Saturday Programs
Spring 2012
Saturday, February 4 For the Love of Rocks & Minerals
Gillepsie Museum 10am-1pm ---
- Tour Stetson's Earth Science Museum & join a beading workshop
- Hand-craft natural gifts in time for Valentines Day
Saturday, March 24 Save a Sandhill Ecosystem
Gillepsie Museum 10am-1pm ---
Learn the importance of longleaf pines and plant wildflowers in Stetson's Teaching Landscape
Saturday, April 21 Earth Day at the Gillespie
Gillespie Museum, Rinker Environmental Learning Center, Hatter Harvest Garden & Sandhill Teaching Landscape 10am-1pm ---
A showcase of Stetson's green initiatives & environmental research, plus outdoor games, activities & live music
Welcome ECHO Rangers!
Fall 2011
Saturday, September 24 Ross Allen and Florida Natural History: Gillepsie Museum 10am-1pm --- A Photographic Exhibition & Smithsonian Museum Day
The Gillespie Museum will celebrate Smithsonian National Museum Day with the opening of the Ross Allen Exhibition. A Stetson alumnus, Ross Allen was one of the university’s more colorful characters. Allen established the Reptile Institute at Silver Springs in1929, initially displaying native snakes and alligators as part of his public performances. In time, Allen’s emphasis shifted from entertainment to more serious scientific observation. He conducted some of the first studies of the American Alligator and also began milking snakes were for their venom. The venom was then sent around the world for research and the production of antivenin.
The Ross Allen Exhibition will continue at the Gillespie Museum through April 12, 2012.
Exhibit Highlights:
- Ross Allen photos, artifacts and memorabilia from the Stetson University archives
- Preserved specimens from the collections of Dr. Peter May & Dr. Terry Farrell, plus Carl Barden, Director of the Reptile Discovery Center, will have live specimens of indigenous Florida snakes on display during opening day.
Saturday, October 29 Mostly Green Halloween - Celebrate outside the candy box Gillepsie Museum 10am-1pm --- Rinker Environmental Learning Center
The Gillespie Museum, HATS Program, Hatter Harvesters, Environmental Sciences Program, and the Environmental Responsibility Council are combining good forces to celebrate Earth and science on Saturday, October 29, from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. In the Museum, the Fluorescent Display will be aglow with more than minerals; critters will be lively in their cave. Outdoors, there will be crafts, a scavenger hunt, scarecrows working in the community garden, a potting bench with native Florida seeds, a potions lab, and a Mining for Treats Rock Quarry. In the RELC a continuous loop of holiday cartoons will be showing, with plenty of popcorn and organic apples to go around. Costumes encouraged. Think green. All are invited; event is free to the public.
Saturday, November 19 Scout-O-Rama & Rock Hound Round-Up Gillepsie Museum 10am-1pm --- Earn a badge; start a collection /Rinker Environmental Learning Center
Whether you’re working on an academic pin, belt loop, or merit badge or starting a new rock & mineral collection, this workshop has something to offer:
- Tour of the Gillespie Museum: Mineral and Rock Classification
- Mineral Identification Lab
- Let’s Learn About Volcanoes
- Florida Native Plant Scavenger Hunt on the Gillespie Grounds
- Some Useful Minerals
- Collecting Rocks & Minerals
Activities are perfect for groups (scouts, troops, small classes) as well as for individuals. Please call the Museum at 386.822.7330 to make a reservation. Admission is free.