For over 30 years our year-round environmental education center with a small working farm has been dedicated to connecting people with the land that enriches and sustains us all, and we do this through our school field trips, adult lectures, family programs, children’s classes, and our summer camp.
Family Programs
Registration is required for all programs.
Please register online or by calling (203) 938-2117.
October Astronomy:
Observing the Moon, Jupiter, & Saturn
Saturday October 5, 7:30pm
Please join the wonderful team of volunteer astronomers from the Discovery Center at Ridgefield as you look through our telescopes at the Moon’s mountains, craters, and mare (seas), majestic Jupiter with its moons, and Saturn’s beautiful rings. Then view some carbon and double stars as early Fall constellations are be pointed out along with the starry Milky Way.
Please Note: Families are invited to a special Preview in the Learning Center classroom at 7 p.m. This mini-lesson will give participants, especially children, a better understanding of what they will be viewing out on the hill.
Participants should park near the Learning Center and bring a flashlight for the walk to the observatory.
$4 per New Pond Farm member ($16 max. per member family) or $6 per non-member ($24 max. per non-member family)
Children’s Programs
Registration is required for all programs.
Please register online or by calling (203) 938-2117.
Elementary School Students
These drop-off programs will meet from 4-5 p.m. & are $10 per member child and $12 per non-member child (unless noted otherwise)
Beaver Craft
Tuesday October 15
Guest instructor, Adrianne Roberts, will share a short story then inspire you to create one of the colorful main characters.
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
Halloween Luminaries
Tuesday October 22
Join guest instructor, Chanel Dupare, for a pumpkin luminary workshop. Each student will leave with their own unique “pumpkin” to use as a festive decoration or seasonal nightlight!
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
Annual Pumpkin Carving/Decorating
Thursday October 24
Back by popular demand. Join NPF staff to carve and decorate your pumpkin that will be taken home. Pumpkin will be provided by NPF
$12 per member child, $16 per non-member child
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
Mask Making
Tuesday October 29
Just in time for Halloween: join our artist-in-residence, Kris Holm, for the afternoon of creativity and fun as you make a masterpiece to wear!
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
Turkey Craft
Tuesday November 12
It’s the time of year to celebrate turkeys! Adrianne Roberts will share turkey tales and invite you to play Turkey Trivia before you make your very own “bird of courage” to take home for Thanksgiving!
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
Ceremonial Talking Sticks
Tuesday November 19
For centuries many Native American tribes have used Talking Sticks as a way to help tribal members know when to speak and when to listen. Artist Kris Holm will help you to make your own ceremonial talking stick to share with your own “tribe”.
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
Middle School Students
Parent-Child Fly Casting
Saturday October 5, 2 – 3 p.m.
Program Director, Tim Laughlin, will have fishing rods at the ready and invite you to learn the basic techniques involved with fly casting. Fly fishing is a calm, relaxing sport that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.
$10 per member team, $12 per non-member team
Registration is required, space is limited.
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
Japanese Calligraphy & Origami
Saturday October 12, 2 – 3 p.m.
Join NPF Board member, Masako Nakamuta-Vigneault, for our summer camper’s favorite workshop! This afternoon promises to be both fun and educational. You will learn how to write your name and count to ten in Japanese, then move onto the art of chopsticks and origami.
$10 per member, $12 per non-member
Please Register Hereor by calling (203) 938-2117
New Pond Farm Education Center Presents
WINTER SHAKESPEARE
2018
A Program for Middle and High School Actors
Entering grades 7-12
Scenes and Monologues
from William Shakespeare’s
Macbeth
Accomplished actress and educator Julia Levo will create an exciting and positive environment in which actors will delve into a comprehensive exploration of scenes and monologues from some of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies, Macbeth. We will explore this play in an intensive eight-week acting program designed exclusively for middle and high school students.
Students will develop skills in character development, vocal technique, acting craft, and text analysis. Key scenes and monologues (using non-traditional casting) will be woven together and performed for an invited audience during the last class.
Dates: Monday evenings January 22nd– March 26th (excluding Feb. 5th and 16th)
Time: 7-9 pm
Meeting Place: New Pond Farm’s Indoor Learning Center
Tuition: $250 for NPF members and $275 for non-members
Register here for our programs. Choose from: Special, Adult, Family, and Children’s programs!
School Programs – Field Trips
New Pond Farm has been operating for more than thirty years and our programs are thriving. We have the joy of working with more than 5,000 children (ages 4 and up) each year from CT and NY. All of our programs are hands-on and active, keeping students involved from the beginning to the end.Our Center is located on 102-acres complete with gently rolling pastures, coniferous and deciduous woodlands, a marsh, a pond, and streams. We have such diverse resources as 19th century barns, a maple syruping shed, several telescopes, an astronomy classroom, and an authentically recreated encampment with a barked wigwam and a thatched longhouse. Our pastures and barns are home for a very engaging bevy of beasts- cows, sheep, a flock of chickens and very proud roosters, and two pigs in the warmer months of summer. Our best resource, however, is our enthusiastic and experienced staff, they pay special attention to details that make our programs unique and very keyed-into children’s learning abilities.
Birthday Parties
New Pond Farm is proud to offer educational birthday parties. The programs topics offered vary by season. All of our programs are hands-on and active, keeping your child and his or her guests involved throughout the program. Parties are available for children turning 4 and up and the program will be adapted to suit the age group of your guests.Birthday parties are offered after-school during the week, and on weekends, September through June.
Parties are not available in July and August due to our residential summer camp.
All programs are 60 minutes in length, followed by 30 minutes for your party.
Parties are available to Family Members of the farm and the cost is $125 for up to eight children (including the birthday child) and $12 for each additional child, with a 20 child maximum unless otherwise noted. Some programs will have additional material or staffing fees. Every birthday child will go home with their own New Pond Farm Education Center t-shirt.
