Tag: Connecticut Travel

Tree Lecture at Greenwich Historical Society

On Thursday, January 24, at 7:00 pm, in celebration of the Jewish New Year for Trees, Tu B’Shevat, Neil Pederson, PhD, will lecture at the Greenwich Historical Society in Cos Cob on “The Science of History: Tree Rings and the History They Reveal.” Dr. Pederson will discuss how ancient trees and timbers from human structures are used to broaden our understanding of history. He is a Research Assistant Professor in the Tree Ring Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University.

Pederson

From the rise and fall of the Mongol Empire to the construction of buildings and boats locally and globally, trees are the environmental historians that reveal events long faded from human memory and historical documents — including how the tree ring cores taken from the Bush-Holley House reveal its construction history. The Lecture is sponsored by the Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich Tree Conservancy, Bruce Museum, and Greenwich Reform Synagogue. Admission is free but reservations are suggested. Please call 203-869-6899, ext. 10. Doors open at 6:30; lecture begins at 7:00 pm. Vanderbilt Education Center, 39 Strickland Road, Cos Cob, CT.

For area information visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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Take a Walk Through the Dinosaur Age at the Bruce Museum

Since the first paleontological expedition to Mongolia by Roy Chapman Andrews of the American Museum of Natural History in the 1920s, the allure of discovering exotic Asian dinosaurs has been the dream of every paleontologist. Subsequently, dinosaurs from China have been unearthed revealing their relationships to birds as evidenced by the presence of feathers together with scales. Several of the most spectacular of these dinosaurs are coming to the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, beginning January 26 and continuing through April 21, 2013.

A visiting Szechuanosaurus
A visiting Szechuanosaurus

Chinasaurs: Dinosaur Discoveries from China welcomes visitors to walk among the skeletons, skulls, nests and eggs of more than a dozen of these rare Asian dinosaurs. From the huge 32-foot long, meat-eating Yangchuanosaurus to the gazelle-sized plant eaters such as Psittacosaurus, the prehistoric fossils of the Far East provide an exciting experience for dinosaur enthusiasts.

Skeletons of all sizes from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods tell the tale of dinosaur diversification and shifting continents. Maps, video and activity tables help visitors of all ages learn more about the specimens on view. One display features a Jurassic battle between the plated, plant-eating Tuojiangosaurus with a spiked tail and the large meat-eating Monolophosaurus with teeth like steak knives. The long tail feathers and fused bones of Confusiusornis indicate that it was an early precursor to birds, and evidence suggests that male and female looked different, like many birds today.

Chinasaurs offers a glimpse of the unprecedented evolution of dinosaurs and their dominance over the world for more than 155 million years.

About the Bruce Museum
Explore Art and Science at the Bruce Museum, located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students up to 22 years, $6 for seniors and free for members and children under 5 years. Individual admission is free on Tuesday. Free on-site parking is available and the Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376 or visit the website at www.brucemuseum.org.

For area information www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

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ARTSPACE-Torrington Opens First Show of the 2013 Season

ARTSPACE located at 33 Main Street in Downtown Torrington, begins its 2013 season with an exciting show of one-of-a-kind photographs by West Hartford artist, Robert Calafiore whose work has been the subject of numerous exhibitions. Most recently, Calafiore’s work has been shown at the New Britain Museum of American Art, the Nina Freudenheim Gallery (Buffalo, NY), Nest (New York City), as well as the University of New England (Portland, ME), and the University of Massachusetts (Dartmouth, MA).

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The series of work shown at the ARTSPACE-Torrington gallery consists of large C-print photographs, 40” x 30”, taken with a pinhole camera. This particular series features ordinary glass objects which are lit and photographed. The type and intensity of lighting, length of exposure, and color and surface of the subject can be controlled by the artist to produce varying results. The end result is a one-of-a-kind image which is produced without creating film negatives or digital technology. Part of Mr. Calafiore’s interest lies in the ability of the pinhole camera to transform ordinary objects into items of beauty.

The opening reception for Mr. Calafiore will be held in the gallery on Friday, January 25th from 6-8 p.m. Mr. Calafiore will present an artist talk on Friday, Feburary 8th at 6 p.m.

The public is encouraged to visit the gallery during normal hours: Fridays from 6-8 and Saturdays and Sundays from 2-4. The gallery is also open by appointment; to schedule an appointment, please contact Executive Director, Judith McElhone (860-309-2932). ARTSPACE-Torrington may also be open during special downtown events.

About ARTSPACE
ARTSPACE-Torrington is supported in part by the Torrington Downtown Partners and the Arts and Culture Commission of Torrington (ACT). 33 Main Street, located at the corner of Main and Water Streets in Downtown Torrington, is a former retail space that is now home to the city’s newest gallery. Each month, a new show of contemporary work by one or more professional artists will be featured in the gallery.

For further information about ARTSPACE-Torrington please visit www.artspacetorrington.org

FOr area information www.litchfieldhills.com

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Puppet Show at Stepping Stones Museum For Children

For most people, developing a handcrafted puppet show from scratch is not something that you do in your spare time. After all, putting together a high-quality, entertaining children’s show is a daunting, time-consuming process. However, Alan Louis is not like most people.

Louis, the Public Programs Manager at Stepping Stones Museum for Children, has had a nearly 30-year career in puppetry. There isn’t a type of puppetry he has not performed with: shadow puppets, hand puppets, rod puppets, marionettes – even larger-than-life-sized puppets in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Louis has performed with a variety of touring companies, taught puppetry workshops in the United States and Eastern Europe and spent a decade as the Education Director for the Center of Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. Needless to say, Louis knows a high-quality puppet show when he sees one and he definitely knows what it takes to bring one to the stage.

After attending a puppet festival in New York last December, Louis was inspired to start working on a production of The Frog Prince that has grown into an awe-inspiring and magical production of The Frog Prince and Other Tales. Created exclusively for Stepping Stones Museum for Children, four classics of children’s literature will come alive on November 10th when this enchanting puppetry spectacle debuts at the Museum.

The enduring tales of kindness, determination and loyalty will be performed with beautifully handcrafted puppets and scenery. These tales of fantasy and imagination are sure to provide an unforgettable children’s theater experience. Each 40 minute performance is followed by an art of puppetry demonstration and question and answer session with the puppeteers.

The show is free with museum admission; however, seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This is a limited engagement with performances scheduled from November 10th through December 14th. For more information and performance times, visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org/frogprince.

About Stepping Stones Museum for Children
Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, Conn., is an award-winning, private, non-profit 501(c)(3) children’s museum committed to broadening and enriching the lives of children and families. Located on five acres in Mathews Park, the LEED Gold certified museum encompasses five hands-on galleries, state-of-the-art Multimedia Gallery, Family and Teacher Resource Center, cafe and retail store.

Stepping Stones is located at 303 West Avenue, exit 14N or 15S off I-95 in Norwalk. Museum hours are Monday – Sunday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. Admission is $15 for adults and children. Children under 1 are free. To learn more, call 203 899 0606 or visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org.

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Sharon Audubon Enchanted Forest and Kids’ Day Oct. 20 & 28

The Enchanted Forest…meet a Bear….

Family fun is in the works at the Sharon Audubon Center the last two weekends in October. Both events are “non scary” and geared toward families with children pre-K through 2nd grade.

The Audubon’s popular Enchanted Forest will be held on Saturday, October 20th. Guided groups will meet friendly costumed animal characters along a candlelit trail and hear how the animals live their lives on the Audubon grounds. After the tour, which lasts approximately 45 minutes, participants can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate inside the Center building before taking a hayride back to the parking area. This non-scary program is ideal for children up to 8 years old and their families. Tours begin every 10-15 minutes between the hours of 6:00 and 8:00pm. Participants should bring an extra flashlight. Admission is $4 per person. Children under 2 are free.

Kids Day at the Sharon Audubon Center

Audubon Kids’ Day is taking place on Sunday, October 28th from 12-3pm. This is a fun, autumn afternoon for young children and their families and features brand new carnival-type games for 2012, kids’ crafts, live animals from “The Nature of Things,” a haybale maze, haywagon rides, professional face painting with glitter tattoos and food. Children are encouraged to come in costume and join in the costume parade around the Center grounds at 2:30. The event is held rain or shine. Admission is $7.00 per carload.

The Sharon Audubon Center is located on Route 4 in Sharon, for more information, contact the Audubon Center at (860) 364-0520 or visit http://sharon.audubon.org.

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Meerkats” And “Africa” Exhibits Extended Into 2013

Amazing Meercats Extend their Stay

Visitors to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk are getting more chances to be entertained and fascinated by a special collection of exotic African creatures, including six amusing meerkats.

The special exhibit “Africa: From the Desert to the Sea” will stay open for another five months, through Jan. 20, 2013. And its companion exhibit, “Meerkats,” has been extended through Labor Day 2013. Previously, both had been scheduled to close after this Labor Day (Sept. 3).

The meerkats are very popular with visitors young and old to the Aquarium. The extention of ‘Africa’ through the holidays and into the new year allows the Aquarium the necessary time to prepare for their next special exhibit.

Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are members of the mongoose family that live in social “mobs” in the Kalahari Desert, in the southern African nations of Botswana and South Africa. (Timon, the comical sidekick in Disney’s “The Lion King,” is a meerkat.)

The Maritime Aquarium’s “Meerkats” exhibit features six sibling meerkats – three males, three females – born in July 2009 at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their Aquarium exhibit offers lots of opportunities for climbing, digging and exploring. For young Aquarium visitors, a special viewing bubble lets children pop up right among the meerkats.

The animals are so popular that the Aquarium installed a “meerkat cam,” for visitors who want to check up on the animals’ activities remotely. (Click on it at www.maritimeaquarium.org.)

The “Africa: From the Desert to the Sea” exhibit displays some of the fascinating but lesser-known aquatic creatures of Africa, including lungfish, electric catfish and colorful cichlids and reef fish.

Both special exhibits are free with Maritime Aquarium general admission, which is $13.95 for adults, $12.95 for seniors 65+, and $10.50 for children 2-12.

A new special exhibit, “Dangerous Creatures,” is scheduled to open on Feb. 16 in the space currently occupied by “Africa: From the Desert to the Sea.”

For more information about The Maritime Aquarium’s exhibits, IMAX movies and programs, go online to www.MaritimeAquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700.

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