The Museum and Nature Center at John James Audubon State Park is temporarily closed to visitors. During this time, our staff is working to bring you entertaining and engaging content that you can explore from home. On Mondays we will be sharing a summary of the last week’s content in a “Weekly Roundup” post on the Friends of Audubon blog.
Here are the latest videos, activities, and social media posts from our museum curator, art educator, and park naturalist for May 4-8, 2020.
MUSEUM MONDAYS
Every Monday our museum curator, Heidi Taylor-Caudill, will share stories about the museum collection and history of John James Audubon State Park in a “Museum Monday” video. On Monday, May 4th, Heidi talked about John James Audubon’s 1821 study of a ruby-throated hummingbird in our museum collection. It is an example of Audubon’s early determination to succeed in producing lifelike and accurate bird portraits. Learn about his reasons for traveling to Louisiana in 1820 to study and draw birds, why he may have used studies like this one in his later work for The Birds of America, and how the drawing came to the museum at John James Audubon State Park.
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. In the video for Wednesday, May 6th, you’ll discover fun facts and feeder tips about Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
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
On Fridays, our art educator, Kim McGrew-Ligget, is sharing fun projects to help kids practice and develop their artistic skills. You can find how-to’s and videos on Facebook @johnjamesaudubonstatepark and Twitter @JJAStatePark. Find all the videos on the Friends of Audubon blog using the tag, “Fantastic Fridays.”
Last week’s project with Mrs. Kim teaches you how to draw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird similar to the bird drawn by John James Audubon. Feel free to share your birds in the comments section on Facebook or Twitter!
NEWS FROM THE MUSEUM SHOP
Do you need a Father’s Day, Birthday, or “Just Because” gift? Our museum shop at John James Audubon State Park would love to help!
Though the Audubon Museum is currently closed to visitors, we are now are offering you the opportunity to buy items from our museum shop over the phone. For customers in the local area, we can make arrangements with you to have your purchases made available for contactless curbside pickup at our museum’s back patio. Contact our museum shop manager, Raini Hall, at (270) 826-2247 ext. 235 or raini.hall@ky.gov for more information.
https://friendsofaudubon.org/2020/05/museum-shop-news-curbside-pickup-now-available/
OBJECT SPOTLIGHT
Every object in our collection has a story. Last week on the Friends of Audubon blog, our museum curator discussed Juliet Alves’ 1939 book, ‘Seven Oaks,’ and her poem, “Listen, Audubon!,” about the dedication of the Audubon Memorial Museum (now the John James Audubon State Park Museum) on July 15, 1938. https://friendsofaudubon.org/2020/05/object-of-the-week-seven-oaks-by-juliet-alves/
Find all the Object Spotlight blog posts on the Friends of Audubon blog using the tag, “Object Spotlight.”
NEW BLOG SERIES ABOUT AUDUBON
John James Audubon’s story is both complicated and captivating. Over the next few months on the Friends of Audubon blog, we will delve deeper into Audubon’s history to learn more about the people, places, and events that shaped his life’s course. This series offers us the opportunity to share more of the wonderful collection of Audubon-related artifacts, archival material, and artwork in the John James Audubon State Park Museum. Look for a new post on the blog every Thursday afternoon.
Last week our museum curator took a look at Audubon’s signature, which was so prized in his later years and after his death, that it was often cut from his letters to serve as autographs. Learn more at: https://friendsofaudubon.org/2020/05/audubons-signature/
Find all the Audubon’s Story blog posts on the Friends of Audubon blog using the tag, “Audubon Story.”
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, drawings from Fantastic Friday projects, as well as bird and flower images from 19th century greeting cards used by John James Audubon’s descendants. 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.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to see what we share over the next week!
- Facebook: @johnjamesaudubonstatepark
- Twitter: @JJAStatePark
- Instagram: @audubon_state_park
This blog post was written by Heidi Taylor-Caudill, Curator of the John James Audubon State Park Museum.