May 14, 2016 Public Opening

From 10 to 4 this coming Saturday, we'll be giving inside and outdoor tours and announcing our first regular public hours since the completion of the new building. From 2 to 3 we will be honoring the donors to the Meriwether Lewis Home Front Chapter library and showing the beautiful statues, "The Grand Endeavor," and "Walla Walla Woman."

Our Winter Calendar

We've set our winter calendar! Here are some of our Saturday public open times coming up...the hours are all 10 to 2.

January 30

We're having a scavenger hunt of items related to the Lewis & Clark Expedition! Teams encouraged. We will also be making wooden animal medallions (see our Facebook page for examples). 

February 13

President's Day and Valentine's Day activities

February 20

We are hoping to participate in Kid*Vention at the Key Recreation Center--details to follow

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March 12

Audio Tour Hikes

The public will be invited to give input on the first "draft" of our audio tour. You'll listen to the tour as you walk inside our building and outside on the trails.

March 26

UVA volunteers will be working on site.

April 9

Model Boat Day

We will be making model wooden and paper boats, and trying them out on the river.

May 14 OUR PUBLIC OPENING CELEBRATION with dedications

Long-awaited Lewis and Clark center set to officially open in May - The Daily Progress: Local

Long-awaited Lewis and Clark center set to officially open in May - The Daily Progress: Local

Save the Date: Boats and Butterflies Festival, October 3

We're having our second Annual Boats & Butterflies Festival at the Center Saturday, October 3, from 10 AM-2 PM. Please join us for this free family event! Ride our wooden boats and kayaks on the Rivanna, and participate in art activities relating to butterflies and pollinators. 

Day Eleven: Glyptodon!

The Kickstarter Animal of the Day: Glyptodon!, one of our favorite prehistoric animals. It came into North America from South America, and it resembles other animals that it's not related to. That's called convergent evolution. Because of the way the environment impacts evolution, animals that aren't related can develop similar physical characteristics. In millions of years there may be an animal that looks like an elephant, but isn't...because of whatever vegetation and environmental pressures there will be then.

Day Ten: Giant Ground Sloth!

Megafauna of the Day: Giant Ground Sloth. They were vegetarian, but would still have been formidable to encounter. They were called Megatherium, and they could be twenty feet in length and weigh up to four tons. They lived until approximately 10,000 ago, and perhaps went extinct from human hunting. Jefferson was given a gift of giant sloth bones that he first mistook for a giant lion. Monticello has an interesting article on Jefferson's involvement with the bones: http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/megalonyx-jeffersonii-fossils

We Reached Our Kickstarter Goal!

Today we reached our Kickstarter goal! Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen! And we're announcing a STRETCH GOAL to cover parts of the program not already included, such as documenting the choreography with photography and film, and a learning dance mat with map components on it.