The Museum and Nature Center at John James Audubon State Park is temporarily closed to visitors. During this time of self-isolation, our staff is working to bring you entertaining and engaging content that you can explore from home. On Fridays we will be sharing a summary of that week’s content in a “Weekly Roundup” post on the Friends of Audubon blog.
Here are this week’s latest videos, activities, and social media posts from our museum curator, art educator, and park naturalist.
MUSEUM MONDAYS
Every Monday our museum curator, Heidi Taylor-Caudill, will share stories uncovered from the museum archives in a short “Museum Monday” video. This week we published our second video, “Beginnings,” about the citizens of Henderson, Kentucky, who came together to clear a path for the creation of John James Audubon State Park in the early 1930s. Learn the origin story of our state park and how visionary Kentuckians donated and acquired the 300 acres of land that were necessary to establish it.
On Mondays, check out @johnjamesaudubonstatepark (Facebook) and @JJAStatePark (Twitter) to see our newest Museum Monday video. You can also find the videos on the Friends of Audubon blog using the tag, “Museum Mondays.”
WILD WEDNESDAYS
On Wednesdays, join our park naturalist, Lisa Hoffman, for virtual explorations of John James Audubon State Park, a beautiful nature preserve of hilly forests, lakes, and wetlands in northwestern Kentucky. This week’s video came on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, an annual event observed across the world on April 22 to show support for environmental protection. In this nature slideshow, we celebrated the spring beauty of John James Audubon State Park.
Every Wednesday, check out @johnjamesaudubonstatepark (Facebook) and @JJAStatePark (Twitter) to see our newest Wild Wednesday video. You can also find the videos on the Friends of Audubon blog using the tag, “Wild Wednesdays.”
FANTASTIC FRIDAYS
Last week Mrs. Kim taught kids how to create a “crazy bird.” This week, we’ve added those crazy birds to our online puzzle site. Try your skills with these fun, simple puzzles.
On Fridays, check out @johnjamesaudubonstatepark (Facebook) and @JJAStatePark (Twitter) to see our newest Fantastic Friday project. You can also find the projects on the Friends of Audubon blog using the tag, “Fantastic Fridays.”
RECREATION STATION VIDEO
A bird in hand is worth…at least a peck or two. Ouch! Follow along on a bird banding adventure at John James Audubon State Park, during Kentucky State Parks Recreation Station!
VIRTUAL TOUR: PEACE IN THE VALLEY ART EXHIBIT
Audubon Arts and Ohio Valley Art League (OVAL) have joined forces for a new exhibit entitled, “Peace in the Valley,” which communicates the spirit and essence of peace. Over 80 pieces of original art by tri-state and regional artists are hanging at the John James Audubon Museum until June 18, 2020.
Since the Audubon Museum is currently closed due to COVID-19, a virtual tour of the pieces on display will be posted to the John James Audubon State Park Facebook page on Friday, April 24th (Part 1) and Saturday, April 25th (Part 2).
If you are interested in purchasing any of the artwork, please contact Kim McGrew-Liggett for payment instructions and a scheduled pick-up time. Questions? Contact: Kim McGrew-Liggett at (270) 826-2247 ext. 227 or kim.mcgrew@ky.gov.
#ARCHIVE30 ON TWITTER
Every year @ARAScot hosts #Archive30, a social media campaign that highlights archives around the world and the work of archivists. We will be posting about the daily topics below throughout April. Check back every day to see what we’re sharing from our museum archives!
A collection of our tweets from Week Three of #Archive30 (April 15-21, 2020). The topics this week included: Sport; Archive Advice; Archive Building; Typical Day; Archive Mystery; Unusual Item; and Misconceptions.
For Week Four of #Archive30, we’re sharing items from our museum archives on these topics: Hidden Histories; Something Small; Your Workspace; Fashion; Something Scary; Archive Hacks; Archive Inclusion; Archive Goals; and Why Archives?
Visit our Twitter page @JJAStatePark to see our newest posts!
ONLINE PUZZLES
Need a distraction for a few minutes? Try some of our new online puzzles! The puzzles feature photography of John James Audubon State Park, art and artifacts from our museum collection, and some of Mrs. Kim’s drawings from Fantastic Fridays. There are different levels of difficulty and you can change the number of pieces based on your preference. New puzzles will be added each week.
NEED MORE MUSEUM AND NATURE CONTENT?
Follow John James Audubon State Park
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see what we share over the next week.
Facebook: @johnjamesaudubonstatepark
Twitter: @JJAStatePark
Instagram: @audubon_state_park
New Audubon Book
The Sporting Shotguns of John James Audubon
Henry O. Robertson, Ph.D.
The great naturalist and 19th Century bird painter John James Audubon used shotguns to down the over 400 birds he painted for his masterworks. This book tracks down the shotguns that Audubon owned and that are still in existence. The book argues that Audubon loved his guns and his artistic creativity emerged from a hunter’s mindset.
Available on Amazon
DIY Projects
The National Audubon Society shared this fun activity to make migration-friendly window decals using puff paint or glue. Did you know that one of the dangers birds face during their journeys are window collisions? This activity enables you to help birds and creatively decorate your home.
Gardenista recently published an article about 9 fun and easy DIY projects to do with kids. Projects include: constructing a bird feeder; making mud pies; creating a foot soak; creating an art print from plants; throwing seed bombs; and more.
Jane Kirkland’s Take a Walk Book Series
Author Jane Kirkland is currently offering parents and teachers free digital downloads of books from her “Take a Walk” series. These are award-winning nature discovery books for readers ages 8 and up. Titles include: Take a Backyard Bird Walk; Take a Wetlands Walk; Take a Cloud Walk; Take a Walk with Butterflies and Dragonflies; and Take a City Nature Walk. Learn more at https://www.janekirkland.com/blog/in-the-time-of-coronavirus.
This blog post was written by Heidi Taylor-Caudill, Curator of the John James Audubon State Park Museum.