Let’s Go On A Scavenger Hunt

Great horned owl about to capture a skunk, diorama at Carnegie Museum (photo by Kate St.John)
Great horned owl about to capture a skunk, diorama at Carnegie Museum (photo by Kate St.John)

Looking for birds in the winter can be cold and disappointing so here’s a warm and rewarding outing for early January.

Let’s go on a scavenger hunt at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on Sunday, 8 January 2017, 1:00pm to 3:00pm.  We’ll meet in the big hallway(*) between the Art and Natural History Museums.

There are plenty of birds to see.  From Bird Hall to dioramas and dinosaurs, birds are present in many of the displays.  I’ll give you an introduction to the floor plan.  Then we’ll spend an hour or more identifying everything with feathers on the second floor.  This is an especially good area for a scavenger hunt because the birds aren’t always labeled in the displays.

Pictured here are two examples from the first floor dioramas.  Above, a great horned owl is about to capture a skunk. Below, a common eider stands near her nest, made from her breast feathers.

Common Eider diorama, Carnegie Museum (photo by Kate St.John)
Detail of eider duck diorama, Carnegie Museum (photo by Kate St.John)

After the scavenger hunt we can stay as long as we like.  I’ll show you some cool things at Bird Hall and some “hidden” birds on the first and third floors.

The museum is open from noon to 5:00pm on Sundays.  There is an admission fee for non-members with discounts for seniors, children, and students with ID.    Click here for admission information and here for directions.

Hope to see you there on Sunday, January 8.

 

(photos by Kate St. John)

(*) The meeting place is on the first floor, called the Museum of Art Lobby on this map.  It has benches along the edges and a wall of windows overlooking the outdoor sculpture garden.

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