Programs & Events

Arrow pointOur goal for programming at the CSMNH is to enhance people's understanding of both natural and cultural history. We strive to develop engaging learning opportunities that showcase research, scholarship, and creativity for audiences of all ages, at the university and across the broader public.

The Museum's programs and events include field-learning activities, workshops, lectures, community outreach, and special events.

Field-Learning Activities

Field-learning activities: Participants make field observations, test ideas, and use tools they may otherwise not have access to. Past field-learning activities include shoe-box archaeology digs, animal tracking tours, and bird walks.

Upcoming field-learning activities:

Archaeology Field School for Adults, Monday-Friday, July 21-25, 2025.

Workshops

Workshops: Museum workshops led by local experts offer hands-on learning activities to small groups of participants. Past workshops have focused on scientific illustration techniques and basic field archaeology methods and best practices.

Upcoming workshops:

There are currently no workshops scheduled.

Lectures

Lectures: Experts from diverse backgrounds, many recognized as leaders in their fields, share their knowledge with the public. Speakers explore contemporary issues and reveal ancient mysteries on varied topics. Recent past lectures have focused on taking local action to address climate change, the pre-agricultural origins of the UConn campus, and the story of Darwin’s fascination with orchids. In addition, the CSMNH co-sponsors the Edwin Way Teale Lecture Series, which brings leading scholars from around the world to UConn to present public lectures on nature and the environment six times each year.

Upcoming lectures:

There are currently no workshops scheduled.

 

Community Outreach & Special Events

Community outreach events: These events involve the broader Connecticut community and help create awareness of and foster involvement in the CSMNH, emphasizing unique educational opportunities for the public at-large. Past community outreach events where the CSMNH has participated include the Connecticut Archaeology Fair, Willimantic's 3rd Thursday, Celebrate Mansfield Festival, UConn Extension’s Bug Week, and The Last Green Valley's Walktober.

Upcoming community outreach and special events:

The CSMNH will be at Willimantic's 3rd Thursday Street Fest in May, June & July in 2025! Join us for the following activities this summer:

  • June 19 - Make Your Own Natural History Button
  • July 17 - Bug Week @ Willi 3rd Thursday!

 

We will also be doing a special plant pressing and nature journal activity with the Mansfield Public Library at their Thursday August 7 Teen Night. More details to come!

If you require an accommodation to attend any of our events, please contact the CSMNH at 860-486-4460 or CSMNHInfo@uconn.edu at least 5 days before the event.

Upcoming Events

FIELD SCHOOL

Archaeology Field School for Adults with the Office of State Archaeology

A blue painted pot fragment discovered at the Hollister Archaeology site, uncovered by the Office of State Archaeology with UConn Anthropology’s 2025 field school.The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, the Office of State Archaeology (OSA), and the Friends of the Office of State Archaeology, Inc. (FOSA) are pleased to  once again be offering our week-long Archaeology Field School for Adults.

21 – 25 July 2025

Monday-Friday, 9AM-3PM

South Glastonbury, CT

Registration Cost for week-long field school:

$300 - Museum Members; $350 - Non-Members

 

Participants will gain hands on experience contributing to an authentic and significant archaeological investigation, working with primary sources at a 17th-century colonial site in South Glastonbury, Connecticut. Days will start at 9am and end at 3pm, with a break for a brown bag lunch. The field school will cover the basics of field methods, paperwork, mapping, data management, and artifact identification.

The program is desParticipants in the UConn Archaeology field schoo working on a test pit l at the Hollister site in June 2025.igned to provide a deeper appreciation of the importance of archaeology as a tool for learning about Connecticut’s fascinating past. Learning proper archaeological methods will develop the participant’s understanding of the ethical aspects of archaeology and the archaeologist’s responsibility to preserve the data they retrieve so that it will remain valuable to future researchers.

The Archaeological Field School is taught by Connecticut State Archaeologist Dr. Sarah Sportman with support from FOSA, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support the Connecticut Office of State Archaeology through education, public outreach, partnerships with local communities, financial support, and public assistance.

While the program is open to all adults, it may be of special interest to educators who teach history or social sciences in a classroom or museum setting.

 

Space for this program is limited!

Contact us about educator and veteran discounts!

Registration is open to adults aged 18+ and ends Monday July 14, 2025.

View and download program flyer

View and download press release

 

REGISTER FOR ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD SCHOOL