Eli Whitney Museum

Colony Collapse Disorder is a still-mysterious epidemic that is threatening honeybee colonies that are essential partners in plant life cycles. Construct a bee house for solitary mason bees who are filling in for honeybees. Construct a Beez Box to learn the dance language of bees that organize their clever communities to find food efficiently. Then Dance.

The Italian Volta built the first useful chemical batteries in Eli Whitney's time. A hundred years later, powerful batteries were bulky, so Henry Ford powered his early automobiles with gasoline. Two hundred years after Volta, we are struggling to catch up on battery technology for cars. In the last 30 years, engineers have made impressive progress on batteries for phones and laptops. So big battery progress is likely.

Heidi is the story of a young Swiss girl who finds health and strength in the simple mountain cabin of her grandfather and the goats that provide them milk and cheese. Life in the city is far less healthy. The story was published 135 years ago.

Uganda, in east Africa, is a nation with the potential to develop modern sources of electrical power. It has mighty rivers and some hydropower dams. In the past 30 years, oil fields have been discovered. Experiment with a solar charger and LEDs (light emitting diode). Construct a nightlight for your room or back yard. Experiment with technology with the potential to change lives simply.

Corals are sea animals that are colorful and flexible. Their colonies form reefs that hold to the sea floor and host thousands of marine species. Global warming is threatening the reefs.

Cotton is an ancient fiber. Eli Whitney demonstrated that machines could reduce labor in the steps from field to your wardrobe. But the cotton gin was one small step in a succession of inventions that has taken far too long. Bayard Winthrop is a unique master of that tradition. His company American Giant has organized reasonable resources – growing, spinning, weaving and sewing – first rate machines and people – to produce sportswear without compromises.

Elephants have served civilizations for thousands of years. They have worked, they have fought, they have inspired, they have entertained. Like humans elephants feel a complex range of emotions, including love. The strongest instances of which are shown between a mother elephant and her baby. The calf is so small compared to the adult that it walks beneath its mother, who incredibly never steps on or trips over it. Now they are endangered and many elephants are left orphans.

Find the beauty in rescued wood. Construct, smooth and finish a small stool. Then cut shape and finish a keepsake box for yourself or for a gift. Discover the beauty in wood given a second life.

Learn the art of seeds. Weather permitting, we will collect seeds from the wild flowers along our trails. Learn the basic types of seeds. Learn to recycle newspaper into starter pots. Build a small cold frame to protect your seeds germinating in the still-cool days of early spring. Start plants that will enrich any yard. Fill a notebook with drawings of the plants we are learning to encourage.