Chewonki is coming to the Gardens for four single-day naturalist residency programs, free to all guests with admission. This is the first of four days, all focusing on animals and their amazing adaptations.

This exciting and interactive program introduces audiences to our native warm-blooded vertebrates: Maine mammals. Each participant can study a mounted animal and observe its characteristics, such as teeth, feet, and fur. We use these observations as clues to understanding each mammal’s adaptations, niche, and habitat. A collection of skulls, study skins, and other specimens complements a discussion of adaptations and the role each animal plays in the food web. This program also provides a living example of a non-releasable wild mammal.

Chewonki is coming to the Gardens for four single-day naturalist residency programs, free to all guests with admission. Drop in anytime during your visit between 10 am to 2 pm. This is the second of four days, all focusing on animals and their amazing adaptations.

Many of the engineering challenges facing humans today are similar to difficulties that exist in the natural world. Plants and animals have evolved through generations of successes and failures resulting in remarkable adaptations to overcome these challenges. Join us to explore the ways engineers have taken advantage of nature’s bright ideas through biomimicry, and meet some live animals that help us draw comparisons between human-made products and animal adaptations. As we look for creative solutions to future problems, perhaps we can find inspiration by observing nature in our own backyard! Drop in anytime between 10 am to 2 pm.

Chewonki is coming to the Gardens for four single-day naturalist residency programs, free to all guests with admission. Drop in anytime during your visit between 10 am to 2 pm. This is the third of four days, all focusing on animals and their amazing adaptations.

Two live owls are the highlight of this program introducing participants to the native owls of Maine and New England. Using pictures and sounds, participants will learn the identifying characteristics and calls of each owl. Then, using talons, wings, and skulls, explore the adaptations of these silent nocturnal hunters. This program features an intimate and detailed look at live owls, bringing these creatures of the night into the light! Drop in anytime between 10 am to 2 pm.

Chewonki is coming to the Gardens for four single-day naturalist residency programs, free to all guests with admission. Drop in anytime during your visit between 10 am to 2 pm. This is the fourth of four days, all focusing on animals and their amazing adaptations.

Bats comprise nearly one-quarter of the world’s approximately 4,000 mammal species, yet humans continue to fear and misunderstand them. Bats do so much to help us survive, but now they need our help. This interactive demonstration will introduce participants to the role bats play in ecosystems ranging from the Maine woods to the South American rainforests, to help dispel common myths about these flying mammals. Participants leave the program with an appreciation for the tremendous diversity of bats in the world and for their irreplaceable niche in natural ecosystem. Drop-in anytime between 10 am to 2 pm.