Get Hooked on Your Local Nature Reserve

May 12, 2012
8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Free; no registration required

Visit Powdermill Nature Reserve for a fun-filled day of free nature activities and demonstrations for all ages. The event is led by scientists and educators from Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Powdermill Nature Reserve.

• Visit the bird banding and bioacoustics labs where birds and their migration patterns are studied.
• Go out in the field with researchers and experience turtle trapping and fish surveying, and learn more about these important scientific studies.
• Take a naturalist-led hike on the trails or discover the plants, animals, and insects of Appalachia at your own pace in the family exploration area.

Powdermill’s Get Hooked on Your Local Nature Reserve is being held in conjunction with Trout Unlimited’s Laurel Highlands Trout Trail Festival. Free shuttles between Powdermill and the Ligonier Valley YMCA will be running throughout the day. Get Hooked on Your Local Nature Reserve is presented by the museum’s Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystems.

Summer Camps for Ages 5–12

At Powdermill, wildflowers, trees, songbirds, and salamanders can be examined by eye, ear, magnifying glass, and camera. Children participate in week-long nature programs during the summer months. The classroom and exhibition areas in the Nature Center as well as the trails outside, provide meeting spaces for these programs. Click here to visit the summer camp website for listings and registration.

Classes, Lectures, and Events

To learn about programs held at Powdermill Nature Reserve in Rector, PA, visit the Powdermill programs page. To find programs held at the museum's main Pittsburgh location that deal with Powdermill research, search the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh Calendar by entering "Powdermill" as a search term.

Powdermill programs are supported by the Mudge Environmental Education Program and the Martha Edwards Lazear Foundation. Free weekend programming is sponsored by Plextronics.

Schools & Groups

Powdermill offers a variety of interdisciplinary, hands-on, environmental education activities at the Nature Center. Enhance your environment and ecology curriculum in our natural setting. In addition to our standard activities, we can also design field trips to meet your curriculum needs. For more information, see the Schools & Groups page in the Educators section.

Bird Banding

The museum's bird banding station at Powdermill Nature Reserve has been in operation for 50 years, and, after calling ahead, you can observe the trained staff as they identify, measure, weigh, and band the 200 varieties of birds who have stopped for a rest during their long migration. Banding is seasonal and weather dependent, but is usually in operation on weekends. To schedule a visit, call 724.593.7521. To learn more about their research, visit http://www.powdermillarc.org.

Educational Improvement Tax Credit

Support from area businesses through the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program supports all aspects of our programming. Click here to learn more about how your business can help.

Adopt A Bird Band

The Adopt-A-Bird-Band program invites nature lovers of all ages to become personally involved in supporting the vital biodiversity and conservation research at the core of Carnegie Museum of Natural History's mission. Adoptions make great gifts for bird lovers, budding naturalists, and conservation enthusiasts, or anyone who wants to celebrate the arrival of spring in a unique and special way. Take the Laurel Foundation Challenge: The Laurel Foundation will match your donation dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000! Click here to explore the adoption website!