Category: Observing | Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium's Blog

Creepy Crawly Café

Posted: July 24, 2017| Categories: Fairbanks Museum, Observing

11:00 AM to noon weekdays: join us and our Creepy Crawlies for feeding time. They creep, they crawl, and are ever hungry! From hairy arachnids, feigning beetles, to ever illusive mantises, we have a variety of bizarre creatures that require daily care and feeding. Creepy Crawly Cafe introduces an opportunity… Read More

Monarch Presentation

Posted: July 10, 2017| Categories: Learning, Observing

Want an insider’s peek into monarch migration? Sarah Dykman, a biologist and adventurer, is writing a book on monarch migration. What makes her perspective unique is the fact that she is riding the entire monarch flight route – by bicycle! This current project is called ButterBike. Check out the website… Read More

Creepy Crawlies

Posted: June 28, 2017| Categories: Fairbanks Museum, Learning, Observing

They’re here! We’ve just made homes for several new creatures that might send a shiver down your spine. Creepy Crawlies includes creatures that are the stuff of scary stories, often venomous and potentially dangerous, although mostly to other insects and rarely to humans. They are also widely misunderstood. Welcome to… Read More

Native Butterflies

Posted: April 26, 2017| Category: Observing

If you have been outside enjoying these warmer, sunnier days, you may have noticed a butterfly or two in the last few weeks. Observers have been reporting mourning cloaks, eastern commas, and compton tortoiseshells. The butterfly pictured here is a red admiral or Vanessa atalanta, and was just photographed on a very… Read More

Signs of Spring

Posted: April 17, 2017| Category: Observing

There are many signs of spring, besides the Spring Equinox in March, marking the official beginning to seeing a change in the seasons. From the first migrating bird arrivals such as the song sparrows and loggerhead shrikes, to the wild phlox that begins to bloom bringing on the pink full moon… Read More

Bohemian Waxwings in Winter

Posted: March 2, 2017| Category: Observing

If you spot a flock of gleeful birds feasting on berries in your yard or neighborhood this winter, it is possible that you have come across a group of Bohemian waxwings. These sleek grayish birds are named for their nomadic nature, migrating in groups from their summer breeding grounds in… Read More

Winter Finches

Posted: January 16, 2017| Category: Observing

Have you noticed fewer finches at your feeders this winter? We asked Director Emeritus of the Fairbanks Museum, Charlie Browne, who is a longtime Northeast Kingdom Audubon Officer about this observation. He says, “There seem to be no Pine Siskins, Purple Finches, or Redpolls to be found in our area… Read More

Christmas Bird Count 2017

Posted: December 20, 2016| Category: Observing

Northeast Kingdom Audubon, a Chapter of the National Audubon Society, invites birdwatchers to participate in the longest-running citizen science survey, the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC). On January 1, 2017, birders and nature enthusiasts will fan out across parts of Barnet, Peacham, Danville, St. Johnsbury, Waterford, Monroe, and… Read More

An Ode to Starlings

Posted: November 18, 2016| Categories: Fairbanks Museum, Learning, Observing

Most of the time invasive species become that way by accident. From ash borers to zebra mussels, a lot of critters stow away on ships and end up where they are really damaging. Some species are different, critters released for apparently practical purposes (population control of another invasive species, for… Read More

River Exploration

Posted: October 28, 2016| Categories: Learning, Observing

Outdoor Observations – At Water Andric, a stream just South of St. Johnsbury that feeds into the Passumpsic River, over 40 fourth graders from Lyndon Town School gathered on a pleasantly warm and sunny October morning. It was a field excursion led by Fairbanks Museum educators to encourage stream exploration and… Read More