The Museum of the Hudson Highlands is a center for nature, with a focus on
environmental education and a mission to develop responsible caretakers of
the natural world. Both of its sites feature exhibits as well as nature
trails.
The museum's Boulevard building houses a collection of living
animals native to the region, including owls, frogs, turtles, snakes, birds,
chipmunks, and an opossum. It also features a natural history gallery. The
177-acre Kenridge Farm site, purchased in 1993 by the environmental
organization Scenic Hudson in conjunction with the museum, serves as an
outdoor classroom. Its forests, wetlands, ponds, streams, meadows, and farm
fields (which once pastured prize-winning Morgan horses) highlight the
natural diversity of the Hudson Highlands. A gallery in the farmhouse
displays works by local artists who have been inspired by nature.
The
museum also hosts a wide variety of educational programs for people of all
ages. Topics include everything from maple sugaring and nature's unusual
creatures to explorations of the river's denizens and lectures about
regional history and the environment.
The Museum of the Hudson
Highland is located in Cornwall, NY. Its Boulevard site is open from 10
a.m.-4 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 12-4 p.m. Sun. At the Kenridge Farm site, on
Route 9W, the gallery is open on weekends from 12 - 4, and the trails are
open dawn to dusk daily. Admission. 845-534-5506,