Community Calendar

Stop by the KIA’s Meader Fine Arts library to create a fun bookmark using a variety of lettering styles. We will have stencils, stickers, and stamps on hand for you to create unique bookmarks to use in your next read. Experiment with different letters, styles, and colors to create a font collage or quote. All materials will be provided.

On a Tuesday night in late April 2024, Tim Baerwald, a fellow migration counter, asked Alison if she'd be able to meet him Thursday morning at a remote Upper Peninsula boat launch eight hours away. She said yes: the boat would be taking them to Manitou Island ─ five miles off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula ─ and Manitou Island is an incredible concentration point for migrating birds. But Manitou's migration is little-studied: the island, situated in a particularly treacherous sweep of Lake Superior, is uninhabited; its only accommodation is a decommissioned lighthouse built in the 1860s. Tim was particularly interested in banding hawks and owls, which had never been done on Manitou. Alison will be sharing what she and Tim learned about raptor migration on Manitou ─ and will share, too, the general experience of witnessing avian movement from a remote island.

Alison Világ grew up birding in Southwest Michigan and has since let birds take her around the continent. She spent two years guiding birders and photographers on Alaska's Pribilof Islands, she was a Kirtland's Warbler guide for three years, and she's conducted standardized migration counts around Lake Superior (spring and fall) and from Monterey Bay (fall) for seven years. When she's not birding, Alison works in Traverse City's hospitality industry.

We hope you'll join us on Monday, January 26th, at People's Church, 1758 North 10th Street, Kalamazoo. This program is geared to all audiences, and we enthusiastically invite families and nature lovers of any age to join us! Come at 6:30 PM (new time – half an hour earlier this year) for some refreshments and socializing. Snacks and beverages will be provided. It's helpful if you bring your own coffee cup. The one-hour program will start at 7:00 PM. Handicap parking and access is at either the front or the rear entrance of the building.

We will have a Zoom link for those who can’t make it or feel uncomfortable attending in person. This link will be available shortly before the meeting in the February newsletter and on our website/event page. We will also be recording the meeting for later viewing.

Professor Margaret Bohls is an American potter and educator who teaches at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. During this talk, she will discuss her artwork, which consists of several different series of vessel forms, including her Italian Series and Modernist Series. Bohls will also speak about her inspirations, which include ancient Etruscan and Apulian pottery and Modernist era/mid-century designs in ceramics and silver.

Bohls has taught hands-on workshops at art centers such as Greenwich House Pottery in New York, Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Aspen, and Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. Bohls’ work has been shown in over 100 group and solo exhibitions since 1995 and is included in the permanent collections of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, the American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA), the Weisman Museum of Art, and the Everson Museum of Art. She has written articles for the Journal of the National Council for Education on Ceramic Arts and Pottery Making Illustrated, and her ceramic work has been featured in periodicals such as Ceramics Monthly and Studio Potter Magazine.

Behind the Scenes: Rabbits
Saturday, January 31, 12:30-1:15 pm

Audience: All Ages

Take a look behind the curtains of our animal care department and learn all about our softest animals: the rabbits! See how we maintain the highest standard of care for our animals and get a chance to ask our animal care manager your most burning critter questions. This program directly supports our animal care department!

Fee: Member $12, Non-Member $15. Please register.

Public Raptor Training
Saturday, January 31, 2 pm

Audience: All Ages
Meet: Bird Enclosures in Arboretum
Have you ever wondered how we train our birds of prey? Come to the bird mews in the arboretum for a special training session with some of our most charismatic residents and learn more about these majestic raptors and their care. We’ll be outside, so be sure to bundle up and bring your best burning birdy questions!

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; no registration required, just drop in!

Announcing the return of the Marble Rollercoaster event at Glass Art Kalamazoo! Join us on Friday February 6 from 5-8pm for this awesome experience. Our all-glass marble rollercoasters from the last two years will be setup in the main space, along with a new addition that our flame working team has been working on. Come witness these structural marvels in person and take a turn dropping a marble down the tracks as our artists weld new sections together before our eyes. This has become one of our favorite events of the year and we are stoked to bring it back to life and share it with you!

Also featuring marble-making torch demonstrations, a make-your-own fused glass project (for a small fee), and a new exhibit in the gallery.

Friday February 6
5pm – 8pm
FREE to attend and open to ALL AGES.

Winter Adaptation Walk
Saturday, February 7 at 2 pm

Audience: All Ages

Meet: Visitor Center Lobby

When we go out in winter, we bundle up in our best coats and mittens. But what do our local animals do to survive? Join us as we talk about the diversity of winter survival strategies on display here in Michigan. Dress warmly and be ready for a short hike!

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).

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).

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).