Community Calendar

Secrets of Trees in Winter

Saturday, December 20 at 2 pm

Have you ever wondered what our local trees get up to during the harsh Michigan winter? Join one of our naturalists to learn about the ways our flora has adapted to survive the cold season and learn how to identify trees even without leaves. We’ll be outside, so be sure to bundle up!

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; drop in program

Audience: All Ages
Meet: Visitor Center front desk

Saturday, December 27, 10 am – 3 pm

Audience: Families

Meet: Visitor Center Classroom

Shake off the holiday cabin fever and join us for a relaxing art day at KNC! We’ll have craft and art supplies available in the Classroom, so drop by and flex those creative muscles.

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; drop in program

Keep the kids engaged over winter break at Winter Glass Camp! In this one day camp, students work side-by-side with our talented instructors to learn the basic techniques of hot glass as they create projects in the Glass Blowing, Torch Working, and Kiln Fusing studios.

Open to ages 12-18. No previous experience necessary. Space is limited so act quickly if you’d like to embark on this epic glass art adventure with us!

Join us for a guided walk through the Kirk Newman Art School Faculty Show. Discover incredible works in clay, paint, metal, and more—created by the talented artists who teach here at the KIA. Along the way, enjoy a few hands-on activities and experience the many forms art can take.

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.
Take a Wonder Walk through the galleries! The walk will include close looking at a few artworks as well as gallery games and activities. This is a great way to introduce your little one to art and the museum. Wonder Walks is for children 2-4 years old (but all are welcome) and is free with the cost of admission. Caregivers must stay with their children at all times. Preregistration is encouraged. Adults, remember to register your children!

Birds and Coffee
Saturday, January 3, 10 am – 12:30 pm

Audience: Adults

Meet: Visitor Center Main Lot

Without the leaves on the trees, winter is an excellent time for birding. Come ring in the new year by getting out for a guided bird walk at 10:30 am and buy a piping hot drink from Emergency Coffee Rescue to keep warm on the trails.

Local partners will also be on-site with hands-on gear demos and expert advice. Stop by the tables from Norman Camera and Wild Birds Unlimited to try out equipment, compare birding essentials, and chat with folks who know the best tools to support your birding passion.
Start your year outdoors, caffeinated, and surrounded by community.

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; drop in program

Getting Glacial
Saturday, January 3 at 2 pm

Audience: All Ages
Meet: Visitor Center front desk
Have you ever wondered about the striking topography found at KNC and across the Kalamazoo area? Come along for a hike through some of our most beautiful natural features and learn about the intense glacial forces that shaped this area into the place we know and love. This program has a flexible end time to accommodate for hiking time.

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; drop in program

Please join us the first Saturday of each month at 9 AM (barring special events or bad weather which will be announced on our Facebook page), for "Beginning Birding Walks," led by experienced birders from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo. This event is free and open to the public. Meet at the second parking lot at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, just off SR 43. All skill levels are welcome.

We will enjoy nature while typically identifying 20-40 species of birds, plus butterflies, frogs, etc. Over 200 bird species have been sighted at Wolf Lake, which offers a variety of habitats and easy walking trails. Annual highlights include colorful songbirds like orioles, warblers, tanagers, hawks and eagles, kingfishers, Great Blue and Green Herons, and over 20 species of waterfowl. Eastern Bluebirds can be found year-round! Children accompanying adults are welcome. The focus is on birding fundamentals, and extra binoculars are always available. The walk typically takes about 2 hours (but feel free to arrive late or leave early).

Taekyeom Lee: Designed, Printed & Fired showcases the artist’s innovative reimagining of the world of graphic design in three dimensions. Bringing conventional design elements off of the page or screen, Taekyeom blends them with ceramics using a variety of materials. During this Gallery Gathering, we will discuss select works in this exhibition, examining Taekyeom’s unique approach and methods.

Please note that this event will not be livestreamed or posted on YouTube.
Gallery Gatherings are short, lightly-moderated conversations about selected artworks from ongoing exhibitions. Chairs and gallery stools are available for guests. This program is free, but preregistration is encouraged.

In January, Art Detectives will investigate different art forms and techniques. We’ll read a story about all the ways art can take shape, tour the Kirk Newman Art School Faculty Review to see amazing works by our talented teaching artists, and then make our own art inspired by what we’ve seen.

Art Detectives is a free program for children 4-8 years old (but all ages are welcome). Join us as we read a story, look at art, and make a project to take home. Caregivers must stay with their children at all times. This is a free program; preregistration is encouraged. Adults, remember to register your children!

The Kirk Newman Art School Faculty Review is a much-anticipated biennial exhibition at the KIA, showcasing the considerable talents of Kirk Newman Art School faculty members who provide world-class instruction in a wide range of media. During this ArtBreak, KNAS Director Leslie Donaldson will offer remarks on this year’s show, which centers on the theme of process, before leading guests on a walkthrough of the exhibition. Please note that this ArtBreak will involve standing and walking. Gallery stools will be available.

Leslie Donaldson has served as Director of the Kirk Newman Art School since 2023, bringing to the role more than 20 years’ experience in varied arts management functions, including education, programming, marketing, fundraising, strategic planning, and entrepreneurship. She served as the inaugural CEO of Common Grounds Cooperative, a nonprofit real-estate cooperative in Traverse City. Her career also includes successful stints as the Director of Engagement for Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Executive Director for the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, and the Director of Arts Programs for the City of East Lansing. Donaldson holds an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design in Painting/Printmaking and a BFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University.