Our inaugural travel week at the Wild at Art Summer Camp has just wrapped up. From July 9 to July 13, our travel program included a visit to the amazing and inspiring Nature Lab at the Rhode Island Institute of Design.
Campers had a close up look at many amazing natural history artifacts and were able to use state of the art microscopes to be amazing by a tiny world that is almost always hidden. Enjoy this short video of the day.
Our inaugural travel week at the Wild at Art Summer Camp has just wrapped up. From July 9 to July 13, our travel program included visits to Barry Van Dusen’s art studio for an inside look at his craft and a short trip to Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary to paint and sketch with Barry in the field. It was wonderful to see all the campers inspired by a true master artist and wonderful person. Enjoy this short video of the day.
We also visited World’s End in Hingham, travel by ferry to Peddock’s Island in Boston Harbor, visited the Roger Williams Zoo, had ice cream at Crescent Ridge, and visted the amazing Nature Lab at Rhode Island Institute of Design
Fun for the whole family! On Saturday March 19, from 1-4pm, explore the wonders of owls as the Museum of American Bird Art (MABA) host our popular Owls Live! festival. Be amazed when you see owls up close, explore the sanctuary, and create art. Drop in any time between 1 and 4pm on Saturday for Owls Live! The cost of admission is $5 per person and all ages are welcome. The museum is located on Washington Street in Canton directly across from Canton High School. Follow us on Facebook to keep up with our events and news.
Long-eared Owl. Photo Credit: Shawn Carey
Activities include owl cookie decorating, face painting, and making owl masks.
Our Owl Quest will encourage visitors to follow a set of clues in the exhibition gallery and around the 121 acre wildlife sanctuary to learn more about owls and the wonders of spring. Raffle baskets will include a week of the Wild at Art summer camp, Mass Audubon family membership and fun pack, and a framed print by MABA benefactor Mildred Morse Allen with the framing donated by the Village Gallery in Canton. Tickets to the event include admission to the current exhibition, Life on the Leaf Edge, Photographs of Native Caterpillars by Sam Jaffe.
Proceeds from the Owls Live! Festival support MABA’s Wild at Art summer camp. Families will have an opportunity to meet MABA’s camp director, Sean Kent, and senior staff. You can learn about the upcoming camp season, which is designed to engage campers in the discovery and stewardship of nature and encourage artistic expression. Sean is an experienced and skilled educator who has worked with elementary through college age students in both formal and outdoor settings.
The Caterpillar Lab is Coming!!!
We have exciting news for this summer’s Wild at Art Camp…The award winning, innovative, engaging, and awe-inspiring Caterpillar Lab is coming to camp during the Natural Connections 1 (July 6 to 10) and Taking Flight (July 13 to 17) week.
By incorporating a visit from the Caterpillar Lab with the Wild at Art Camp experience, campers will have a strong foundation to experience powerful moments of discovery throughout the year in their own backyards and daily life. In addition, this experience should infuse them with the confidence to create and express themselves more confidently through art. Only a few spots remain, so sign up today so that camper in your life won’t miss out!
During each week, the Caterpillar Lab will allow campers to get up close and personal with many different species of native caterpillars and learn about their adaptations.
Mother and daughter at a live caterpillar show seeing a cecropia moth caterpillar for the first time. © Samuel Jaffe.
Campers will:
Week 1: Natural Connections (July 6 to July 10)
For the first week, campers will learn about how these caterpillars interact with plants, like how the monarch caterpillar is able to consume milkweed and turn the toxins in the milkweed into a defensive weapon.
Week 2: Taking Flight (July 13 to July 17)
For the second week, campers will learn how caterpillars are adapted against birds. Because, unless they are “told otherwise”, birds view caterpillars as big, juicy snacks. For example, the caterpillars of the spicebush swallowtail butterfly look likes snakes, which is an adaptation that scares birds and saves the caterpillar from being lunch. We have lots of spicebush in the wildlife sanctuary and are optimistic that campers will be able to find these caterpillars on the property.
Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar
Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar. Creative Commons License.
Do you know a creative kid or a nature detective…then open up a world of exploration, imagination, and investigation this summer by signing them up for the Wild at Art Summer Camp in Canton.