Survive & Thrive On Jan. 26 @ Institute for American Indian Studies

We often don’t think about the resources we use.  We are displaced from them through processing, manufacturing and shipping.  For Native people living in the Northeast, using resources and preparing for winter was vital to survival.  So how do you find shelter, make food, and stay warm when the weather is cold and your resources are diminished? On Sunday, January 26 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. the public is invited to join the Institute for American Indian Studies educator, Griffin Kalin for a fun and informative program on how to survive in the Eastern Woodlands without twenty-first-century technology.

Participants will learn how to start a fire in the snow, how to find food in the forest, and how to make a shelter from the natural environment.  Visitors will even see examples of how Native Peoples of the Eastern Woodlands lived by visiting the replicated Algonkian village on the grounds of the Institute that is composed of wigwams and longhouses and the remnants of the three sisters garden. 

It is exciting as well as an engaging experience that is suitable for all ages.  The experience will make you feel as though you have stepped back in time as you explore the forest and learn the ways of the Eastern Woodland Indians.

To participate in this event be sure to dress warm and wear appropriate footwear because some of this program will be outside. This program is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children; members of the museum are free.  In addition to this program, entrance to the museum with its fascinating exhibits and wonderful gift shop featuring locally made handcrafted Native American art, crafts, and jewelry among other items is also included.

About the Institute for American Indian Studies

Located on 15 woodland acres the IAIS has an outdoor Three Sisters and Healing Plants Gardens as well as a replicated 16th c. Algonkian Village.  Inside the museum, authentic artifacts are displayed in permanent, semi-permanent and temporary exhibits from prehistory to the present that allows visitors a walk through time. The Institute for American Indian Studies is located on 38 Curtis Road in Washington Connecticut and can be reached online or by calling 860-868-0518.  New @ the Institute is an Escape Room- Wigwam Escape 1518.

Flanders Holding Martin Luther King Day Fun Day For Kids

On Monday, January 21  while off from school for the Martin Luther King Day holiday, kids in grades kindergarten through 5th are invited to come to Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury, CT  to experience  “A Flanders Animal Adventure” where they will spend the day learning about the animals that live at Flanders and in the wild and then taking a hike to find tracks to see who is active in the snow. This will be a fun filled day packed with exploring the great outdoors, and age appropriate stories, games and crafts. Preregistration is required.

Flanders is offering three different sessions for this special adventure.  Choose the morning session from 9AM to 1PM, the afternoon session from 1-5PM or a full day session which goes from 9AM -5PM.

Parents are asked to have their children dress for the weather and to bring a bag lunch or snack.  Pre-registration is required. The cost per child for either the morning or afternoon session is $30 members and $40 for nonmembers. Full day cost is $60 for members and $80 for nonmembers. Early care is available from 7-9AM at $8 per hour.

To register, call Flanders at (203) 263-3711, extension 10. For a full listing of all the programs for kids and adults coming up at Flanders visit www.flandersnaturecenter.org

SLEEP WITH THE FISHES On Jan. 18

Wear your jammies among the jellies and sleep with the fishes on Fri., Jan. 18 during a fun “Family Sleepover” at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

This night of special access is open to children age 5 & older with an accompanying parent or caregiver over age 18.

“The ‘Family Sleepovers’ are a memorable experience for parents to share with their children, especially children who have expressed a deeper interest in The Maritime Aquarium and our animals,” said Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth. “This upcoming sleepover will be a fun way to kick off the three-day holiday weekend.”

After check-in at 6 p.m. and a tasty dinner, Aquarium educators will fill the evening with a fun- and fact-filled behind-the-scenes tour, games, crafts, snacks and more.

“Lights out” is at 10:30 p.m. Participants sleep in sleeping bags (BYOSB) throughout the Aquarium galleries. Air mattresses are allowed for adults.

Breakfast the next morning will be at 7:30 a.m., followed by a private seal-training demonstration at 8:30 a.m. and screening of the award-winning IMAX movie “Backyard Wilderness” at 9 a.m. Everyone will be on their way home by 9:45 a.m.

Advance registration is required. Space is limited and expected to fill up fast. Tickets are $85 for adults and $80 for children 5-12 ($75 and $70 for Aquarium members).

Ring in the New Year Jan. 19 with the Seaport Association

2019 should prove to be a year of exciting challenges including fundraising. “We wanted to find a new way to raise funds for the Sheffield Island Lighthouse,” said Mike Reilly, president of the Norwalk Seaport Association. The non-profit association is responsible for the preservation of the lighthouse. “We needed something that would resonate with the unique and special nature of our historic building. We heard that the Music on the Hill bell choirs were fans of the lighthouse and collaborating with them on this magical event was just what we were looking for” Reilly added.

Ring in the New Year will take place at the Unitarian Church in Westport on Sat. Jan. 19^th from 7-9 pm and includes champagne, beer, wine and delicious shoreline appetizers provided by the award-winning Simply Delicious caterers of Norwalk. “Holding our event at the architecturally award-winning Unitarian Church is the perfect backdrop for the bell choirs and the church’s glass walls that look out on the sparkling woods, makes this a very special evening and a not to miss event” noted Reilly

Tickets for this tax-deductible event are $100 each is limited and only available online at www.Seaport.org or by calling 203-838-9444. “A fresh new year is always filled with hope & promise. We wanted to create an event that captures that magic” said, Reilly.

Warm and Wooly Knitting Workshop for Kids: Learning to Knit a Scarf Jan. 12

Knitting has evolved from Colonial times, when it was a tedious chore for girls (and boys, too!) to an extremely popular activity today. Knitting for beginners, and those with some experience will be explored at this knitting workshop for kids. Museum Educator Laurie Walker will talk about knitting, and teach the basics. Each child will start on a scarf. Snack of applesauce.

This program will have an additional materials fee of $8 per child, as each student will take home their knitting needles and yarn.  Suggested for ages 6 – 12. Wilton Historical Society members $10 per child, maximum $25 per family; Non-members $15 per child, maximum $35 per family. Please register: info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203-762-7257.

Did You Know?
According to the knitting site FiberWild (based on information from No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne L. Macdonald) “Martha Washington herself was a fierce knitter and was said to never be without her knitting needles. During the Revolutionary War she spent many months in camp with General George Washington. She was called “Lady Washington” and was said to be a grand lady, America’s own version of royalty, yet when Mrs. Troupe had the honor to visit Mrs. Washington in camp she said “We found her (Mrs. Washington) knitting and with an apron on! She received us very graciously and easily, but after the compliments were over she resumed her knitting. There we were without a stitch of work, and sitting in state, but General Washington’s lady with her own hands was knitting stockings for herself and her husband.” In fact, there are “Martha Washington sewing cabinets” which were particularly popular during the Depression.
Knitting was initially a male-only occupation. In fact, when the very first knitting union was established in Paris in 1527, no women were allowed.

Adzes & Froes to Hammers Making a Birdhouse @ Wilton Historical Society

What is an adze and what might you use it for? Ever heard of a froe? These and other antique tools, plus hammers, saws and nails will be explored at this woodworking workshop for kids on Sat. Jan. 5 from 11 am to 12:30 pm. The kids will have an opportunity to see a remarkable collection of more than 600 antique tools in the Society’s 1860 Abbott Barn’s “Tools of the Trades” permanent exhibit. Museum Educator Laurie Walker will talk about some of the tools in the collection, and discuss safety and the ways that colonial children would be expected to use those tools. Then it will be time to use some hand tools (and a power drill) to build your own birdhouse. Snack of puff pastry cheese straws.

This program will have an additional materials fee of $5. For safety reasons, this workshop is strictly limited to 12 participants.  Suggested for ages 6 – 12. Wilton Historical Society members $10 per child, maximum $25 per family; Non-members $15 per child, maximum $35 per family. Please register: info@wiltonhistorical.org or call 203-762-7257.

Did You Know?

“In colonial times, every utility item had to be made by hand. Craftsmen made furniture, tools, wheels, utensils, glass and more. Master craftspeople owned shops in which they sold their products for money or used the barter system of trade. Craftspeople did not learn their trades by going to school.

Instead, as youngsters between the ages of 10 to 15, they learned their craft by being apprentices to master craftspeople. As apprentices, they served their masters for 4 to 7 years and thus learnt the secrets of a trade. At the end of their contract, apprentices had to produce a finished product called a ‘master-piece’. It was named so because the product was judged by their master. If the product passed the master’s inspection, the apprentice passed his apprenticeship and became a journeyman. Journeymen traveled to nearby villages, making and repairing goods until they could save enough money to open their own shop. . . . Many tools were used in colonial times such as the scuppets, axes, funnels, compasses, files, augers, gimlets, braces, chisels, gouges, drawknives, hammers, saws, squares and bevels. Each tool had its own specified usage.” – from Historyrocket.com

Take a Hike to Mine Hill Preserve in Roxbury

Mine Hill Preserve is one of the most interesting abandoned sites in Litchfield Hills.  Owned by the Roxbury Land Trust, visitors are welcome to explore the property that was once a thriving mining town in the late 1860s called Chalybes.

Today, this site is on the National Register of Historic Places and encompasses 360 unspoiled acres that have remnants of the mines and furnaces that once thrived here.  In 1865, workers constructed a maze of iron mines, a pair of roasting ovens, a blast furnace, a steel puddling furnace, and a rolling mill. With the industry picking up the pace, the town expanded. More buildings were constructed including a grist mill, creamery, lumber yard, general store, hotel, boarding houses, and a tavern. The hurricane of 1938 wiped out the remaining wooden structures that were left from the town's short heydays.

Signs explain how granite quarries have prospered at the site for nearly two centuries and how the light gray Roxbury stone was prized for building churches, bridges and fine homes from New York City to New Britain. There are blast furnaces and roasting ovens on this fascinating site with interpretive signs that show diagrams and sketches of how iron ore was turned into steel.  There are mining tunnels on the site and air shafts but these are closed to the public because they are not stable.  The tunnels provide shelter for colonies of area bats that are vitally important to the environment of Connecticut.

A visit to Mine Hill offers a glance into our industrial past in a setting of breathtaking natural beauty with four miles of hiking trails at the nature preserve. The blue loop trail begins at the industrial site, climbs up the Donkey Trail past a reservoir, two mine tunnels and a series of grated air shafts, which now serve as entryways to several bat hibernacula. The trail continues past massive granite cliffs, eventually descending back to the Shepaug River valley, past an abandoned quarry and back to the furnace complex.  Mine Hill Preserve is located in Roxbury off Mine Hill Road, just off Rte, 67.