The Little Nature Museum offers interactive, interdisciplinary, hands-on nature, science, history-related and environmental programs for youth, families, homeschoolers, adults, and seniors.

Outreach Programs

These programs can be brought to your school, church, community center, private home, library, retirement community, or other location.  Depending upon the topic, programs are available for preschool age through senior citizens.  They are designed for 30 individuals or less (some can accommodate more) and are highly interactive.  Most offer hands-on activities; they can be tailor-made to your group.  These programs are presented by an experienced science teacher and museum director, Sandra W. Martin.

Click here for a list of programs we offer

Programs at The Hopkinton Town Library

When the Museum is closed for the season, it offers free educational nature programs which are held in the Community Room at the Hopkinton Town Library. These high quality programs are made possible through generous donations and museum memberships. Be sure to check the Museum's calendar for upcoming events.

Upcoming 2012 Programs

February 18 Who Goes There? Identifying Animal Tracks and Signs with award-winning environmental educator, Ruth Smith.

Snow provides a wonderful pallet for wildlife stories. Learn some simple tricks to identifying the clues left behind by your wild neighbors so that the next time you're out in the woods, fields or your own yard & find some tracks, scat or other “calling cards” you'll be able to know who was there.

March 3 Art Trailworks, an environmental art program for grades 2-5 children with environmental art teacher, Cynthia Robinson.

Come use natural materials like bark, pine cones & sticks to create a sculpture which can also be a home for a local animal or insect. We'll work together to construct an indoor Nature Trail linking our animal homes...our own museum for a day! Take your Trailwork Artwork home to enjoy and share. Preregistration required; call 746-6121. Limit, 15 children.

April 14 Wings of the Night: Owls and Bats, with Education Director, NH Audubon Society, Kevin Wall.

While both of these nocturnal animals rely heavily on their sense of hearing to survive, each has its own way of catching prey. A live owl, props, & a slide show help us learn how each creature is beneficial to the natural world.

Past museum-sponsored programs at The Hopkinton Town Library:

2003

March 22 – “Landscaping for Wildlife”, Marilyn Wyzga, NH Fish and Game Educator

May 1 – “Fun with Fossils”, Sandra W. Martin, Science Teacher Director, The Little Nature Museum

2004

March 13 – “Wildlife Myth Conceptions” with Marilyn Wyzga, NH Fish and Game Educator

April 3 – “Super Soil: How to Have a Great Garden”,with Marie Shaffer, Master Gardener

2005 – 50th anniversary of the Museum

March 19 – “Life Under the Ice: NH Fish on Ice”,with Mark Beauchesne, Coordinator for NH Fish and Game’s Let’s Go Fishing Program

April 9 – “Whose Woods These Were; I Am Beginning to know….Social History of the Minks”, with Rebecca Courser, 25 yr. Veteran of the Warner Historical Society

May 7 – “Wonders of Wetlands”, featuring Lori Summer and Barbara Fales, staff from the NH Dept. of Environmental Services

July 9 – “A Year in the Life of a Turtle”,with David Carroll, nationally acclaimed artist, author, and naturalist

2006

February 4 – “Geology and Collapse of the Old Man of the Mountain”, with Leland Wilder, Adjunct Professor of Earth-Space Science at Colby-Sawyer College and Public Outreach Coordinator for the NH Geological Survey in the NH Dept. of Environmental Services.

April 1 – “Coats for Critters”, with Tim Carey, NH Fish and Game Volunteer

May 6 – “Discovering New England Stone Walls”, with Kevin Gardner, author of The Granite Kiss and producer for NH Public radio.

2007

February 10 – “The Energy-Climate Change Connection”, with Joanne Morin, Technical Services Administrator of the NH Department of Environmental Services, Air Resources Division

March 24 – “Super Stewards: How Early Native Americans Cared for the Earth”, a children’s and family program, Ruth Smith, Education and Volunteer Manager, Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum.

May 19 – “New Hampshire Common Loons: New Challenges for a Resilient Species", featured Harry Vogel, executive director, Loon Preservation Committee

2008

February 2 – “Earthquakes in New Hampshire (or why the earth moves under your feet)” , David R Wunsch, PhD, P.G State Geologist and Director of the NH Geological Survey, NH Department of Environmental Services.

March 29 - "Mount Washington Observatory ....bitter xold, dense fog, heavy snow; incredible weather", presented by Peter Crane, PhD, Director of Programs, Mt Washington Observatory.

April 19 - "Dig into the Past: The Mystery of the Sites....a children's archaeology program", with Sheila Charles, M.A., Historic and Archaeological Research Consultant and Strawbery Banke Archaeologist.

2009

February 7 - "Climate Change:  Moving from Hope to Action", with Patrick Miller, MPH, Research Associate Professor, School of Health and Human Services, UNH.

March 28 - "Wildlife Rehabilitation:  Saving New Hampshire's Injured and Orphaned Wildlife", with Cathie Gregg, Director of the Elaine Conners Center for Wildlife in Madison, NH. 

May 2 - "Wolves:  Beyond the Myths", with Myrtle Clapp who has worked at the Loki Clan Wolf Refuge in Conway, NH for almost 12 years, has studied wildlife behavior for about 40 yrs. and is a member of the Refuge's Board of Directors. 

2010

February 20 - "Vermiculture:  The Wonderful World of Worm Composting", with Joan O'Connor, of Joan's Famous Composting Worms.  Joan showed us how to create our own compost using red worms. 

April 10 - "What's So Great About Great Bay?" with Nathan Hazen, UNH marine docent, SeaTrek program.  Nathan highlighted the invaluable and unique habitats of Great Bay.

April 24 - "Ben Kilham on Bears", with Ben Kilham.  Ben, author, film maker and black bear behavior expert, showed us some of the results of his unique research on bear behavior.  

2011

February 19 - "Pastures of Plenty: The Future of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Conservation in New England", with Dr. John E. Carroll, professor of environmental conservation in the department of natural resources & the environment at UNH. In 3 decades at UNH, he has taught & done research on national & international environmental policy, diplomacy, ethics, & values as they pertain to sustainable agriculture & food systems.

March 5 - "An Introduction to Green Buildings", with Paul Leveille, High Performance Building Coordinator at the Jordan Institute, explores what a “green building” is, what is important to consider about them, and why they matter. His illustrated program included residential & commercial buildings & what actions homeowners can take to explore upgrade options.

April 2 - "Wolf and Coyote in New England", with Chris Schadler, Wild Canid Ecologist, taught conservation and Wolf Ecology in the Dept. of Natural Resources at UNH. She presents an illustrated program about the Eastern Coyote, its use of our changing landscape and how management policies effect its interactions with returning Canadian wolves.

Programs at The Little Nature Museum at Gould Hill Farm

Beginning at the opening of the Museum's season through its closing, some outreach programs for small groups can be scheduled at the Museum. Small groups can also enjoy a trail walk, a museum visit, and/or a short nature videotape, as part of their visit.  Check the calendar for special programming announcements.

Programs for Scouts and Youth

Sandra Martin, teacher and museum director, can help Scout groups and other organized groups with requirements for badges and also provide opportunities for community service projects.  The Museum is always looking for junior curators who can help the Museum with trail, exhibit, and collections maintenance.  Please call Sandra (603-746-6121) for more information. 

Programs are presented by Sandra W. Martin who has a B.S. in botany, a M.S. in zoology and is an experienced science teacher. She uses many of the Museum’s collections in her programs and brings 55 years of teaching experience to her presentations.