Staten Island Museum – Moth Night Discovery Kit 2020

Staten Island Museum Offers a Moth Night Discovery Kit

for Safe Mothing During the Pandemic

What’s your favorite holiday? Halloween? New Year’s? At the Staten Island Museum in New York, we’re usually counting down to Moth Night! The Museum’s insect collection is our largest with moths being a big part of the 500,000 plus specimens. The historic collection spans from the late 1800s through the early 1940s. While we haven’t been celebrating Moth Night for quite that long, this is our 7th year of exploring nocturnal science and marking this special time of year.

Just as varied as the insect collection itself, Moth Nights of the past have included contemporary dance, a public art installation, hikes through some of the greenest parts of Staten Island, art activities, star gazing, shadow dancing, dueling attractors, and more. The collection of the Staten Island Museum matched with the natural spaces of this unique borough have always been at the heart of the celebration.

With the museum building temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic this season, we used our imaginations to design an experience that imparts all of the magic, inspiration, and information needed for families to participate in this inspiring event – at home. We developed the Moth Night Discovery Kit, an interactive packet of videos and activities assembled to equip families with the know-how to explore the nocturnal natural world and the moths that call it home. 

Warm summer nights are perfect for bringing the whole family together to explore the scientific world that comes alive when the sun goes down. We are happy to present this program in collaboration with the Staten Island Children’s Museum for the third year and excited to work with Protectors of Pine Oak Woods on Staten Island. Going virtual enabled us to expand upon this normally site-specific program and connect with scientists throughout the country like Danielle Belleny and Ashley Gary. It also broadened our reach allowing families from California, Illinois, Oregon, Indiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, New Mexico, Arizona, and beyond to register for their Moth Night Discovery Kit and join in the excitement.

This summer, celebrate the wonder of moths and use your senses to discover the natural world by moonlight. This downloadable kit of night science activities will guide you through making a light attractor, deciphering owl calls and other night sounds, taking a (virtual) tour of the Museum’s moth collection, and more! With over 20 pages of videos and activities, the Moth Night Discovery Kit provides a bevy of information to inspire study and explore throughout the summer.

This summer, every night can be a Moth Night.

Rylee Eterginoso

Public Programs Manager

Staten Island Museum

www.statenislandmuseum.org/athome

Event Link: http://statenislandmuseum.org/athome/event/moth-night/

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