculars.
Morning birdwatches are semi-regular touring events offered during the fall and spring months, when local and migratory bird species are at their most active and visible – during the first northward wave of migration along the Atlantic flyway.
Each “birdwatch” will feature aspects of the estate’s architectural history while participants view the Vanderbilt’s resident avian species and hear their calls and songs. Some of the species observed and identified recently at the Vanderbilt include red-tailed hawks, osprey, merlin, brant, northern flickers, great-horned owls, grackle, white-breasted nuthatch, mourning doves, and more.
Evening Birdwatches, Tours Begin March 24
On select spring Fridays, the Vanderbilt Museum will offer an Evening Birdwatch and Architecture Tour with the Museum’s director of curatorial affairs. Participants will enjoy the unique opportunity to view the Vanderbilt estate at dusk, when the grounds are closed but the birds are active.
Schedule: March 24 | April 7 & 21 | May 5 & 19
Tickets are free for members, $12.00 for non-members. Sturdy hiking footwear is strongly suggested, and participants are asked to bring their own binoculars.
Purchase Tickets
Evening birdwatches are biweekly touring events offered during the fall and spring months, when local and migratory bird species are at their most active and visible – during the waves of migration along the Atlantic flyway.
Each “birdwatch” will feature aspects of the estate’s architectural history while participants view the Vanderbilt’s resident avian species and hear their calls and songs. Some of the species observed and identified recently at the Vanderbilt Museum include red-tailed hawks, osprey, merlin, brant, northern flickers, great-horned owls, grackle, white-breasted nuthatch, mourning doves, and more.
Far Beyond the Moon: Space Life Support Systems
Dr. David Munns, Professor of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, will give a lecture on Thursday, April 13, at 7:00 pm in the Vanderbilt’s Reichert Planetarium on the diverse technical systems needed to support life in space.
Munns’s lecture will draw heavily from his 2021 book Far Beyond the Moon: A History of Life Support Systems in the Space Age, co-authored with Kärin Nickelsen (University of Pittsburgh Press). In Far Beyond the Moon, Munns shares the dramatic story of engineering efforts by astronauts and scientists to create artificial habitats for humans in orbiting space stations, as well as on journeys to Mars and beyond. Along the way, he explores the less than glamorous but very real problem posed by self-contained, long-term life support: How can biological waste be recycled to create clean air, water, and food in highly regulated artificial environments?
Munns’s retelling of midcentury science highlights the unsung heroes of the space program—the sanitary engineers, nutritionists, plant physiologists, bacteriologists, and algologists who created and tested artificial environments for space based on chemical technologies of life support. It is a “bottom up” historiographic view that speaks to the past and future of interstellar sustainability.
This event is made possible with the support of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation.
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David Munns is a Professor in the Department of History at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He earned a Ph.D. in History of Science and Technology at Johns Hopkins University, and a M.Phil. from the University of Sydney.
Munns is an expert in the histories of astronomy and environmental technologies. His first book, A Single Sky: How an International Community Forged the Science of Radio Astronomy (MIT Press, 2013), examined astronomy’s departure from visible light and the intrepid work of radio engineers to set aside Cold War rivalries in an international effort to reveal the structure of the universe. His second book, Engineering the Environment: Phytotrons and the Quest for Climate Control in the Cold War (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017), was the first history of phytotrons, large laboratories that enabled plant scientists to experiment on environmental causes.
Prior to joining John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Munns held positions at Drexel University in Pennsylvania and Imperial College London.
Paved with Love: A Gift That Lasts Forever
Looking for a fresh, unique, everlasting gift for a loved one?
Purchase and engrave a brick that will become a permanent part of the Vanderbilt Museum.
Your donation will help the Vanderbilt to bring outstanding science, history, and art education to more than 25,000 students annually.
Your brick will be installed and displayed installed in your favorite brick walkway around the Vanderbilt Mansion and Terrace, or on the 43-acre grounds of the beautiful waterfront Estate.
Purchase a Brick
For more information, call Debbie Stacel at 631-854-5579, or email: debbie@vanderbiltmuseum.org
