Free Thanksgiving Weekend Open House To Focus On Space – The Next Frontier

On Saturday, November 25, families can fill the holiday weekend with some educational family fun at the free family Thanksgiving Open House at South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton. The event, which is being co-sponsored by the Montauk Observatory, will highlight astronomy and outer space exploration.

Attendees can learn about telescopes (both land and space), write a note to an alien, get creative with space-themed crafts, have their faces painted by an “Intergalactic Face painter,” build a stomp rocket, pose as an astronaut, and more!

“This day of fun and informative events about astronomy and space is just one of the many new topics you’ll find at the South Fork Natural History Museum’s Thanksgiving Open House,” said Carol Crasson, the museum’s Education Director. “We’re cosponsoring the day with the terrific Montauk Observatory, and adding information about space exploration and outer space to our thinking about the natural world.” Crasson believes that this subject matter of astronomy and space exploration could not be more timely with “NASA getting ready to send humans back to the moon, SpaceX’s rocket launches, and continued plans for more Mars explorations.”

The event will also feature a “Space Wizard,” a demonstration solar house with its own solar car, and view of the night sky in the museum’s StarLab Planetarium. There is a fee for planetarium visits ($3 for museum members, and $5 for non-members) and each show runs for about twenty minutes. Showtimes for the planetarium can be found on SoFo’s website, and reservations for the planetarium are strongly recommended.

Families will also have the opportunity to give back at the event as November 25 marks the first day of the museum’s holiday toy drive. Until Wednesday, December 20, the museum will be accepting donations of unwrapped toys and gift cards, for both children and teens. The recipient of this year’s drive is Heart of the Hamptons.

The family fun day will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free admission to all activities except the planetarium. The museum is open seven days a week, except for most major holidays.

The South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo) and Nature Center was founded in 1988. The museum opened its permanent location in 2005 in Bridgehampton, New York, and is a place for both children and adults to engage with natural history and their environs. The museum’s primary mission is to “stimulate interest in, advance knowledge of, and foster appreciation for the natural environment, with special emphasis on the unique natural history of Long Island’s South Fork.”

South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo) and Nature Center is located at 377 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton. For more information about SoFo, please visit sofo.org or call 631-527-9735 to reserve space for the planetarium show.