Museum of Northern Arizona — MNA comes to you

Message from Mary –

Not surprisingly, this newsletter presents a very different range of activities and events than you will be used to seeing. While our community is staying at home, we are finding new ways to connect with you all and share MNA’s activities in various virtual formats. It is a learning experience for all of us, and I hope you enjoy joining us on these new adventures.

This is a challenging time. While we are responsibly staying at home and separate from our friends and neighbors, it is more important than ever to find ways to connect and stay in touch. I am grateful to the many of you who have reached out to send messages of support, who have connected with us on social media, and who continue to be part of the extended MNA family. I hope you all stay safe and well, and I look forward to the time when we will be able to once again welcome you to our campus.

Mary Kershaw

Executive Director & CEO

Museum of Northern Arizona

Learn about plants

Videos post to Facebook on Tuesdays

Each week MNA botany experts share knowledge about native plants and gardening in Flagstaff’s climate. So far we’ve posted three videos, which can be found on the MNA Facebook page, including a tour of the Colton Community Garden and instructions for making seed-starting pots from newspaper. Feel free to send in your questions to jbusco@musnaz.org.

MNA Writers Group

Online Wednesday April 15 & 29, 5 – 7 pm

It’s National Poetry Month, a great time to try your hand at a verse, or worse. The MNA Writers Group meets every other Wednesday to share and critique each others writing. This month the meetings are online. All styles and genres are welcome. For info Email for information.

Colton Talk: Subterranean Biology

Webinar on Tuesday April 28, 7 pm

MNA researchers have renewed a longstanding tradition of gathering to discuss scientific discoveries, theories, and questions. For now, those discussions will take place as webinars. Register to join the discussion as Dr. Jut Wynn of the Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research presents a road map for protecting the ecosystems found in caves.

ONLINE

If you missed the official international Slow Art Day, you can still try it at home with friends and family. Either use the album of images on the MNA Facebookpage, or choose art from your own collection.

Junior Paleontologist

Monday-Friday

Dinosaur Dave (aka Dr. Dave Gillette) is posting paleontology activities for kids. These can be found daily on the MNA Facebook page, where Dr. Dave will also answer questions, or by downloading the printable activities from musnaz.org. Here are the first week’s activities. Kids who participate will become Junior Paleonologists and be invited to a Paleontology Pizza Party with Dr. Dave after the museum reopens.

Family Fridays

Facebook Live stream on Fridays at 2:30 pm

Follow along on Facebook as MNA educator Mari Soliday presents a short program for kids each Friday. This Friday learn about prehistoric foods, see how corn is ground on a metate, and then learn to make blue corn cakes. The materials for each project will be items commonly found around the house.

STEAM Second Saturday: Arthropods

Facebook Live stream on April 11, 2:00 pm

Arthropods are the most abundant and diverse organisms on the planet. Paige Chesshire from NAU will live stream a bug show-and-tell on theMNA Facebook page. Learn the important role in the food supply of many insects and spiders as pollinators of crops. Then go on a bug hunt in your own backyard and identify what you find.

Online storytime

Museum staff are taking turns reading aloud children’s books from the Museum Bookstore. Let the kids watch the first book, “Big Horns Don’t Honk,” read by Membership Manager Nic Beckett and enjoy a short break.

Summer Discovery Camps

June 8-July 31

With the kids home for a few weeks, it’s a fine time to start planning for when they will be home for the whole summer. The Discovery summer camp schedules are now online. All the summer camps are held as small groups, with plenty of outdoor space, and many of the camps involve hikes and field trips. At this time of uncertainty, we are taking registrations only to hold your place; payments will be made in May when we are able to confirm the 2020 summer camp season.

The Force Is With Our People

Extended through August 2

Whether you’re a Star Wars fan, an art lover, or interested in Native cultures, this exhibition has something to engage everyone. The exhibition features work by more than 20 contemporary Native artists who were influenced by Star Wars and explores the reasons Star Wars resonates with them. It includes fine art, jewelry, pottery, and a full-size robot. Learn more here.

Petrified Forest Day Trip

October 31, 2020 7:30 AM – 6:00 PM.

Fans of fossils and Arizona’s colorful landscape will enjoy this trip to Petrified Forest National Park with geologist Dr. Kent Colbath. The day trip includes a short hike into a fossil field from the dawn of the “Age of Dinosaurs,” and a tour of the fossil preparation lab. Sign up by calling 928-774-5211 ext. 222 or Online.

Ventures Trips being rescheduled:

Churro Sheep and Rock Art Ranch overnight

Verde River Day Float

Oak Creek Canyon-West Fork Hike Day Trip

Slate Mountain Day Trip

Four Grand Day Hikes at the South Rim, April 2021

Watch the website for when these trips will be rescheduled or call 928-774-5211 ext. 222.

May 19-22, 2021

Join musicians Chris Brashear and Peter McLaughlin for a musical river trip. During the day, float through the magnificent Goosenecks and hike in side canyons. Spend the evenings beneath the stars enjoying music by two premiere western songwriters while reflecting on the day’s journey. Sign up by calling 928-774-5211 ext. 222 or Online.

May 7-14, 2021 (sold out, call for waitlist)

With all the plans for this spring cancelled, put something on the calendar to look forward to: this seven-day, six-night rafting trip on the Colorado River with Grand Canyon geologist and expert Wayne Ranney. Sign up by calling 928-774-5211 ext. 222 or Online.

Flagstaff still waves

In this time when we must be physically apart, creative actions can bring us together. As part of the #CreativeFlagstaff campaign, MNA has started a “Flagmob” on our fence. We’ve made more than 100 small flags for people to decorate and display. Flags have always been a way to send signals across distances. If you would like a blank flag, email to be sent one. Or follow these instructions to make your own. We can no longer shake hands, but we can still wave.

Share a plant story

Do you have a favorite plant, gardening memory or recipe? Plants provide food, healing and beauty. MNA volunteer Laura Davis is collecting plant-related stories and memories. These might be your own direct experiences or passed down from elders. Some of the stories will be shared on the MNA Facebook page. Send your stories to mmgardens@q.com .

Trail work day

Being rescheduled

The trail work day had to be canceled for April, while we all stay home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If you want to be added to the volunteer list and informed when it is rescheduled, email msoliday@musnaz.orgfor details and to volunteer.

Heritage Festival artist applications

This year the Zuni, Hopi and Navajo festivals are being combined into a single Heritage Festival September 12 & 13. This weekend festival provides an opportunity to meet, demonstrate, and sell your art. Artists who sign up early will be featured on MNA’s Facebook page. Artists can use the applications currently online for the Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo festivals. Send questions and inquiries to ageorge@musnaz.org.

Mother’s Day is May 10

If you can’t take mom out for Mother’s Day, buy her something beautiful to brighten her day. Or buy her a gift card so she can have the pleasure of choosing the piece of jewelry , art, or carved fetish that she likes best. Order now and it will be shipped straight to her door. Your purchases help the artists and the museum.

Tired of TV? Try a puzzle

The Journey of Life puzzle series is based on a series of pen and ink drawings by Monica Nuvamsa, a Hopi artist from the village of Songoopavi. Nuvamsa was inspired by experiences in her life to create the four images depicting growth and strength, traits we can all use right now. You can still shop online at the Museum Bookstore and have items shipped directly to your door.