Community Calendar

Join us Tuesday evenings at the Inspiration Ridge Preserve for weekly wildcrafting workshops! Learn about local ecology from our experienced naturalists and create your own craft to take home! All ages welcome, all materials provided, no experience necessary. See our website for more information.

Each week has a different theme; July's themes are:
July 14th: Wire wrapping and geology
July 21st: Wild tea
July 28th: Devil's club salve making

Storytime at the PRATT: Celebrating Summer

Tuesdays in July | 10:30am | no cost | age 3-10

Storytime is a weekly event! Join us to read a story with a Pratt Museum Staff member, tour the galleries, and participate in an activity or craft.

Questions? CONTACT the Museum’s Education Staff – education@prattmuseum.org

Hike through tunnels of alder trees and meadows of summer blooms while enjoying sweeping views of the Kenai mountains across Kachemak Bay. Guided by our expert naturalists, you will learn about the flora and fauna of this place. Keep an eye out for the wildlife that call this area home, including moose, black bears, lynx, coyote, sandhill cranes, and much more! Learn about ongoing monitoring and preservation efforts being carried out on the ridge.
This is a family-friendly, mild hike. The route is about 1.5 miles of maintained trail with mild elevation gain.

Come play duplicate bridge with local bridge players. This is an ACBL event. All are welcome. Call or email for more information.

Join us for our second annual Seward Music Camp! This camp is inspired by a past Bluegrass camp and local musician. Participants will engage in five days of varied music instruction, learn to be a part of a band, enjoy daily elective classes and participate in an end-of-the week performance for community members and family! Snacks are included in camp tuition. Prior music instruction or having your own instrument is not required.

Hike through tunnels of alder trees and meadows of summer blooms while enjoying sweeping views of the Kenai mountains across Kachemak Bay. Guided by our expert naturalists, you will learn about the flora and fauna of this place. Keep an eye out for the wildlife that call this area home, including moose, black bears, lynx, coyote, sandhill cranes, and much more! Learn about ongoing monitoring and preservation efforts being carried out on the ridge.
This is a family-friendly, mild hike. The route is about 1.5 miles of maintained trail with mild elevation gain.

Hike through meadows of fireweed, dense spruce forest, and rolling wetlands at the headwaters of Fritz Creek. Guided by our expert naturalists, you will learn about local flora and fauna as well as the importance of wetlands to this environment. Keep an eye out for moose grazing on willow or black bears digging for roots. Learn about how we are working to protect this critical environment through ongoing monitoring and research.
This is a moderate hike on maintained trails with moderate elevation change.

Teens (ages 12-18) are invited to participate in FREE art making sessions in HCOA’s Studio every Wednesday afternoon from 4-6pm throughout the summer!

These sessions will be facilitated by Sherry Robinson, an artist, HCOA board president, and community volunteer.

General art supplies and snacks provided. Feel free to bring a project your working on!

Please RSVP at https://homerart.org/event/teen-art-space-summer/. We know participants may not make every session, but we do require a release and will send reminders for each session.

Wednesdays 4-6pm

downstairs in the HCOA Studio

Join us for our second annual Seward Music Camp! This camp is inspired by a past Bluegrass camp and local musician. Participants will engage in five days of varied music instruction, learn to be a part of a band, enjoy daily elective classes and participate in an end-of-the week performance for community members and family! Snacks are included in camp tuition. Prior music instruction or having your own instrument is not required.

BOTANICAL GARDEN, HOMESTEAD GARDEN, AND FOREST TRAIL TOURS

FREE // May 30 – August 30 // Thursdays and Saturdays , 11am – Noon

Join the Pratt Museum Garden Crew for guided tours of the Botanical Gardens, Homestead Garden, and Forest Trails.

We will offer an interpretive introduction to the broader ecology of the Kachemak Bay region and describe the ways that we incorporate the plant communities of the region into the Botanical Garden at the Museum. Botany experts and novices alike can find delightful insights as we explore the interactions and dynamics of our local ecosystem.

The Homestead Garden is an ever-evolving exhibit featuring many classic fruits and vegetables and a few specific local varieties that have been treasured by the local community for generations. We will explore some of the basics of plant propagation, discuss the benefits of perennial food crops and talk about food preservation and storage. Snacking is encouraged! Throughout the season, something is always worth sampling from the garden, though the real delight is black currant season in late autumn.

The Forest Trails showcase the ecological context in which the Museum is embedded. These trails wind through one of the larger remaining wild spaces in downtown Homer, and have some of the largest remaining trees in the area. Wildlife is abundant and the plant communities are diverse. There are several loops of varying distance that wind through the nearly 10 acre forest. A meander through these woods with one of our guides will offer an opportunity for wildlife sightings, listening to songbirds, and discussing the ethnobotanical and historical uses of plants that live in our region.