A kick-off to the NEW Genesee Valley Great Outdoors Fest!

The Stars Above And The Gorge Below

Thursday, July 27 | 5:30 - 10:30 p.m.

Join us for an exciting new evening program at GCV&M, and an opportunity to kick off a brand new festival weekend!

The Stars Above and the Gorge Below – an opportunity to explore the great outdoors and learn about the incredible natural beauty of the Genesee Valley Region. Plus, enjoy a family-friendly space-related maker station, enjoy storytime in the Nature Center Amphitheater, and more!

Learn about a local wonder: Letchworth State Park

Talk begins at 6:30 p.m.

Join Conrad Baker, an outdoor educator at Letchworth State Park, for a fascinating discussion about the history of this local wonder and outdoor attraction! Explore Letchworth’s geologic history, land use, and resources for outdoor adventuring.

Explore the eclipse!

Talk begins at 7:30 p.m.

Join Rochester Museum & Science Center’s Eclipse Partnerships Coordinator, Dan Schneiderman for a talk about the upcoming total solar eclipse in 2024! Did you know that Rochester, NY will be in the path of totality? Or the science behind an eclipse? Learn all about what to expect in 2024 and how you can safely enjoy this solar spectacle during Dan’s fascinating talk! 

Enjoy story time at the Nature Center

Storytime begins at 7:30 p.m.

Join us in the amphitheater at the Nature Center for a family-friendly storytime! We will be reading a number of our favorite space-related books, including:

“The Darkest Dark” – Chris Hadfield
“The Moon Book” – Nancy White
“The Sky is Full of Stars” – Franklyn M. Branley
“Stargazers” – Gail Gibbons
“The Sun: Our Nearest Star” – Franklyn M. Branley
“The Big Eclipse” – Nancy Coffelt
“Call Me Ahnighito” – Pam Conrad
“Eclipse: Darkness in the Daytime” – Franklyn M. Branley; Molly Coxe
“Why the Sun & Moon Live in the Sky” – Niki Daly
“Coyote and the Laughing Butterflies” – Harriet Peck Taylor
“If You Were a Kid Docking at the ISS” – Josh Gregory

Examine the night skies!

Star walk begins at 9 p.m.

Join RMSC’s Dan Schneiderman and the Rochester Astronomy Group for a Star Walk at GCV&M! Take advantage of the reduced amount of light pollution in Mumford as you learn about the stars, the Perseids meteor shower, viewing Mars and Venus, International Space Station viewing, and more!

Plus, families can enjoy a maker’s station where they can learn to create straw rockets, refracting telescopes ($), earth/sun/moon diagrams, moon phase calendars, and more.

Ticket Information

Adult Museum Member: $13
General Adult Admission: $15
Museum Member Youth (3 – 12): $8
General Youth Admission (3 – 12): $10
Children 3 and under: FREE

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The Genesee Valley Great Outdoors Fest

Explore history, celebrate splendor, and discover new ways to enjoy and preserve the Great Genesee Valley!

GCV&M is thrilled to host this celebration of all that makes our region amazing – from big vistas at High Falls and Letchworth, to lesser traveled paths along the Genesee Greenway Trail – and all the towns, attractions, shops, and organizations along the way.

Explore new outdoor-themed programs across the entire Musuem. See our cooks use local game and products grown in our heirloom gardens to produce dishes authentic to the 19th-century in the Historic Village; visit the featured exhibit “Duck, Duck, Shoot: The Story of American Waterbirds” at the John L. Wehle Gallery; and experience new ways to engage in our natural world at the Genesee Country Nature Center.

Plus, we are bringing together vendors, activities, exhibitors, and attractions to engage visitors of all ages across the over 500 acres of the Musuem campus.

Flying, Running, and Swimming - cooking local in Historic Kitchens

Explore historic homes in our 19th-century village to see how knowledgeable costumed interpreters are utilizing local game and products grown in our heirloom gardens to produce dishes authentic to the 19th-century in the Genesee Valley Region.  

Explore cooking demonstrations featuring: mock pigeon pie, rotisserie wild hare, planked fish, fricasseed eel, crystalized wildflowers, fried game hen, boiled quail eggs, twirled woodchuck, and more.

Outdoor active adventures!

Guests will have the opportunity to explore all varieties of outdoor adventuring available to us in the Genesee Valley Region! Hiking, kayaking, fishing, rock climbing, axe throwing, and more!

Saturday: try out axe throwing with Axecessive Force! ($)

Sunday: learn how to rock climb on a portable rock wall with Niagara Climbing Center!

Explore logger sports!

See feats by lumberjacks and lumberjills at the New York State Lumber Jack Organization! Explore skills like axe throwing, log-chopping, operating the two-person saw, fire-building competitions, and more!

Visitors will get to see men’s underhand and standing block, women’s underhand and standing block, axe throw, open hotsaw, springboard, obstacle pole and partner fire build activities.

See the unveiling of our rennovated Nature Center!

Have you noticed that our Nature Center building has been under construction for the past several months?

We are excited to share the unveiling of our newly renovated Nature Center with guests who join us for The Genesee Valley Great Outdoors Fest! Explore the exhibits housed in the Nature Center, meet the critters who call this building home, and learn from our Naturalists about the natural history of the Genesee Valley Region.

Interested in supporting this important renovation project and others like it? Click the button below to make a gift. ]

Spread love for the earth - make a seed ball

One of many activities coming up at The Genesee Valley Great Outdoors Fest will be a seed ball-making craft! Pack your seed ball with future plants that are good for the earth and our environment here in the Genesee Valley Region, then take your creation home to beautify your own garden and neighborhood!

Enjoy yoga in the Historic Village!

Saturday, July 29 | 11 a.m. behind Hyde House

Join certified yoga instructor Robyn Paige (from The Vault in Rochester, NY) for an exclusive new experience in the Historic Village – outdoor yoga! Enjoy the beauty of our Historic Village and heirloom gardens as you practice vinyasa outdoors with Robyn.

Please note: this is a large space, and pre-registration for yoga is not necessary. This yoga class is appropriate for all bodies and skill levels! Participants should plan ahead to bring a bottle of water, yoga mat, and wear yoga-appropriate attire.

Participation in this yoga class is included in the cost of your ticket for Great Outdoors Fest.

Explore the history of bicycling in the Gallery

Saturday, July 29 | 2 - 3 p.m.

Join us in the John L. Wehle Gallery for “We Ride Ahead: Rochester’s Obsession with Bicycling,” hosted by curator Brandon Brooks!

The late 19th century saw a wild new craze sweep the nation – the bicycle! Suddenly, ordinary people could travel many miles in one afternoon with ease, powered solely by their own ambition. Rochester, NY was the first in the nation to embrace the bicycle craze of the 1890s.  The city was linked with its satellite neighbors by the construction of countryside “side paths” – by the hundreds of miles.

This curator-led talk explores the history of Rochester’s obsession with riding bicycles, particularly in the great outdoors. Bicycle speed limits, dangerous “scorchers” and “coasters”, controversial bicycling fashions, and lady cyclists “signaling the doom of humanity” are featured in this discussion. See extant original bicycling fashion pieces and a turn-of-the-century Safety Bicycle.

Wading in the Oatka Creek Scavenger Hunt

Saturday, July 29 & Sunday, July 30, 9:30 - 11 a.m. | FREE with the cost of admission!

Join us for a guided creek-wading adventure during our new Great Outdoors Fest! A GCV&M naturalist and representatives from Monroe County Soil and Water Conservation District will lead the adventure, and guests will learn all about water quality and stream health through a “scavenger hunt” for macroinvertebrates.

We will use kick-net sampling techniques to find what macroinvertebrates are living in your stream, which we will then use to determine how healthy the stream is. Attendees are welcome to join in on the sampling, but to do so requires proper attire (high boots or protective footwear to avoid slipping or bruising in the creek).

Date: July 29, 2023 - July 30, 2023

Time: 10:00am - 4:00pm

Location: Genesee Country Village and Museum - 1410 Flint Hill Road | Mumford, NY 14511

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