Celebrate Earth Day With The Staten Island Museum

Have you ever wanted to be a butterfly whisperer? How about a bee keeper? Or grow plants without soil? Now you can learn how-to at the Staten Island Museum's first ever Earth Day Celebration: How-To Festival on Saturday, April 27, 12pm - 4pm.

Join the fun as the Museum transforms into a giant interactive science fair celebrating our community's know-how with hands-on workshops, drop-in presentations, and scheduled lectures fun for all ages. Local experts, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and professionals share their particular passions, ranging from activities that require highly specialized skills to those anyone can do. This Earth Day, learn something new and help protect the only world we have!

"We are so excited to be launching the Museum's inaugural Earth Day Celebration with a very hands-on theme of How-To. Through our Summer Nights workshops, we found that the community really wants to be engaged and learn something new. At the same time, people are always asking what they can do to protect. The How-To festival marries those ideas and gives visitors the opportunity to learn a dozen new skills and bevy of knowledge in just four hours." Janice Monger, Staten Island Museum President and CEO.

How-To Festival Schedule

Ongoing Workshops (drop-in anytime)

12:00-4:00pm - How to make the most successful seed starting mix (with Natalie Nowlen, NYC Compost Project)

12:00-4:00pm - How to transform recycled bottles into planters (with Deborah Adewale, MakerSpace)

12:00-2:00pm - How to grow plants without soil (with Yemi Amu, Oko Farms)

12:00-4:00pm - How to be a butterfly whisperer (with Cooper Keane)

12:00-4:00pm - Earth Day Selfie Booth #EarthDaySI

12:00-4:00pm - How to press flowers in the Victorian tradition (with Shayna Vercillo)

12:00-4:00pm - How to make use of unexpected and familiar herbs (with Skye Suter)

Scheduled Presentations

12pm - How to keep bees (with Lenny Librizzi)

12pm - How to conduct a mini bio blitz (with Clay Wollney)

1pm - How to provide a home for rare grassland birds with reclaimed habitat (with Cait Field, Freshkills Park)

2pm - How to grow mushrooms at home (with Louis Vassar Semanchik)

3pm - How to identify rocks and minerals in your own backyard (with Steve Okulewicz)

Don't miss the Native Plant Giveaways with the Greenbelt Native Plant Center and of course, plenty of plant-based refreshments!

In between workshops, stop by the Museum's latest exhibition Field Notes: Seed Stories and the Power of Plants featuring artworks and seed histories from Hudson Valley Seed Company, documentary videos of Staten Island gardeners by Jay Weichun, photograms of local flora by Gale Wisdom, and museum botanical specimens selected by the Greenbelt Native Plant Center. These four projects explore the cultural, artistic, and scientific impact of collecting plant life. In doing so, they reveal narratives of resilience, fragility, and transformation.

Staten Island Museum is located on the grounds of Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A, Staten Island, NY 10301.