Harn offers family-friendly Earth Day celebration

April 13, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida offers a family-friendly Earth Day celebration from 1 to 4 p.m. April 16.

The Family Day will highlight Audubon prints recently added to the Highlights from the Modern Collection exhibition. The installation is devoted to naturalist prints from John James Audubon’s landmark publications, The Birds of America (1827-1838) and The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845-1848). These exquisitely illustrated books with hand-colored prints showing birds and animals in their natural habitats were based on Audubon’s many years of field research and travel throughout the United States.

Visitors can take a family friendly docent-led tour of art focused on nature and will have the opportunity to create drawings and paintings of natural objects such as plants, birds and animals on loan from the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Other events include a performance by the Kanapaha Celtic Trio, a demonstration by botanical illustrator Rhea Smith, an Art21 film on a contemporary environmental installation by Mark Dion at the Seattle Art Museum’s Sculpture Park, and a fun, interactive “Bird Detective” presentation by the Alachua Audubon Society.

This event is free and open to all ages. For more information visit www.harn.ufl.edu or call 352-392-9826.