Magnificent Mammals Day
Saturday, August 2 / 10 AM – 5 PM
Included with General Admission

Join us for a day exploring the amazing diversity of mammals. Discover the specialties of our furred cousins and find out how important they are to our ecosystems. Meet a few live mammals that could live in your backyard with Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, and explore the wonderful world of goats with Five Rooster Farm. Hear tales of the mystical world of mammals with the Vermont Museum of Natural History, be amazed to learn about the only group of mammals that can fly with experts from the Vermont Bat Center, and learn all about your aquatic mammal neighbors documented by James Heltz. With live mammals, pelts and skulls, and hands-on activities and crafts, it’s sure to be a magnificent day!

Event Schedule

10 AM – 4:30 PM
Vermont Museum of Natural History – Explore pelts and skulls of mammals across the world and meet a live mammal! (Neale Pavilion overhang)

10 AM – 4:30 PM
Meet the Goats of Five Rooster Farm – Discover the world of keeping goats! Learn all about their development and what it takes to care for goats with the wonderful folks at Five Rooster Farm. (Path to Songbird Aviary)

10 AM – 4:30 PM
Mammals of the Canopy Walk – Explore the mammals of VINS with images and videos from our trail cameras! (Forest Canopy Walk).

10 AM – 4:30 PM
Tracks and Scats – Who’s been in your backyard? Learn about what clues mammals leave behind as they pass by! (Forest Exhibit overhang)

10 AM – 4:30 PM
Skull Matching – Test your knowledge and match the mammal with its skull! Learn how to identify mammal skulls and what you can learn about their diet just from their teeth. (Next to the Forest Exhibit)

10 AM – 4:30 PM
Mammal Crafts – Let your creativity free and be inspired by the wonderful world of mammals. (August Pavilion)

10:30 AM – 11 AM
Nature in Action, Story and Song – Sing along to stories about the wild and wonderful animals around us with “Stand-up Chameleon” Jackson Gilman! (Neale Pavilion)

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM
Raptor Encounter – What’s the difference between a bird and a mammal? Meet one of our avian education ambassadors up close and ask an educator! (HawkFly)

11 AM – 12 PM
Mammals of New England with Squam Lakes Natural Science Center – Meet some of the magnificent mammals that live in the forests around us and learn how they survive in the wild. (HawkFly)

12:30 PM – 1:30 PM
Bats are Mammals Too! – Learn all about the only flighted mammal with local expert, Berry Genzlinger from the Vermont Bat Center. How do bats fly? Where do they live? What do they eat? Which ones live in your backyard and how can you help them? All this and more! (Neale Pavilion)

2 PM – 3 PM
Mammal Tales with the Vermont Museum of Natural History – Take a journey around the world as a Storytelling Naturalist shares tales of animals and magic from around the world. (HawkFly)

3 PM – 3:30 PM
Goats with Five Rooster Farm – What do you call a baby goat? How long does it take for them to grow their horns? What do their headbutts mean? Can you train a goat? Learn all about goats and how they are cared for with the wonderful folks from Five Rooster Farm! (HawkFly)

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
New Neighbors – Meet your new neighbors, the beavers! Enjoy a wonderful documentary about learning to live alongside these fascinating animals in this film by James Heltz. Stick around for questions and behind the scenes details of the film. (Neale Pavilion)

4 PM – 4:15 PM
Raptor Encounter – What’s the difference between a bird and a mammal? Meet one of our avian education ambassadors up close and ask an educator! (HawkFly)

For more information, contact us at 802.359.5000 or info@vinsweb.org.