Group Pricing & Program Descriptions
Group visits are tailored to the specific needs of the class, scout group, or organization. We recommend a minimum of 1 hour for any museum visit. All programs are given by experienced SoFo Nature Educators.
Pricing & Available Programs
The following categories and descriptions are the most requested tours with average times. Every tour is designed specifically to the requirements of the group leader so the leader can add or subtract portions of any visit to meet their needs. We generally recommend that the group always be allowed to explore the upstairs exhibits to satisfy curiosity before a program starts.
General Museum Visit: available to visitors (No Special Programs Added)
1 hour, Children: $5.00, Adults: $7.00 (Teachers not included, adult chaparones can pay themselves if needed) |
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Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Marine Touch Tank - an introduction to some of the organisms found in the bay including crabs, seastars, and snails. (30 minutes)
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* Marine Touch Tank is available to regular visitors on a daily basis. |
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Extended Museum Visit 1:
1.5 hours, Children: $12.00, Adults: $7.00 (Teachers not included, adult chaparones can pay themselves if needed)
Various programs are available including but not limited to:
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| Meet the Museum Animals Visit: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Audiences will receive an up-close personal introduction of the Eastern Box Turtle and Eastern Tiger Salamander to explain the differences between an amphibian and reptile. (30 minutes)
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At our Marine Touch Tank, the audience will meet many animals that call the bay home, and what their specific niche or job is in the bay ecosystem. They will meet the Green Crab, Forbe’s Seastar, Channeled and Knobbed Whelks, and some clams and mussels. (30 minutes)
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* Marine Touch Tank is available to regular visitors on a daily basis. |
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| Reptile & Amphibian Visit: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Audiences will receive an up-close, personal visit with some of the local reptiles. A few of the Museum’s turtles including the Museum’s mascot, the Eastern Box Turtle, are used to introduce the audience to reptiles and what makes a turtle, particularly the Box Turtle, unique. (30 minutes)
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Some of the Museum’s salamanders including the endangered Eastern Tiger Salamander and the elusive Eastern Spadefoot Toad are used to introduce the audience to amphibians and the importance of conservation. (30 minutes)
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| Aquatic Interest: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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At our Marine Touch Tank, the audience will meet many animals that call the bay home, and what their specific niche or job is in the bay ecosystem. They will meet the Green Crab, Forbe’s Seastar, Channeled and Knobbed Whelks, and some clams and mussels. (30 minutes)
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Our outdoor Teaching Pond will introduce the audience to some of the smaller inhabitants of freshwater ponds; including the larva of many local insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, and caddisflies, as well as other aquatic invertebrates such as Water-boatmen, Backswimmers, Water Mites, and worms. Older audiences will have microscopes available for additional exploration. (30 minutes)
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* Marine Touch Tank is available to regular visitors on a dialy basis |
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* This program is only available during the spring, summer, and early fall because the Teaching Pond is outside. |
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| Outdoor Exploration: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Personal tour of the plants found along the trails in the field behind the museum featuring adaptations to prevent desiccation (drying out), natural defenses, seed dispersal or propagation, and how humans have previously used the plants. (30 minutes)
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Our outdoor Teaching Pond will introduce the audience to some of the smaller inhabitants of freshwater ponds; including the larva of many local insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, and caddisflies, as well as other aquatic invertebrates such as Water-boatmen, Backswimmers, Water Mites, and worms. Older audiences will have microscopes available for additional exploration. (30 minutes)
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* Use of the field from March to mid or late April is not recommended as the field is mown yearly to control invasive, non-native plant species. |
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* Use of insect repellent is highly recommended during the warm months. |
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| Life Cycle Visit: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Groups are introduced to our resident amphibians, such as the Eastern Spadefoot Toad and Spotted Salamander, and the immense changes they go through to reach adulthood, (if you are lucky enough to visit at the right time you may also get to see a larval salamander)! (30 minutes)
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The audience will get an up-close view of insect metamorphosis with our Darkling Beetles, and young groups will enjoy performing the butterfly life cycle song and dance (older groups get a kick out of it too)! (30 minutes)
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Extended Museum Visit 2: 2 hours, Children: $15.00, Adults: $7.00 (Teachers not included, adult chaparones can pay themselves if needed) An additional 20 minutes can be added for the group to have lunch on our lower back deck outside.
Various programs are available including but not limited to:
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| Meet the Museum Animals Visit 2: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Audiences will receive an up-close, personal visit with the Eastern Box Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle, Eastern Tiger Salamander, Spotted Salamander, and Eastern Spadefoot Toad. They will learn where the animals prefer to live, what they eat, and what their dangers are. (30 minutes)
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At our Marine Touch Tank, the audience will meet many animals that call the bay home, and what their specific niche or job is in the bay ecosystem. They will meet the Green Crab, Forbe’s Seastar, Channeled and Knobbed Whelks, and some clams and mussels. (30 minutes)
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Our outdoor Teaching Pond will introduce the audience to some of the smaller inhabitants of freshwater ponds and what their niche is in the freshwater pond. Some of the possible inhabitants include the larva of many local insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, and caddisflies, Water-boatmen, Backswimmers, Water Mites, and worms. Older audiences will have microscopes available for additional exploration. (30 minutes)
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* This program is only available during the spring, summer, and early fall because the Teaching Pond is outside.
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| Outdoor Exploration Visit 2: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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The group will receive a personal tour of the plants and small critters found along the trails in the field behind the museum. Features the adaptations to prevent desiccation (drying out), natural defenses, seed dispersal or propagation, and how humans have previously used the plants or lore about the critters. Some common birds may make an appearance and along the trail there may be (depending on the time of year) several boards which the children or group leader can lift up to discover ant colonies, or millipedes, or even an old vole burrow. (60 minutes)
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Our outdoor Teaching Pond will introduce the audience to some of the smaller inhabitants of freshwater ponds; including the larva of many local insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, and caddisflies, as well as other aquatic invertebrates such as Water-boatmen, Backswimmers, Water Mites, and worms. Older audiences will have microscopes available for additional exploration. (30 minutes)
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* This program is only available during the spring, summer, and early fall because the Teaching Pond is outside.
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* Use of the field from March to mid or late April is not recommended as the field is mown yearly to control invasive, non-native plant species.
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* Use of insect repellent is highly recommended during the warm months.
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| Nocturnal Animals Visit: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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The group will receive a more detailed description of who is in the Dying Tree Exhibit and why dead trees are an important part of the forest ecosystem. Many nocturnal animals are found in this exhibit in the various stages of tree decomposition. (30 minutes)
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Using some of our best taxidermy specimens, the group will learn what makes owls different from other types of birds. (15 minutes)
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The group will get an up-close and personal visit with some of the different species of salamanders that inhabit our forests, crawling around the leaf litter searching for their buggy prey. (15 minutes)
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After turning the lights off, the group will be treated with the sometimes spooky and definitely odd sounds of the night in a Power Point slide show where they have to guess what kind of animal is making the sound. (30 minutes)
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Extended Museum Visit 3:
2.5 hours, Children: $20.00, Adults: $7.00 (Teachers not included, adult chaparones can pay themselves if needed)
An additional 20 minutes can be added for the group to have lunch on our lower back deck outside.
Various programs are available including but not limited to:
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| Classification Visit: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Using some taxidermy specimens, bones, and models the audience will learn how mammals, owls, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are all vertebrates and how they differ from each other. (30 minutes)
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After the introduction to vertebrates, some of the Museum’s salamanders including the endangered Eastern Tiger Salamander and the elusive Eastern Spadefoot Toad are used to further introduce the audience to amphibians and why they are amphibians. (30 minutes)
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After the introduction to vertebrates and amphibians, the audience will receive an up-close, personal visit with some of the local reptiles. Some of the Museum’s turtles including the Museum’s mascot, the Eastern Box Turtle, are used to further introduce the audience to reptiles and why they are reptiles. (30 minutes)
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At our Marine Touch Tank, the audience will meet many animals that call the bay home, and what their specific niche or job is in the bay ecosystem. They will meet the Green Crab, Forbe’s Seastar, Channeled and Knobbed Whelks, and some clams and mussels. They will learn who crabs are related to, who snails are related to, and why a sea star is not a fish. (30 minutes)
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Extended Museum Visit 4:
4 hours (includes time for a lunch break), Children: $25.00, Adults: $7.00 (Teachers not included, adult chaparones can pay themselves if needed)
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| Salt Marsh Introduction & Beach Walk: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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A Power Point slide show will introduce the unique characteristics of a salt marsh, view some of the many interesting organisms that call it home, and why the salt marsh is important to people. Students will receive a worksheet to fill out during the slide show to reinforce the important aspects. The presenter will go over the worksheet after the presentation to make sure everyone has the right answers. (30 minutes.)
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After the presentation, the group will play “Salt Marsh Bingo” to help them identify some of the important organisms found in the salt marsh. (20 minutes)
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Our Marine Touch Tank will give the group a very personal visit with some of the inhabitants they saw in the presentation, and what their specific niche or job is in the bay ecosystem. They will meet the Green Crab, Forbe’s Seastar, Channeled and Knobbed Whelks, and some clams and mussels. (40 minutes)
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Lunch Break. (30 minutes)
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After a 15 minute ride in your bus, we will explore the bay beach and salt marsh of Northwest Landing between Sag Harbor and East Hampton with an experienced Educator. (Total time 75 minutes)
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*Use of insect repellent is highly recommended during the warm months.
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| Introduction to Vernal Pools: |
Introduction to the South Fork Natural History Museum and what a natural history museum is. (15 minutes)
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Free-roam exploration of the main exhibits. (15 minutes)
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Power Point slide show of the vernal pool, a temporary pond that is usually found in a forest. The slide show introduces the audience to some of the many animals that use the pool. Students will fill out a worksheet during the slide show to help reinforce the important parts. After the slide show the presenter will go over the worksheet to make sure everyone has the correct answers. (30 minutes)
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Group will play the “Web of Life” game about ecosystem interactions. Each participant will receive a card with an aspect of the environment or an organism and the group will form a circle. After everyone has seen the other cards, participants will toss a ball of yarn to another participant that has a card which is related to their own with out letting go of the string. After several throws, a web forms inside the circle, showing how all aspects are related. Who doesn’t like a game of catch? (15 to 30 minutes)
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The group will get to meet some of the salamanders they saw in the slide show and learn more about their personal lives. (30 minutes)
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The group will then walk in the field to one of the four vernal pools found in there with two Nature Educators who will be dressed in waders. The educators will collect organisms with seine and hand nets and place them in containers for everyone to observe. (30 to 60 minutes)
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*Use of insect repellent is highly recommended during the warm months. |
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*This program is only available during the spring, summer, and early fall because the ponds are outside. |
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Program is outside of the museum in various locations or in the field behind the museum; no indoor programs.
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Total recommended time - 3 hours.
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Minimum $200 flat rate for up to 10 children, $20 per child over 10 children.
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Habitat includes forests, swamps, beaches, fields, and salt marshes.
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Individual 1/2 hr Special Programs - can be added to one-hour General Museum visit. (Total price for visit is dependant upon total time visiting the museum.)
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- Basic "What is a a reptile & amphibian?" - covers what makes an animal a reptile or amphibian with live examples. |
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- Basic "What is an arthropod?" covers why insects, crustaceans, and arachnids are arthropods and how they differ from each other, with live examples. |
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- Basic “What is a vertebrate?” – covers why birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are vertebrates and how they differ from each other, with live and taxidermy examples. |
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- In-depth reptiles – covers how individual species of reptiles are unique, with live examples. |
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- In-depth amphibians – covers how individual species of amphibians are unique, with live examples. |
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- Owls – covers the different aspects that make owls unique from other birds and other raptors, with taxidermy specimens. |
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- Insects – covers a variety of unique insects including beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, ants, and maybe a praying mantis, with live examples and models. |
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- Pond Diversity – allows the group to explore the variety of species found in a freshwater pond, outdoor activity. |
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- Plant Adaptations – usually in the field behind the museum but can be adapted to many other locations; focuses on how plants survive predation, desiccation, and how they reproduce (outdoor activity). |
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- Life of a Dying Tree – covers how a dying and dead tree is still an important part of a forest ecosystem, uses model and taxidermy animals. |
Other special requests from school teachers and home-school parents:
Please inquire about prices and times for these requested programs.
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- Butterflies and Butterfly Gardens – can include a Power Point introduction and a visit to SoFo's butterfly garden (available in Spring, Summer and early Fall). |
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- Nocturnal Animals – with taxidermy specimens, model, and some live animals; can include a Power Point slide and sound show. |
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- What is a Mammal? |
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- What is a Bird? |
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- Why do the Leaves Change Color in the Fall? |
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- Taxonomy – The Classification of Living Things. |
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- What is a Salt Marsh? – Off-site nature walk focusing on identification, can include a Power Point introduction to plants and animals of Long Island found throughout the year. |
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- What is in a Forest? – Off-site nature walk focusing on plant identification. Power Point introduction to the 4 different forest types in production. |
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- Who is at the Ocean/Bay Beach? – Off-site nature walk focusing on identification of plants and animals or shells of animals found on the beach. |
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- What is a Vernal Pool? – includes a Power Point introduction and nature walk - best done either at night in March (breeding season) or daytime in June (just before young emerge onto land). |
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* Salt marsh and vernal pool presentations can include worksheet, vocabulary list, and game in addition to a nature walk. Forest presentation will include worksheet, vocabulary list, and game. |
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