Nature at Night
2019-09-18 19:00 (America/New_York) | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
The MESSENGER
THE MESSENGER is an artful investigation into the causes of songbird mass depletion and the compassionate people who are working to turn the tide. The film takes viewers on a visually stunning journey revealing how the problems facing birds also pose daunting implications for our planet and ourselves.
View the official trailer for THE MESSENGER
Please note this is a documentary containing emotional footage that may not be suitable for some viewers.

Super Science Saturday: Fallfest! 2019
2019-09-21 12:00 - 16:00 | PA
Spend your Saturday at the museum celebrating one of our favorite seasons! Learn more about the critters that live in crunchy leaf piles, make a bird feeder for some winged friends and find out how local animals prepare for the winter months ahead!
Super Science Saturdays is a program at Carnegie Museum of Natural History that invites visitors of all ages to explore a special theme through hands-on activities, experiments, demonstrations, discussions with museum experts, and more! Events are free with museum admission.

Nature Lab
2019-09-21 12:00 - 16:00 | PA
Take flight with us this fall. Drop in to the Nature Lab and learn what to watch for as birds begin their seasonal migrations. Design a wing to test against different air flow patterns, and connect with Bird Safe Pittsburgh to see what you can do to reduce bird-glass collisions in your neighborhood
Arrive any time within the four hour window. Stay until you’ve satisfied your curiosity.
We welcome all subscribed kids (ages 8-13), as long as one adult accompanies each group.
Learn about Nature Labs

Carnegie Museums Members are able to sample this session before subscribing! Come to the museum September 21 for a family visit and drop in between Noon and 4 p.m. to explore the amazing opportunities these labs have to offer your budding scientists and environmentalists.
Get an Annual Subscription to Nature Labs
Your Nature Lab subscription covers admission to Nature Lab for one child and an accompanying adult for a full year. Subscribers earn points for each Nature Lab visit. Accumulated points unlock special activities and prizes.

3.5 Billion Years of Microbial Community Interactions
2019-09-23 12:00 - 13:00 | PA
Speaker: John Stoltz, Center for Environmental Research and Education at Duquesne University
Life has existed on Earth for over 3.5 billion years. We know this through the preserved remains of microorganisms, as microfossils and microbialites such as microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) and stromatolites. Over half of the elements in the periodic table have some biological role, many with complex biogeochemical cycles that are microbially mediated. The global microbiome encompasses a wide range of environments including deep in the Earth’s crust, with an estimated population of ~1030 cells and more than a trillion species. Deep sequencing projects have revealed hitherto unknown phyla and “microbial dark matter.” The discoveries of conductive pili and cable bacteria have shown that microbes can transfer electrons to and from external sources (a process known as electrotrophy), sometimes over significant distances. This talk focuses on John Stolz’s research on metal munching microbes and the microbial communities of living stromatolites from the Bahamas and Shark Bay, Australia. Stolz will discuss how the intimate interactions of microbes with their environment that started way back in the Archean has helped forge the world we know today.

Stream Ecology in a Changing World: a Multi-Scale Approach to Evaluating Threats to Water Quality
2019-09-26 18:00 - 20:00 | PA
Speaker: Andy Turner, Professor of Biology and Geoscience, Clarion University
Pennsylvania holds more than 80,000 miles of flowing water, ranging from small streams to large rivers. These systems are buffeted by an array of environmental challenges. An overview of the research aimed at understanding the consequences of these perturbations will be provided. The approaches span a variety of spatial scales and the need for multiple methodologies in studying ecological systems. The results show that streams and rivers are resilient to some forms of environmental change and yet sensitive to others, highlighting the importance of continued research.

Pittsburgh in the Global Watershed: A Panel Discussion
2019-09-27 18:00 - 20:00 | PA
CMOA Theater

Please RSVP to this event as space is limited.
Nicole Heller
Museum Fellow and Associate Curator of the Anthropocene,
Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Jason Scorse
Director, Center for the Blue Economy,
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Caleb McClennen
Vice President, Global Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society
Shane Elipot
Research Assistant Professor of Ocean Sciences,
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science,
University of Miami

RSVP to the Panel Discussion

Sponsored by Carnegie Museum of Natural History board member Henry Simonds.
In partnership with Middlebury College’s Faculty on the Road series.

Sensory Friendly Saturday: Booseum Trick-or-Treat
2019-10-05 08:30 - 10:00 | PA
Join us in investigating the creepy and awesome creatures that call the museum home! Meet live animals, learn spooky facts about our tarantula, and enjoy a Halloween movie on the big screen! Trick-or-treat around dinosaurs and mummies at stations throughout the museum and wear a costume* to receive a small prize!
*Please, no masks, weapons, or backpacks
Please register in advance so we can provide a sensory friendly setting.

Saturday, October 5, 2019
8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Storytime and More
2019-10-06 14:00 | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
Little Owl’s Night
Little Owl loves the night, and so do many of his friends. Follow Little Owl as he flies through the night, observing other nocturnal creatures. As morning approaches, he heads back home to Mama, and she shares with him how night ends as he falls fast asleep. After the story, we will head outside in search of sleeping creatures.

21st Century Naturalist
2019-10-10 18:00 - 20:00 | PA
Speaker: Laurie Giarratani, Director of Education, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Anthropocene problem-solving presents an urgent need for creative, community-minded, multidisciplinary thinkers and doers. Addressing concerns like climate change, habitat alteration, and biodiversity loss requires understanding of nature, science and technology, and the ability to examine how these systems are interconnected. With funding from the Spencer Foundation, a team of CMNH scientists, Learning Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, and community partners have been working together to find new ways to activate museum resources and build a diverse community of 21st Century Naturalists in the Pittsburgh region.
This is a Carnegie Discoverers meeting. Learn more about Carnegie Discoverers and how to join.

Free Admission - RADical Day
2019-10-13 | PA
Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History will have free admission on Sunday, October 13, 2019 as part of RADical Days.
As a thank you each year to the taxpayers of Allegheny county, Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD), in conjunction with organizations throughout Allegheny county, present RADical Days – a celebration featuring free events, performances, and admission.

Science and Nature Program and Nature Explorers
2019-10-13 14:00 | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
A Living Museum: A History of the Land at Powdermill Nature Reserve
The land at Powdermill has a long history even before the establishment of the nature reserve in 1956. Pamela Curtin, Education Coordinator at the Westmoreland Historical Society, will share an historical overview of Powdermill and how people have used the landscape over time. Whether using its natural resources for agriculture, logging, or mining, or by studying its flora and fauna to understand and conserve the natural environment, people have changed the land, and some remnants of these changes are visible today. The effects of human activity are both unique to the area and reflective of larger historical trends and challenges that the state and region have faced. This research uses a blend of historical documents, such as written records and images, as well as modern GIS technologies to understand both past and present at Powdermill. After the lecture, please join us for a short hike to find evidence of human impact on the land.
Powdermill Exploration
What happened at Powdermill before it became a nature reserve? What has happened since? Children will discover the long history of Powdermill’s land by studying historic images, documents, and maps that show how things have changed over time. After the activity, children can meet up with adults attending the lecture to enjoy a short hike in search of evidence of human impact on the land.

Mini Bioblitz Challenge! Pittsburgh vs Sabah, Malaysia
2019-10-16 | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
From Wednesday, October 16, to Sunday, October 20, iNaturalist users around Carnegie Museums and Powdermill Nature Reserve can compete with students working with museum herpetologist Jen Sheridan on the other side of the world in Sabah, Malaysia! Any observations made in Allegheny or Westmoreland County October 16 through 20 will count towards Pittsburgh’s totals. Let’s see how many observations we can make and how our biodiversity compares!

The Chronicles of Junonia: Adventures in Butterfly Biology
2019-10-16 12:00 - 13:00 | PA
Speaker: Jeffrey M. Marcus
University of Manitoba
The Marcus laboratory studies the genomic origins, development, evolution, and diversification of butterfly and color patterns, with a particular focus on the buckeye butterflies (genus Junonia). This system is a wonderful model for understanding butterfly biology because it permits the integrated study of phenotypic traits at many levels of organization from genetics and cell biology to ecology and behavior. In this talk, I will be sharing some of our recent scientific adventures with butterflies, as we use genomic tools to test hypotheses about how new species are made, disperse to new habitats (sometimes across enormous distances), and adapt to extreme high-elevation environments. The new tools we have developed allow us to use museum specimens to easily and inexpensively expand our geographic sampling far beyond what we could ever collect ourselves. More importantly, they will help us unleash the hidden riches of natural history collections both for buckeye butterflies and for many other kinds of organisms, by adding an important 4th dimension (time) to studies of evolution, population genetics, conservation biology, and for documenting organismal responses to climate change.

Nature at Night
2019-10-16 17:00 - 20:00 | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
Tales and Trails: Halloween at Powdermill
Explore the spooky side of Powdermill in the evening at this family-friendly Halloween event! Drop in anytime between 5 and 8 pm to see how apple cider is made, listen to a fireside ghost story, decorate a pumpkin, and even meet animals from the museum’s living collection!
Please note the time change of 5 – 8 pm.

Haunted Museum After Dark
2019-10-18 18:00 - 22:00 | PA

Scouts BSA Archaeology Merit Badge
2019-10-19 13:00 - 16:00 | PA
Learn about the field of archaeology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History! Participate in a mock dig and help prepare an archaeological exhibit for display. Learn about the traditional dwellings, clothing, and crafts of the Iroquois in the Alcoa Foundation Hall of American Indians.
Merit Badge pre-requisites: Archaeology 4 and 5
Merit Badge requirements met during workshop: Archaeology 1-3, 6, 7a, 8b, 9a, 10, 11
Registration fee includes same-day admission to Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History. Required adult chaperones may register at no charge: one BSA registered adult per five scouts for groups or one BSA registered adult per independent scout. Chaperone requirements ensure that all workshop activities maintain two-deep leadership.

Saturday, October 19, 2019
1–4 p.m.
Fees and Registration: $20
Final Day to Register: October 16, 2019

Power Beyond Extraction: A Buried History
2019-10-24 18:00 - 20:30 | CMOA Theater
6–6:30 p.m. Live performance of old miners’ movement songs from Appalachia by Joe Uehlein.
6:30–8:30 p.m. Panel discussion
The history of Appalachia is tightly bound to the history of coal, and the material and sentimental attachments to this history presents a predicament for the environmental movement. On one hand, the history of coal is a history of exploitation of both land and labor. On the other, it is the history of the struggle of workers to organize for dignified work, fair pay, and safe working conditions. How should the environmental movement relate to workers whose livelihoods are tied to fossil fuel extraction? One answer has emerged with the concept of a just transition, which holds that in the transition to clean energy, no worker will be left behind. What can be learned from the buried history of labor militancy borne inside the mine? By approaching the history of coal as a history of labor, this panel asks how the long struggle for work with dignity can inform a just transition.
Speakers
Shaun Slifer, Creative Director, West Virginia Mine Wars Museum
Kipp Dawson, former coal miner, union member, teacher
Joe Uehlein, Founding President, Labor Network for Sustainability
Veronica Coptis, Executive Director, Center for Coalfield Justice
This event is presented as part of “Power Beyond Extraction”, a programming series hosted at Pittsburgh-area museums on the occasion of the Shale Insight Conference, an annual convening of oil/gas industry executives. The event series is curated and organized by The Natural History Museum, a traveling, pop-up museum founded by the art collective Not An Alternative in 2014. An ongoing art intervention, The Natural History Museum has a mission to unleash the power of museums as agents of change.
The event will begin with labor leader and professional musician Joe Uehlein playing a selection of coal mining songs that “speak to the dangers of working underground, the reverence miners have for the mountains they love and call their home, and how miners live a painful contradiction where the economy that supports their families also destroys the earth. The music will be engaging, with plenty of upbeat and fight back themes.”

Super Science Saturday: Booseum Trick-or-Treat
2019-10-26 12:00 - 16:00 | PA
Join us in investigating the creepy and awesome creatures that call the museum home! Meet live animals, learn spooky facts about our tarantula, and enjoy a Halloween movie on the big screen! Trick-or-treat around dinosaurs and mummies at stations throughout the museum and wear a costume* to receive a small prize!
*Please, no masks, weapons, or backpacks

Buy Museum Admission

Fire Underground: Animated Screening and Discussion
2019-10-26 14:00 - 16:00 | CMOA Theater
2–3 p.m. Screening of animated film Fire Underground
3–4 p.m. Panel discussion with artist/filmmaker
SCREENING
Fire Underground is an animated film by artist Nick Crockett, built in a game engine, which presents an alternative version of the 300 million year history of coal. Hovering between homage and parody, fantasy and documentary, cinema and simulation, it pitches labor history and natural history against the confused representations of Appalachia in popular culture today.
Speakers
Nick Crockett, artist and filmmaker
Steve Tonsor, Director of Science and Research at Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Steve Lyons, art historian and curator, Not An Alternative / The Natural History Museum

Using iNaturalist at Powdermill Nature Reserve
2019-10-29 09:00 - 15:00 | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
Help your students contribute to science! Join us at Powdermill Nature Reserve, the Environmental Research Station of Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Rector, PA as we explore different tools to observe and sample biodiversity in natural landscapes. Learn techniques for recording and analyzing nature observations in the woodlands surrounding Powdermill, and sketch with pencil and paper.
Use digital photography and the iNaturalist app to contribute data to crowdsourced science efforts. Find out how a trip to Powdermill can help your students experience and study the natural world. This workshop will introduce classroom activities that will help your students participate in people-powered science and investigate nature around them.
Funding is available to reimburse your school or district for substitute teacher costs on the day that you attend this workshop.
Registration has ended for this Educator workshop.
Learn about more Educator Workshops

Nature Lab: Animal Evidence
2019-11-02 12:00 - 16:00 | PA
Scat on the ground, animal tracks in your neighborhood, holes and rubbings left on trees… there are many signs that wildlife is all around us in Southwestern Pennsylvania! Using sight, sound and touch, learn to read the evidence that animals leave behind.
Arrive any time within the four hour window. Stay until you’ve satisfied your curiosity.
We welcome all subscribed kids (ages 8-13), as long as one adult accompanies each group.
Learn about Nature Labs

Get an Annual Subscription to Nature Labs
Your Nature Lab subscription covers admission to Nature Lab for one child and an accompanying adult for a full year. Subscribers earn points for each Nature Lab visit. Accumulated points unlock special activities and prizes.

Exploring a New Concept for the Carnegie Institute
2019-11-07 18:00 - 20:00 | PA
Speaker: Eric Dorfman, Director, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) is an exciting update on traditional teaching methods that fosters innovation through cross-pollinating the minds of scientists with those of artists. For museums, which engage in both formal and informal learning, STEAM offers a compelling model for future development. This event will explore opportunities for STEAM across the Carnegie and cover some exciting recent and upcoming initiatives that integrate both the arts and sciences.
This is a Carnegie Discoverers meeting. Learn more about Carnegie Discoverers and how to join.

Science and Nature Program & Nature Explorers
2019-11-10 14:00 | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
Passing Through: Avian Migration
Expand your knowledge of avian migration and stopover ecology, and discover what makes Powdermill Nature Reserve such a wonderful resting and refueling site for migratory birds. Learn about the important research that happens at Powdermill Avian Research Center and why it is conducted. Grab some binoculars and head outside for a bit of birding through Powdermill.
It’s Getting Cold Up Here!
Take flight on a hands-on journey to explore the wonders of bird migration. Discover why birds migrate, learn about bird flight, and create your own model bird that you can fly! Find out why scientists band birds and what we hope to learn from our feathered friends. Next we’ll look to the skies, grass, and in between to find some birds on their way through Powdermill Nature Reserve.

Evolution & Adaptation: What Mammals Tell Us
2019-11-14 09:00 - 15:00 | PA
Develop new learning tools to help students examine and understand the patterns and processes of evolution, using mammals as a lens. Think together about the most effective strategies for teaching evolution in a classroom and explore museum resources that can enhance your lesson plans. Find out how our educator loan collection and field trips to our exhibits can help support these efforts. Through hands-on activities and discussions with museum paleontologists, this workshop will help you strengthen your evolution curriculum.
If more than 50% of your students qualify for free or reduced-price school lunch, your school or organization will be eligible for a scholarship towards a museum field trip after the workshop.
Last Day to Register: October 24, 2019
Learn about Educator Workshops

Register for the Workshop

National Geographic: 50 Greatest Wildlife Photographs
2019-11-16 | PA

A national map of biodiversity importance: guiding conservation investment
2019-11-18 12:00 - 13:00 | PA
Speaker: Christopher Tracey
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
The biodiversity found within the United States is the foundation of our country’s economic, ecological, and cultural wellbeing. Although government agencies and land trusts have made enormous progress at conserving natural areas, to date only about 13% of our nation’s land area is formally protected. Many species and ecosystems remain poorly represented or absent entirely from existing protected areas. To guide effective future conservation investment, there is urgent need for a national map showing the regions with high concentrations of at-risk species, one that emphasizes where species with the smallest ranges, and thus the fewest options for conserving them, occur. NatureServe and its network of Natural Heritage Programs are collaborating with Esri, The Nature Conservancy, and Microsoft to produce a national map of biodiversity importance. The NatureServe network’s high-quality species occurrence data and species distribution modeling expertise allows us to map distributions of 2,250 at-risk species and determine the most important places to protect them. Beginning with existing biodiversity observation data, advanced analysis tools, and modern visualization and communication technology, we can provide defensible and inspiring guidance toward protection of the most crucial lands and waters that sustain the biological richness of our nation.

Nature at Night
2019-11-20 19:00 | Powdermill Nature Reserve, 1795 Route 381, Rector, PA, 15677, United States
Owl Prowl
“Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” Well, no one, if you’re an owl! Come learn who asks that question and more as we explore owls native to Pennsylvania. Then we will go prowling the woods for owls! Bring your binoculars, warm clothes, and good walking shoes for this fun adventure.

Exploring & Documenting Urban Nature
2019-12-04 09:00 - 15:00 | PA
Explore new ways your students can contribute to science and learn to identify plants and animals. Go behind-the-scenes with museum scientists to learn how collections and live specimens help in studying diversity, and discover hands-on activities that are ready to use in your classroom. A visit to the exhibit 50 Greatest Wildlife Photographs, on loan to us from the National Geographic Museum, will explore nature photography using different types of tools to help you see up close and farther away. Using the iNaturalist digital platform, this workshop will focus on documenting urban nature and using observation to participate in people-powered science.
Funding is available to reimburse your school or district for substitute teacher costs on the day that you attend this workshop.
Last Day to Register: November 13, 2019
Learn about Educator Workshops

Register for the Workshop

58 years, 750,000 birds: Building Powdermill’s Avian Research Center One Bird at a Time
2019-12-05 18:00 - 20:00 | PA
Speaker: Luke DeGroote, Avian Research Coordinator, Powdermill Nature Preserve, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Studies of natural history are increasingly rare, yet they underpin the questions that are asked, the validity of tests performed, and the efforts to conserve biodiversity in a rapidly changing world. How these time-honored techniques are mixed with new technology to build research and education programs for the 21st Century at Powdermill’s Avian Research Center will be presented.

Star Wars After Dark
2019-12-06 18:00 - 22:00 | PA
