The annual Garvies Point Museum and Preserve’s Museum Day returned to Glen Cove last Saturday after being postponed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year also marks the museum’s 55th anniversary.
“We never really went virtual,” said Veronica Natale, the director of the museum. “We were able to have summer camps safely right after COVID, but it’s just very nice to have the public back out again because you get to see them and there’s a lot of one-on-one and it’s nice to see the kids’ faces.”
She added, “There is something to be said for the virtual world,” said Natale. “It’s a great tool, but it’s nice when people can and are able to be out in-person and in the real world and out in nature. I think it’s great and the kids love it.”
The event was held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Adults and children ages 5 and older paid a $5 admission fee, which gave them access to 10 different programs that were scattered throughout the day. Each program ran from 30 to 45 minutes.
The programs included nature walks, bird watching, beach exploration walks, insect studies, native habitat garden tours, live animal meet and greets (in collaboration with Tackapausha Museum), paper-making crafts, rock, mineral and fossil identification, and featured films.
“It feels great to be back,” said Jason Abdale, a 10-year museum volunteer who ran the geology workshop for the day. “I’ve been here since 2012 and Museum Day has been a consistent thing since then. It was disappointing to not be able to do it.”
The museum is open to the public on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The next events for the month of August include “Incredible Invertebrates” on Aug. 13, “Garvies Geology” on Aug. 20, and “Intro to Outdoor Survival” on Aug. 27.
For more information on the museum and nature preserve, as well as future events, visit Garvies Point Museum and Preserve.
