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Stamford Museum & Nature Center facts for kids
Bendel Pond and Laurel Lake
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| Founded | 1936 |
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| Founder | Dr. G.R.R. Hertzberg |
| Type | 501(c)(3) non-for profit organization |
| Focus | Art, Agricultural Science, Natural Science, History |
| Location |
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Formerly called
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Stamford Museum |
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center (SM&NC) is a cool place in Stamford, Connecticut. It's like a big park and museum all in one! You can learn about art, history, nature, and even how farms work. The whole area is huge, covering 118 acres (about 48 hectares) of land. It used to be a private home!
This amazing place is tucked away in the woods of North Stamford. It has a working farm, a beautiful old mansion that's now a museum and art gallery, and a fun nature center. There are also 80 acres of outdoor trails to explore, a big planetarium, and a tall observatory with a powerful telescope. You can even see otters in their pond and play in a special playground designed to help you see nature like an animal would!
Besides all the cool places to visit, the SM&NC also has special events and festivals throughout the year. They offer fun classes for kids, summer camps, and chances to volunteer. It's a great spot for families to learn and have fun together.
Contents
History of the Museum
The idea for the Stamford Museum started in 1936. A group of people wanted to create a safe and exciting place where kids and families could learn about nature, farming, space, art, and history. Dr. G.R.R. Hertzberg was a big part of getting this idea started.
The Stamford Museum officially opened on June 27, 1936. It was small at first, just three rooms in a building downtown. It was like a "cabinet of curiosities," filled with interesting things donated by the community, like birds, butterflies, and cool rocks. Even back then, families loved visiting!
As the museum grew, it needed more space. In 1946, it moved to a new spot at Courtland Park. This new location had a former carriage house that became the museum, plus a small barnyard and a wildlife area. They even added a planetarium and a weather station! But this location didn't last long. In 1955, a new highway needed some of the land, so the museum had to move again.
In 1955, the museum found its forever home at the former estate of Henri Bendel. He was a famous department store owner who built a huge "dream castle" in the late 1920s. After he passed away, his estate was given to the Stamford Museum. This big, beautiful mansion became the perfect place for the museum's growing collections. When they moved here, they also added "Nature Center" to their name, and the Heckscher Farm for Children opened.
Since then, the museum has gotten even bigger! More land was added, bringing the total property to 118 acres. This means even more space for all the amazing things you can explore today. Over 160,000 people visit the SM&NC every year!
Explore the Facilities
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center has many different areas to discover.
Bendel Mansion: Art and History
The Bendel Mansion was built in the late 1920s. It looks like a grand British manor house, almost like a castle! It has cool features like lead-framed windows, half-timbered walls, and even gargoyles. Today, this mansion is where you'll find art galleries and museum exhibits. It's open for everyone to visit.
Museum Displays
The museum has always loved art. Even when it was at Courtland Park, local artists showed their work there. Over the years, generous people donated amazing art pieces, like a portrait by John Singer Sargent and a collection of 20th-century American art.
Today, the museum focuses on five main topics:
- The nature of New England
- American art
- Native American art and culture
- American history and culture
- Old farming tools
You can see some really interesting things in the museum's collections, like totem poles from a World's fair, old telescopes, outdoor sculptures, and Native American artifacts. They even have prints by famous artists like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí! Plus, you can see vintage pedal cars and old keys and locks from a local company called Yale & Towne.
Heckscher Farm: A Working Farm
Heckscher Farm is a 10-acre (40,000 m2) working farm that shows what rural life in New England was like long ago. It has barns, a maple sugar house, an organic vegetable garden, and lots of farm animals.
The farm started small in 1955 with a grant from the Heckscher Foundation. It has grown from a little dairy farm to include a chicken coop, a pig pen, and bigger pastures. You can see many different kinds of farm animals here, including llamas, alpacas, and donkeys. Visitors can watch the staff do daily chores and learn about farm life.
Farm History
Animals and farm life were first introduced to the museum when it was at Courtland Park. There was a small farmyard with a lamb, a goat, chickens, and rabbits. Kids called "Junior Curators" helped care for orphaned or injured animals. They even had a small wildlife area with an American bald eagle, a fox, and other animals. The Junior Curators program is still going strong today!
When the museum moved to its current location in 1955, they could build a much bigger farm. A donation helped build the red barn and silo that many visitors recognize. Over the years, Heckscher Farm grew to include exhibits for foxes, porcupines, raccoons, and birds of prey. They even added a medical facility to make sure the animals were well cared for.
In 1977, the museum decided to create a farm that looked like a typical 19th-century farm in Southern New England. This was important because many small farms in the area were disappearing. Over the next five years, they worked hard to clear land for pastures and build colonial fences. They even moved a huge historic barn from Cheshire, Connecticut, that was built around 1750! This old barn was carefully put back together at the farm. Now, animals typical of that time, like oxen, sheep, cows, pigs, goats, and chickens, live on the farm.
At Heckscher Farm, you can experience farm life up close. They have annual events like Sheep-to-Shawl Day, Maple Sugaring, and Harvest Day, where you can see how things were done in the past.
Overbrook Nature Center and Trails
The Overbrook Nature Center is the main spot for the museum's nature and education programs. Inside, you'll find interactive exhibits with small local animals and a classroom called "Nature's Classroom" for student groups.
Behind the Overbrook building, there are miles of walking trails. These trails wind through 80 acres of the museum's property and are full of wildlife. You can see seasonal pools, huge rocks left by glaciers, old forests, and open meadows. The trails even connect to the 88-acre Bartlett Arboretum!
In 2006, a special trail called Wheels in the Woods Trail #7 was added. This trail is designed to be accessible for everyone, including those using wheelchairs, so more people can enjoy the beautiful nature.
Edith and Robert Graham Otter Pond
Come visit the Edith and Robert Graham Otter Pond, home to the museum's playful river otters!
Observatory and Planetarium: Explore Space!
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center has a four-story observatory with a huge 22-inch (560 mm) telescope. This telescope is used by the Fairfield County Astronomical Society (FCAS) to study things like binary star systems (two stars orbiting each other).
The museum's space history began in 1941 when the Fairfield County Astronomical Society was formed. They used to set up their telescopes on the steps of the old Town Hall. At the Courtland Park location, they built a planetarium inside a lecture hall. It had a dome that could be raised and lowered for shows.
This was one of the first planetariums designed by Armand Spitz. He wanted to make planetariums affordable so more people could learn about space. He even got a suggestion from Albert Einstein! Spitz used a special 12-sided shape (a dodecahedron) to project the stars. His first model cost only $500!
After the museum moved to Scofieldtown Road, an open courtyard was covered to build the new planetarium.
In 1960, thanks to a generous donation, an observatory was built on the property. Volunteers and the Fairfield County Astronomical Society helped build the telescope. On June 13, 1965, the observatory was officially opened. It had the largest telescope in the East that was available for the public to use!
Heckscher WILD!: Animal Ambassadors
In March 2015, the SM&NC opened Heckscher WILD! This is a live animal exhibit that features animals from all over the world that cannot be released back into the wild. You can see these animal ambassadors living in four different environments: grasslands, rainforest, mountains, and desert. It's a great way to learn about animals from different parts of the globe!
Events and Fun Activities
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center hosts many exciting events throughout the year.
Annual Events
Harvest Festival Weekend
Every October, the SM&NC has its annual Harvest Festival Weekend. It's full of fall fun like apple cider making, hayrides, apple slingshots, pumpkin carving, and farm animal demonstrations. There's also face painting, storytelling, crafts, and a costume parade!
Maple Sugar Festival Weekend
In March, the SM&NC celebrates the New England tradition of maple sugaring during the Maple Sugar Festival Weekend. At the Heckscher Farm sugarhouse, you can watch how they tap trees, collect sap, and make sweet maple sugar. There are also scavenger hunts, storytellers, face painting, maple-themed crafts, and even a pancake brunch!
Heckscher Farm Festival Weekend
The Heckscher Farm Festival Weekend happens every May. It focuses on New England's spring traditions, like sheep shearing and wool spinning. You can see the newest baby animals on the farm, enjoy storytelling, face painting, crafts, and hayrides.
Past Exhibitions and Events
The museum has hosted many interesting exhibitions over the years, including:
- 1942 - A wartime exhibit called Camouflage in Nature and its Uses in the Military.
- 1944 - The first exhibition of Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor who created Mount Rushmore.
- 1971 - An Open House where a real Moon Rock was on display!
- 1978 - Exhibits on NASA’s Space Shuttle and Vintage Toys.
- 2001 - Springs, Sprockets & Pulleys: The Mechanical Sculptures of Steve Gerberich and 50 Years of Beetle Bailey.
- 2003 - Pedal to the Metal: A History of Children's Pedal Cars.
- 2008 - Architecture of the Imagination: The Lure of the LEGO ® Brick exhibition, which showed amazing sculptures made from LEGOs. This exhibit brought in a record 69,000 visitors!
- 2011 - To The Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA.
Education and Learning
The Stamford Museum & Nature Center offers classes and educational programs all year long. You can learn about art, nature, science, and farming. These programs are for children, families, and adults. They are designed to help you be creative, discover new things, and love learning for your whole life.
The SM&NC has programs like Outdoor Adventures, FIY (Farm it Yourself), and Nights Out. They also offer cooking classes, hikes, and more. The museum is also home to the Art, Nature, & Me Preschool for children ages 3–5, which focuses on nature and art. Plus, they have a fantastic summer camp program!