Wet and Wild Weekend
Posted in Programs and Events on May 2 2008, by Plant Talk
April showers bring May flowers, as the adage goes. April brought a little bit of rain to the Bronx, but now it’s the month of May’s turn. The weatherman predicts some sporadic rainfall this weekend, which will further the Garden’s transition into vibrant spring colors. But don’t be scared by the muggy weather, folks. This weekend (May 3–4) is jam-packed with events such as Charles Darwin programming, a home gardening demonstration on growing lilacs, and kids programming dealing with worms.
Check out the full listing after the jump.
Saturday May 3rd
Darwin’s Garden Bird Walk
Saturday, May 3, 11 a.m.
Meets at the Reflecting Pool at the Leon Levy Visitor Center
Bring your binoculars and walk the Garden grounds with a bird expert. You’ll search for birds and learn more about bird-friendly habitats for both passage birds and those that reside at the Garden.
Darwin’s Garden: His Life with Plants
Saturday, May 3, 12:30 p.m.
In the 6th floor Library Gallery
Take a docent-led tour of an exhibition of more than 60 rare books and objects that tell the story of Charles Darwin’s lifelong relationship with plants. Darwin’s original manuscripts, field notebooks, plant collections, and other historical documents chronicle his progression from a boy with an interest in plants to an evolutionary botanist who revolutionized the world’s view of life.
Darwin’s Garden: Everyday Science
Saturday, May 3, 1–3 p.m.
In the Perennial Garden
Learn the basics of scientific experimentation, the likes of which Charles Darwin used in his research. Develop your skills of observation, inquiry, and hypothesis with scientific instruments, herbarium specimens, and Garden plants. Use these new skills to uncover unknown aspects of the Garden.
Home Gardening Demonstration—Trouble-free Lilacs
Saturday, May 3, 1:30 p.m.
In the Home Gardening Center
Join Sonia Uyterhoeven, Gardener for Public Education, as she takes you through the basics for growing lilacs. Learn how to rejuvenate old plants to start them flowering again.
Darwin’s Garden: His Life with Plants
Saturday, May 3, 2:30 p.m.
In the 6th floor Library Gallery
Take a curator-led tour of an exhibition of more than 60 rare books and objects that tell the story of Charles Darwin’s lifelong relationship with plants. Darwin’s original manuscripts, field notebooks, plant collections, and other historical documents chronicle his progression from a boy with an interest in plants to an evolutionary botanist who revolutionized the world’s view of life.
Lyrical Evolution: Poetry and Music on Darwin and Botany
Saturday, May 3, 3 p.m.
In the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall
Enjoy Charles Darwin’s lyrical descriptions of the plant world in The Voyage of the Beagle, his grandfather’s poetry on evolution, and scientific verse written by modern day poet-scientists, in this glimpse into the history of botanical poetry. David Rose’s readings will be followed by a concert of music from Darwin’s lifetime, presented by musicians from the Manhattan School of Music. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Café Scientifique
Saturday, May 3, 3:30-5 p.m.
In the Perennial Garden
Engage in lively conversation with Garden scientists and students from the Botanical Garden’s Graduate Studies Program as they discuss Darwin’s influence on their research today at the Garden as well as around the world, working in the field, herbarium, library and laboratory.
Darwin for Kids
Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
The interactive exhibition features a replica of the HMS Beagle, the ship on which Darwin took his famous five-year voyage to South America and around the world, a timeline of his life, a re-creation of his research laboratory, and some of the plants that were important to his findings. Children will enjoy potting up a vegetable plant, learning to create an herbarium specimen, and investigating various bogs. They can also experiment with the way seeds travel through water, explore an interactive Tree of Life, and develop their own evolutionary tree examining how relationships form among different species of plants.
Wild, Wiggly Worms
Saturday, May 3, 1–5:30 p.m.
In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Learn all about these slimy creatures and how they are hard at work in the Garden. Make a collage and sift nutritious worm compost to take home for your houseplants.
Sunday, May 4
Darwin’s Garden: His Garden Re-created
Sunday, May 4, 12:30 p.m.
At the Conservatory entrance
Take a docent-led tour of the Conservatory segment of Darwin’s Garden: An Evolutionary Adventure, which re-creates Down House, the place in Kent, England, where Charles Darwin spent the last 40 years of his life observing and experimenting with plants in the gardens, greenhouses, and surrounding countryside.
Darwin’s Garden: Everyday Science
Sunday, May 4, 1–3 p.m.
In the Conservatory Tent
Learn the basics of scientific experimentation, the likes of which Charles Darwin used in his research. Develop your skills of observation, inquiry, and hypothesis with scientific instruments, herbarium specimens, and Garden plants. Use these new skills to uncover unknown aspects of the Garden.
Home Gardening Demonstration—Trouble-free Lilacs
Sunday, May 4, 1:30 p.m.
In the Home Gardening Center
Join Sonia Uyterhoeven, Gardener for Public Education, as she takes you through the basics for growing lilacs. Learn how to rejuvenate old plants to start them flowering again.
Lyrical Evolution: Poetry and Music on Darwin and Botany
Sunday, May 4, 3 p.m.
In the Arthur and Janet Ross Lecture Hall
Enjoy Charles Darwin’s lyrical descriptions of the plant world in The Voyage of the Beagle, his grandfather’s poetry on evolution, and scientific verse written by modern day poet-scientists, in this glimpse into the history of botanical poetry. David Rose’s readings will be followed by a concert of music from Darwin’s lifetime, presented by musicians from the Manhattan School of Music. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Darwin for Kids
Sunday, May 4, 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden
The interactive exhibition features a replica of the HMS Beagle, the ship on which Darwin took his famous five-year voyage to South America and around the world, a timeline of his life, a re-creation of his research laboratory, and some of the plants that were important to his findings. Children will enjoy potting up a vegetable plant, learning to create an herbarium specimen, and investigating various bogs. They can also experiment with the way seeds travel through water, explore an interactive Tree of Life, and develop their own evolutionary tree examining how relationships form among different species of plants.
Wild, Wiggly Worms
Sunday, May 4, 1–5:30 p.m.
In the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden
Learn all about these slimy creatures and how they are hard at work in the Garden. Make a collage and sift nutritious worm compost to take home for your houseplants.
