Connecticut State Museum

of Natural History

Connecticut Archaeology Center

University of Connecticut

2019 Hillside Road, Unit 1023

Storrs, CT  06269-1023

860.486.5690

http://www.mnh.uconn.edu/ David C. Colberg

Public Information Coordinator

High Tech Treasure Hunting: Fun with GPS and Geocaching
 Cary Chadwick, Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR), UConn
Saturday, June 18, 10 am to 12 noon
Central Connecticut location
Advance registration required: $20 ($15 for Museum members)
Adults and children ages 8 and above. Children must be accompanied by an adult.  

Originally, the Global Positioning System (GPS) was for military use as a navigational aid. Today, the general public has access to this satellite-based technology, and using hand-held GPS devices they can participate in geocaching, a high-tech treasure hunt. The idea behind geocaching is to locate outdoor hidden containers called geocaches by using GPS coordinates listed on the Geocaching website, and then share your experiences with others online. Currently, there are 1,310,416 active geocaches and over 5 million participants worldwide!

Cary Chadwick of UConn's Center for Land Use Education and Research will teach you to use a hand held GPS unit. Then, everyone will go outdoors and hunt for practice caches using the coordinates given to you. One of these will be an officially registered geocache that you can list online as your first. Join us for this opportunity to learn about this fun-filled combination of hiking and treasure hunting, high-tech style!   

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. 860.486.4460 - www.mnh.uconn.edu Tech Treasure Hunting: Fun with GPS and Geocaching
 

The History of Lake Compounce Park
 Jerry Brick, General Manager, Lake Compounce 
Saturday, July 9, 10 am 
Bristol, CT 
Advance registration required: $35 ($30 for Museum members); includes parking and admission to the amusement park.
All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Many people have been to Lake Compounce amusement park to enjoy a day of fun and excitement, but few know that Lake Compounce has a very long history of being a destination for leisure and recreation. Jerry Brick, General Manager of the park, will lead us on a walking tour of Lake Compounce. He will tell us about its historic buildings and present a fascinating look into the park's history from 1846 when it became a "picnic park" destination open to the public to today's amusement park. Then, picnic with family and friends, try out the rides, and enjoy the rest of your afternoon in the park!

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. 860.486.4460 - www.mnh.uconn.edu

Friday Afternoons at the Museum: Make Your Own Game!
 Friday, July 15, 1 pm to 3 pm
Museum of Natural History - FREE!

Put on your thinking cap and spend this Friday afternoon at the Museum designing and making your own board game. You can re-work a standard game such as Monopoly or Chess, or come up with your own idea for an exciting new board game. Make your own rules, board illustration and game pieces! Play your game with other visitors, and play their games, too. 

Drop in any time between 1 pm and 3 pm on this Friday afternoon to join in a fun hands-on activity and explore your world through experimentation and observation. Students entering grades 1 through 5, accompanied by an adult. Part of the Museum's Natural History of Play series - Exploring how physical and biological processes have shaped play behavior in animals and what human expressions of play reveal about our changing relationship to the environment.

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. 860.486.4460 - www.mnh.uconn.edu

Outdoor Native American Games 
Meigs Point Nature Center Staff, Hammonassett State Park
Saturday, July 16, 10 am to 12 noon
Madison, CT location
Advance registration required: $15 ($10 for Museum members)
All ages are welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Bring your friends and family to the beach to play some outdoor Native American games at the Meigs Point Nature Center in Hammonassett State Park! You will learn about Native American games played here in the past and then join a themed scavenger hunt on the beach, a memorization game, and others in these group activities presented by the Museum and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's No Child Left Inside initiative. Bring a picnic lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon in this beautiful seaside setting. 

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. 860.486.4460 - www.mnh.uconn.edu

Project O-Fun in the Lab and On the Sea!
Research Staff, Project Oceanology, UConn Avery Point
Saturday, July 23, 10 am to 3 pm
Avery Point, Groton location
Advance registration required: $40 ($30 for Museum members)
Fee includes both morning workshop and afternoon cruise.  
Adults and children ages 6 and above. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Please register early as spaces are limited.

Spend the day experiencing marine science, both onshore and at sea, in this beautiful setting on the Connecticut shoreline. You will be in the Project Oceanology laboratory in the morning, exploring the natural history and diversity of Long Island Sound's animal and plant life through fun hands-on activities. After the lunch break, you will take a voyage out to sea on the Envirolab II research vessel. During this 2-hour cruise on Long Island Sound, you will experience exciting hands-on marine biology at the stern of the boat by pulling trawl and plankton nets, then examining the catch. At the bow, learn chemistry and physics through fun experimentation as you operate the instruments and equipment used to study oceanography and the basic chemistry of seawater. Bring a picnic lunch to eat at the harbor's edge!   

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. 860.486.4460 - www.mnh.uconn.edu

Archaeology Field School for Kids 
 K.A.S.T. - Kids Are Scientists Too!
Monday, July 25 through Friday, July 29, 9 am to 12 noon
UConn Storrs Campus
Advance registration required: $185 ($165 if registered before June 6)
Students entering grades 5 through 10
To register call K.A.S.T. at (860) 486-9219 or visit www.kast.uconn.edu.

Do you like to solve mysteries by uncovering evidence? Do you like getting your hands dirty? Then, spend this week with UConn archaeologists exploring the world of field archaeology. You will learn about the science, tools and methods used by genuine archaeologists. Then, you will be part of a archaeological field crew, doing hands-on fieldwork and laboratory research at a real, ongoing archaeological dig. We have been opening new areas of our on campus dig site each year, and every session we uncover something new!

Presented by the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History and Connecticut Archaeology Center, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UConn. 860.486.4460 - www.mnh.uconn.edu
 

Blue Slope Country Museum

138 Blue Hill Rd.

Franklin, CT, 06254

860-542-6413

www.blueslope.com

museum@blueslope.com

Thursday Campfires

When:  July 28, August 25, 7PM - 8:30PM

Admission:  $4/person or $16/family.
Bring something to sit on, rain or shine.

138 Blue Hill RD, Franklin CT 06254
Roast marshmallows over an open campfire, sing songs, tell a tale or two. Added surprises each night!