Fast-Motion Video: The Making of "Leapers & Creepers"

Visitors at the High Desert Museum frequently tell us our exhibits are so fun and exciting.And, they often think that they are traveling exhibits, built by some museum in a big city and sent on the road. But we create nearly all of our exhibits here at this nonprofit, with our wonderfully talented and dedicated staff.

Click here for a fast-motion video showing how we built a lush, indoor, plant filled environment for more than 20 native and exotic species of frogs and reptiles, from poison dart frogs and chameleons to geckos and snakes. It's our new exhibit Leapers & Creepers: The Living World of Frogs and Reptiles.

One highlight is an area where tortoises roam freely and you can touch them and watch them being fed.

This latest interactive and educational offering allows visitors to learn about these animals’ natural history and conservation issues. The exhibit runs through April 29.

Thanks to our pro photographers who generously donate their time and expertise! This video was shot by Museum volunteer Lee Schaefer, and the photo is by Museum volunteer Abbott Schindler.

Photo Tells True Story for Mining Day

One Museum photograph intrigued Museum volunteer Suzanne Linford, and inspired her to research it:

At the entrance to the Comstock silver and gold hard rock mine in Nevada, 12 men stand in a photograph taken in 1862. They look at us across the 150 years since they posed for this company photo, with their arms crossed over their bare chests. They are the mine supervisors chosen for trusted management positions. They come from Cornwall, England.

Cornwall is the legendary home of King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable and Merlin the magician. In reality, it is a hard land and an enchanted one, accepting of invasions, grueling work and unseen possibilities.

These Cornishmen came to America because the copper and tin mines at home played out, and the market for these metals dropped in the mid-19th century. They brought knowledge and skills – honed from 2,000 years of such mining. One major invention was the “Cornish engine,” a steam powered engine that pumped water out of mines. This machine helped allow mines to go as deep as 2,000 feet in the Comstock lodes. One adage went that at the bottom of every large hole in the ground, one would find a Cornishman.

The Cornish miners were a mine owners dream. They worked 12-hour work shifts, seven days a week and held pro-management and anti-labor union views. Those who were Methodists didn’t drink alcohol. They were positive and always had a “Cousin Jack” who could fill any job vacancy. Consistent with their cultural heritage that combined hard work and a belief in what was possible, they were said to possess the ability to foresee possible disasters – signaled by underground elves.

Look for the photo in our Spirit of the West exhibit, and take a tour with Suzanne Linford or another volunteer docent daily (except Sundays) at 2:45 p.m. And on Jan. 14, it’s Mining Day! Try your hand at gold panning inside the Spirit of the West exhibit’s re-created 19th-century placer mine and boom town. Have your earnings authenticated at Silver City’s Wells Fargo Bank and take your treasure home! 11am-3pm. $2 per “miner.”

Let Your Spirit Soar as a Wildlife Volunteer

Chances are you’ve been pondering how to make 2012 one of the best years ever: you’ll try new things, challenge yourself, have more fun, accomplish something meaningful and help others.

Imagine working with animals at the High Desert Museum, from eagles and owls to hawks and badgers, helping to care for them and work with them in our acclaimed programs that teach people about our natural world.

Haven’t worked with anything more wild than a house cat? That’s fine, you do not have to have experience. You’ll be trained by our wildlife experts, including Curator of Living Collections Jim Dawson, a raptor biologist who has studied nearly every raptor species in every desert in North America.

Picture yourself here at the Museum’s 135-acre ponderosa pine forest. You hold your breath aa one of our hawks glides toward you. You hold your arm high, wearing a thick, leather raptor’s glove. The wild bird seems to look right into your eyes as it flares its wings and lands on your hand. It’s so close, you see every feather and its powerful talons. You remember to start breathing again.

Few people have an experience such as this, an unparalleled way to connect with the natural world. Raptors lead lives that are spectacular and exciting. You will be a part of it. And you can share it through our programs, drawing visitors into nature and the wild world of birds and inspiring stewardship of our resources.

What better way to think globally and act locally?

Find out more about being a wildlife volunteer. Call Jim Dawson at 541-323-3322. Or click here.

And, if you’re interested a range of ways that you can assist at the Museum from working with wildlife, to giving talks and tours or helping behind the scenes, join us on Jan. 5 for Volunteer Orientation, 10:30-11:30am. RSVP: volunteer@highdesertmuseum.org. Details at highdesertmuseum.org.

Photo by Museum volunteer Todd Carey

The holidays in High Desert history

From fur trappers to buckaroos, a look back at holiday traditions in the High Desert:

In 1825 fur trapper Peter Skene Ogden wrote:

"Sunday, 25th. This being Christmas, all hands remained in camp. Prayers were made. Cold increases; prospects gloomy; not 20 lbs. of food remain in camp, and nearly all our traps out of water. "

"Sunday, Jan. 1, 1826, Remained in camp. Gave all hands a dram. There was more fasting than feasting. The first New Year's day since I came to the Indian country when my men were without food; 4 beaver today."

In 1826 Ogden wrote:
"Sunday 25th, Christmas. I did not raise camp and we are reduced to one meal a day."

Despite being thousands of miles from the nearest city, the men and women of the Hudson’s Bay Company fur trapping and trading forts still managed to celebrate Christmas and New Years in the High Desert. It was customary for the officers in charge to distribute regales – extra rations of rum, tobacco and foodstuffs – to the employees and to allow for time off while celebrating.

In 1835, while visiting Fort Vancouver, American missionary Samuel Parker observed:

“The holidays are not forgotten in these far distant regions...From Christmas until after the New Years, all labor is suspended and a time of general indulgence and festivity commences.” No matter the location, the celebrations, like the Fur Trade itself, were often a mixture of multiple cultures with Holiday songs and religious ceremonies conducted in French, English and Chinook Jargon – the trade language of the Pacific Northwest.

The dishes on display the Museum's Hall of Exploration and settlement case represent the officers’ wives bringing out their best china to celebrate the holidays. The red and blue Spode items, circa 1780 and were in the halls of the ships coming West.

A century ago, a Catholic vaquero, or buckaroo, would remember the celebrations of the Mexican Christmas holiday beginning with La Posada, the reenactment of the journey of Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay at night before the Baby Jesus was born. Young children would go from house to house pretending to be Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay.

Happy holidays from the High Desert Museum.

Make an Impact: Wild & Local Gifts

Gifts that reflect your love of High Desert wildlife, nature and culture can make a difference. Whether you adopt a raptor or bobcat, give someone a year of unlimited Museum visits (membership is an incredible value) or shop our store for toys, jewelry or other artisan works, these gifts support our valuable work inspiring thousands of people every year.

Museum gift membership offers a year of new and exciting exhibitions, inspiring educational programs featuring live animals and historical characters portrayed live, special talks, films, lectures and more special events. They start at just $50.

Our new Adopt An Animal Packages make great, fun gifts, and help care for rescued animals here. They are $25 and up.

Memberships and animal adoptions are available at the Museum, or by calling 541.382.4754, ext. 244, or click here.

The Silver Sage Trading store is the place for: holiday ornaments and cards, books, cuddly plush toys, Oregon-made jams and sauces, fountain pens crafted from local wood, jewelry and other artisan works. Museum member discounts are now double: 20 percent off most merchandise in December.

Who Is Father Christmas?

Standing nearly 6-and-half feet tall, with twinkling blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a full white beard, Father Christmas has stepped out of a Victorian tale and into the Museum, in his hand-sewn, ermine trimmed, emerald velvet cape.

On Dec. 10 and Dec. 17 at the Museum, he will be in our re-created settlement town, Silver City, listening to what you’d like this holiday. On the frontier in the 1880s, Father Christmas represented the season's spirit of good cheer. In this historically accurate setting, it's easy to imagine that you are a homesteader, or have come west to stake a mining claim and reap a fortune. For those who pioneered this region, celebrating the holidays was a welcome respite from harsh conditions in a new land.

As you nibble on sugar cookies and take in our other exhibits, we think you'll take home an experience unlike any other. It's all part of our mission, helping you to discover your connection to the past, role in the present, and responsibility to the future.

Have your child's photo taken with the Father Christmas, too. 11am-3pm. Photos: $3 each.

Why Go Birding in Winter?

The temperatures are dropping. It may not seem like a great time to spot some fascinating bird activity, but it is. In winter, trees and underbrush are bare, making it easier to observe birds, which are more attracted to feeders now, when insects are fewer. Discovering them in their habitat is a great way to connect with nature, whether you are in the wild, in your backyard or here at the Museum.

With 135 acres of forest surrounding our trails and a wildlife viewing area with water and feeders, the Museum is an ideal place for birdwatchers. Mary Yanalcanlin from the East Cascades Audubon Society says she has spotted hairy woodpeckers (see photo by Paul Bannick), red-breasted sapsuckers, red-breasted nuthatches and mountain chickadees along our trails. She spied a red crossbill through one of our floor-to-ceiling windows.

“This is just a sampling of the great variety here as more birds come down from the mountains, because they like to winter in Bend and go higher up to breed,” she said. One such bird is the dark-eyed Junko, a type of sparrow with a variety of markings and crisp white tail feathers.

The High Desert has a range of habitats, which attract an array of species. Male ducks are getting their breeding plumage, distinctive green heads and their white “necklace” as Yanalcanlin calls it.

“In summer, male ducks look similar to the females: drab brown,” she says. “They don’t need colorful plumage to attract a mate in summer, when they molt.”

Sight is not the only way to discover winged life in our forests. Open your ears. Listening for bird sounds will enrich the experience even more.

Come and discover the fun of backyard birding at 2 pm tomorrow at the Museum with Mary Yanalcanlin of the East Cascades Audubon Society. She’ll give a presentation on the birds of Central Oregon and tell how to identify the birds in your backyard. Afterward, tour the Museum grounds and identify local and migratory birds. In conjunction with the exhibit "The Owl and the Woodpecker: Photographs by Paul Bannick."

What do you get when you combine a Shakespearean actor and live animals? The answer is a great new fun way to experience the nature and culture around us.

In our new special program Animal Encounters: Tales from the Wild runs Nov. 20-23 & 25-26, Alastair Jaques portrays an 1880s natural scientist explorer who comes face to face with live animals.

You've heard the old adage of actors and vaudevillians: “I never work with animals or kids.” Well, Alastair will have both – he’ll work with the world’s largest breed of owl, the Eurasian eagle owl that will soar over the audience with its 6-foot wingspan, a blue-tongued skink and other animals. (The audience, so close that they will practically be a part of the show, will include lots of kids.)

Alastair is equipped, having once worked with a circus and so is accustomed to working with animals, and he’s taken his one-man show about Edgar Allen Poe around the region. He’s done some great research for his role here as the intrepid character and will draw the audience into his tale of encountering wild raptors and reptiles of the American frontier and abroad.

We're excited about our rehearsals and will keep you posted on how it's working!

Animal Encounters: Tales from the Wild - Nov. 20-23 & 25-26
Enter the world of an 1880s natural scientist explorer as you come face to face with live animals! Unleash your imagination as this intrepid character draws you into his tale of encountering wild raptors and reptiles of the American frontier and abroad. An amazing journey of fun and enrichment. 11 am and 1:30 pm Members: $5; Non-members $7 plus Museum admission. Tickets on sale now at www.highdesertmuseum.org

Why Owls at Halloween?

Around the world, people have associated owls with mystery, witchcraft and even death. After all, they are creatures of the night, and we humans are inherently fearful of the dark: what we cannot see could hurt us.

For example, many African tribal names for owls translate as “witchbird.” And the stark white barn owl is often called “ghost owl.”

Many cultures have hunted owls to rid their villages of evil or death, but also to reap medicinal ingredients. Eating owl eyes was believed to offer night vision, raw owl eggs were thought to cure alcoholism, boiled owl fat was said to treat sores and owl soup was a folk remedy for whooping cough. Owl hearts were revered as offering strength for battles, curing epilepsy and as a truth serum.

Speaking of truth, humans benefit greatly from having owls around us alive, especially barn owls, who like to live in, yes, barns. That’s where they help farmers by hunting pests. One barn owl can eat 1,200 mice annually in just one field. What a great pesticide – it’s free and doesn’t put chemicals on the food that we eat!

You can meet our gorgeous barn owl, George, our raven, Hera, and other nocturnal creatures at Tales of Hallows' Eve - Sat., Oct. 29! With stories by Edgar Allen Poe and Edward Gorey told live by Victorian characters, puppet shows, bobbing for hanging apples and making pumpkin ice cream. Discovering the holiday’s origins as you do special jack-o’-lantern and puppet crafts!
4 pm-8 pm $2. All children age 4 and under and all Museum members: free!
Photo: High Desert Museum barn owl by Jennifer Loring

Hallow's Eve: Rooted in Nature, Culture

This Halloween, as kids roam the neighborhood dressed as Darth Vader or Disney princesses, the holiday's roots in nature and culture may not be so evident.

Here's one fun way to discover those cool origins: the Museum's Tales of Hallows’ Eve on Saturday, October 29.

Live, mysterious raptors of the night appear as you experience the gripping tales of Edgar Allen Poe and Edward Gorey and travel back to the 1880s inside the Museum. You'll meet ravens and owls close up and learn why these and other animals are linked to Hallow’s Eve.

Victorian characters from the frontier will appear along with puppet shows, puppet making and bobbing for hanging apples. You can also make pumpkin ice cream and discover the origins of jack-o'-lanterns as you do a special jack-o’-lantern craft.
4 pm-8 pm
$2.
Museum members and all children age 4 and younger, free!