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Golden Pond Planetarium and Observatory: Activities for Astronomy Day (May 7, 2022)

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Golden Pond Visitor's Center and Planetarium

The Golden Pond Visitor Center Planetarium and Observatory

International Astronomy Day is Saturday, May 7, 2022 and The Golden Pond Planetarium and Observatory in the Land Between the Lakes has a special day planned for visitors.

The Planetarium will have activities for the kids, solar viewing, and a special program hosted by The WKAA (West Kentucky Amateur Astronomers): Beginners Tips on How to Choose a Telescope.

Shows on International Astronomy Day (Saturday, May 7) will be free and will be available throughout the day! Astronomy Day will also be the day the grand opening for the new Planetarium projector, SkyExplorer.

The West Kentucky Amateur Astronomers will also be offering free solar viewing in the observatory.

Space science crafts will be provided, along with free posters and stickers.

The 360-degree, surround-sound, 40 foot domed planetarium theater is temperature controlled and has very comfortable high back seats. Surround sound adds SO MUCH to the experience. The new SkyExplorer projection system provides the best rendering capacities and delivers a wonderful, realistic image quality for an immersive experience throughout the domed theater.

Solar viewing will (of course) be weather dependent.

For show schedules and more information, please visit www.landbetweenthelakes.us/planetarium.

 

Woodlands Nature Station to host 25th Annual Hummingbird Festival

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Hummingbird at the Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes

Hummingbird at Woodlands Nature Station

Woodlands Nature Station is one of my favorite places, not just in the Land Between the Lakes, but in all of Kentucky! The Nature Station celebrates the migration of hummingbirds during the annual Hummingbird Festival, scheduled for August 7 and 8, 2021.

If you love hummingbirds like I do, the Nature Station is a dream come true. It’s hummingbird paradise!

The weekend of August 7-August 8 marks the beginning of the great hummingbird migration through Land Between the Lakes. I hope you’ll mark your calendar and join in the celebration with the 25th annual Hummingbird Festival.

TIME: 10 am – 5 pm on Saturday, August 7 and Sunday, August 8, 2021

PLACE: Woodlands Nature Station, 3146 Silver Trail Road in the Land Between the Lakes

PRICE: Special admission price is $9 for ages 18 and up, $7 for ages 5 – 17 and free for ages 4 and under.

If you love hummingbirds, this is the event for you! August brings hundreds of hummingbirds to the Woodlands Nature Station as they migrate south to Central America. You can see as many as 200 in a single day!

Special programming includes:

Saturday, August 7

  • 10 am – 4:30 pm | Hummingbird Banding and Release Demonstrations – licensed banders Brainard Palmer-Ball Jr. and Mark Monroe
  • 11am | 2019/2020 Photo Contest Awards
  • 12pm | Attracting Bluebirds – Bob Peak, The North American Bluebird Society
  • 1pm | The Buzz on Beekeeping – Scott Sutton, Houston-Stewart County Beekeepers Association
  • 2pm | Social Eco-art: Igniting Conversation and Invoking Social Change – Shannon Roberts, The New South Arts Initiative
  • 3pm | Rest Stops for Ruby-Throats: Landscaping for Migrating Birds and Butterflies -Botanist Alicia Bosela, owner of Ironweed Native Plant Nursery
  • 4pm | Build a Hummingbird
  • 4:30 pm – Parade of Raptors

Sunday, August 8

  • 10 am – 4:30 pm | Hummingbird Banding and Release Demonstrations – Licensed banders Brainard Palmer-Ball Jr. and Mark Monroe
  • 11am | Bringing Nature Home: Creating a Haven for Wildlife
  • 12pm | Rest Stops for the Ruby-Throats: Landscaping for Migrating Birds and Butterflies-Botanist Alicia Bosela, owner of Ironweed Native Plant Nursery
  • 1pm | Build a Hummingbird
  • 2pm | Attracting Bluebirds – Bob Peak, The North American Bluebird Society
  • 3pm | Pollinators: Beyond the Bees
  • 4pm | Attracting Purple Martins
  • 4:30 pm – Parade of Raptors

Ongoing activities include:

  • Hummingbird Photo Gallery
  • Hummingbird Gift Shop
  • Kids’ Crafts and Games
  • Local Craftsmen and Artists
  • Attracting Bluebirds
  • Kentucky Wildlife
  • Garden Friend or Foe? – Live Animals
  • Attracting Native Bees
  • Monarch Magic
  • Beekeeping Basics
  • Native Plant Sale
  • and more!

For more information, call 270.924.2299 or visit www.landbetweenthelakes.us.

Fourth grade students can go to https://www.nationalparks.org/our-work/campaigns-initiatives/every-kid-outdoors to get their free Every Kid Outdoors pass, and get their family in for free.
For more information, please call the Nature Station at 270-924-2299.
If you love birds, you’ll love The Birds o Kentucky by Burt L. Monroe, Jr. Click the link to learn more about this wonderful guide to Kentucky’s beautiful birds.
Hummingbirds at The Nature Station (Land Between the Lakes)
Hummingbirds at The Nature Station (Land Between the Lakes)

Memorial Day Weekend at Woodlands Nature Station in the LBL

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Gorgeous Owl Nature Station

Great Horned Owl: One of the Gorgeous Residents at Woodlands Nature Station

One of my favorite places in all of Kentucky (and beyond) is Woodlands Nature Station in the Land Between the Lakes. In fact, as soon as the weather allowed this year, it was the first place we visited in the region. I told the bobcat, owls, groundhog, eagle, possum, turtles, deer, turkeys, and other birds how much I had missed them.

I did not give the snakes the same greeting. They understand – they know a walking phobia when they see it.

This Memorial Day weekend, for “River Days,” The Woodlands Nature Station will have extended hours and will be open until 7:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, May 29 & 30.

There will be many great programs throughout the weekend to celebrate the area’s rivers and to welcome back the season. For most of us, Memorial Day Weekend just feels like the whole world is coming back to life. And with so many things opening back up and mandates being lifted soon… I don’t know about you, but it makes me so happy, I can feel happy tears building up, threatening to flow like the rivers that’ll be celebrated!

Fourth grade students can go to https://everykidinapark.gov/, for their free Every Kid in a Park pass, and get their family in for free! For more information, call the Nature Station at 270.924.2299.

Woodlands Nature Station is located at 3146 Silver Trail Road (a beautifully scenic road you’ll most definitely enjoy).

Beautiful Turtle at Woodlands Nature Station

One of the Turtles at the Nature Station

Kentucky State Park Campgrounds Preparing to Open March 13

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Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground

Playground at the Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground

I recently told one of my daughters, “I have never been THIS ready for spring and summer in my life!” I am, undoubtedly, one of the biggest fans of winter in the world. I love the cold, brisk air, I love the extra excuses to indulge in hot chocolate, coffee, and chai tea lattes and I love the sweaters, hoodies, and scarves.

I watch excitedly for snow even when it isn’t in the forecast, I love college and pro football, and I delight in making more soup and chili than my family can possibly eat.

Having said all of that…. bring on the sunshine! Baseball, car trips, fresh produce, trees in bloom, flowers, birds filling the trees, and visits to Kentucky State Parks and the Land Between the Lakes always make me eager for spring and summer – more so this year than ever, for some reason.

When I saw the following press release in my e-mail, I let out an audible, “Whoop!” I always get excited when Kentucky Events start dropping into the inbox because it’s as though Kentucky… and my very world… come back to life after a long nap!

If you frequently camp or are beginning the tradition, look alive… Camping season is about to open at Kentucky State Parks!

Continued Below….


Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground

Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground

From the Kentucky State Parks:

“Our state parks are treasured by thousands of Kentucky families, including mine,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “I hope to see Team Kentucky outside and having fun this year – stay safe and keep exploring!”

The camping season officially opens March 13, 2020, at all 30 Kentucky State Park campgrounds that feature about 2,300 campsites across the state.

“One of the most popular recreational activities at Kentucky State Parks every year is camping,” said Parks Commissioner Robert Conway. “We’re making some improvements at several campgrounds that our guests will like.”

During the month of April, all Kentucky State Park campgrounds are offering buy one night, get one free, Sunday through Thursday. (Use the promotion code “Spring2020” for online reservations.)

The weekend of April 24-26 is the annual Camper Appreciation Weekend when campers get two nights for the price of one. State park campgrounds are offering a variety of activities during Camper Appreciation Weekend, including entertainment, arts and crafts, putt-putt golf, bonfires, movies, cookouts and nature programs.

Several campgrounds will see upgrades during 2020. Electric upgrades are planned at Carr Creek State Park and General Burnside Island State Park is getting electric and sewer upgrades. Some sites at Lake Cumberland State Resort Park’s campground are being re-designed to better accommodate campers.

All state park campgrounds have water and electric services with dump stations or sewer hookups, along with picnic tables and fire rings at each improved site, and bathhouses. Primitive sites are also available.

Park sites will remain open through mid-November and a few remain open during winter months.

The campground at John James Audubon State Park remains closed in 2020 due to work on a nearby dam.

To make camping reservations at a Kentucky State Park or for more information, visit www.parks.ky.gov

Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground

Rough River Dam State Resort Park Campground

Salt Festival at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site October 18-20, 2019

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Big Bone Lick State Historic Site Salt Festival.Big Bone Lick State Historic Site wants to take you back in time during the 37th annual Salt Festival next weekend (Oct. 18-20, 2019).

The festival features live demonstrations of pioneer lifeways and frontier skills. Enjoy folk and Bluegrass music, listen to a storyteller, view prehistoric Ice Age artifacts, and observe a blacksmith working red-hot iron. See how salt was extracted from the waters of Big Bone, watch a flintknapper make a stone point, and discover how bison hair was spun into yarn. Browse the crafters corner to see the many local, handcrafted items for sale, and take advantage of the good eats at the food court.

This year’s festival entertainment will feature “The Journey of York,” the story of William Clark’s slave along the transcontinental expedition of the Corps of Discovery. Big Bone Lick was recently added to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Also returning to the festival field is All Nation’s Drum, an Intertribal Native American group showcasing traditional song and dance.

While visiting the park, be sure to drop by the park’s museum and visitors center to see some of the “big bones.” A shuttle van will transport event-goers to and from the festival field, museum, and campground at regular intervals.

Don’t miss seeing the bison herd, the park’s living link to Kentucky’s early history.

On Friday, Oct. 18, the park will host school groups. Schools interested in bringing classes to the festival should call the park at 859-384-3522 as pre-registration is required to receive the discounted school admission rate. Deadline to register is October 9. Regular festival admission is $5 per person; children 5 and under are free. Admission is open to the public all three days of the festival. The festival is cash only.

For information about the park, visit http://parks.ky.gov/parks/historicsites/big-bone-lick/. ; Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is recognized as the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology for its significant role in the development of scientific thought regarding extinction and the relationship between geology and paleontology the world over. The park is located 22 miles southwest of Covington on KY 338, off US 42/127 and I-71 & I-75.  From I-75 north or south, take exit 175 to KY 338.  From I-71 north or south, take exit 62 to 127N/42E to KY 338.

Photo Credit: Kentucky State Parks

"When reading about a Kentucky event, please be sure you check the date. Old events are not always deleted from the website. If you have an event you'd like to see on Genuine Kentucky or a 'Made in Kentucky' food or product you'd like reviewed, please contact us! " ~ Joi ("Joy")

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