CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Marjorie Barrick Museum and UNLV Arboretum
2008 Fall Programs
Yoga in the Garden
Wednesdays, September 3rd thru October 8th (no class September 24th)
Jennifer McCarthy
Need a break from studying or working? Join us in the Xeric Garden for a relaxing hour of yoga. Whether you are in it for the exercise or just want to tune into your body and mind, this hour is just for you. All fitness levels are welcome but remember to check with your doctor before starting a new fitness regime. Wear comfortable clothing and bring a yoga mat and water. Classes are free. Wednesdays at 12:10pm, at the Xeric Garden. For more information call 895-3381 or email unlvarboretum@unlv.edu.
Biodiversity Hot Spots in the Spring Mountains
Saturday, September 20th, 2008 – 8:00am to 5:00pm – Mt. Charleston
Joseph Betzler
Less than an hour away from Las Vegas is a unique habitat of rare sensitive plants, ancient Bristlecone pines and a host of unique native plants. Join southwest botanist Joseph Betzler on a nature walk that explores some of the plants Mt. Charleston has to offer. We'll see the aspens in their golden fall color, the meadows that are currently being restored and plants that are considered rare by the US Forest Service. Get the insider view to the world of plants vs. people in this recreation shortage community. Be prepared to walk 3 miles and dress warmly. Bring water and lunch. Transportation will be in mini-vans. Be prepared to walk 3 miles and dress warmly. Bring water and lunch. Transportation will be in mini-vans. For more information, e-mail michelle.baker@unlv.edu or call 895-3254.
The Art of Seeing – Nature Sketching at the Historical Walking Box Ranch
Saturday, September 27th, 2008, 8:30 am to 4:30pm.
Sharon Schafer
The key to drawing is seeing. Join naturalist/artist Sharon K. Schafer for a nature sketching workshop that will both improve your drawing and observational skills as we explore the diverse natural history of the ancient Joshua tree forest at the historic Walking Box Ranch.
This eye opening program is designed for beginners or accomplished artists who love nature. As a participant you will be guided through a series of fun, non-threatening exercises designed to teach you to appreciate and observe the natural world around you in a new and different way. By applying these new visual skills, you will learn to improve your drawing but most important of all, no matter what your age, you will at last, begin to learn to see. Bring a sketchbook, a couple of medium hardness pencils, water and your lunch. Transportation will be in a comfortable motor coach. Bring a sketchbook, a couple medium hardness pencils, water and your lunch. Transportation will be in a comfortable motor coach. For more information, e-mail michelle.baker@unlv.edu or call 895-3254.
Exhibit - The Healing Power of Plants
October 1 - December 31, 2008
As civilizations encroach on natural habitats, many valuable medicinal plants—and the cultures that understand their use—are disappearing. It is essential that we protect these habitats and the plants upon which life depends. This exhibit highlights several healing traditions that use medicinal plants. Practitioner stories and Western medicine’s use of plants and plant derivatives to treat common ailments provide illuminating perspectives. Also included is a discussion on dissipating the impact of accelerating encroachment upon the habitat of these often small flora populations. For more information call 895-3381 or email barrick.museum@unlv.edu.
Images of the Wildlands
Thursday October 2, 2008 – 7:30 p.m. – Barrick Museum Auditorium
Sharon Schafer
Come and explore southern Nevada’s wildlands through the eyes, lens, and brush of Boulder City Artist Sharon K. Schafer. This museum show, the culmination of a year of field and studio work, showcases photographs, sketches, and paintings representing 9 stunningly beautiful and biologically diverse regions of southern Nevada. Through her photographs, paintings, and field sketches Sharon K. Schafer invites visitors to explore the stunning natural beauty of southern Nevada’s natural life and landscapes.
Join Sharon as she provides viewers with “a different perspective” on the Public Lands of southern Nevada, not as a desert wasteland, but rather as a place of unparalleled natural beauty and diversity. “Many of these areas are not easily accessible, so the viewer will walk away with a different perspective of public lands here,” said Schafer. “Our lands are home to unparalleled natural beauty in its landscape and great diversity in its wildlife,” Schafer explained. For more information call 895-3381 or email unlvarboretum@unlv.edu.
Fall Gardening Tips
Saturday, October 11th, 2008 – 10 am – Barrick Museum Auditorium
Leslie Doyle and Amy Zeldenrust
It’s fall again and time to work in the garden! Join local experts such as Leslie Doyle – the Tomato Lady and design consultant Amy Zeldenrust for a gardening workshop. Topics to be covered are composting, preparing your garden for cool season vegetables and herb gardening. Events are free. For more information call 895-3381 or email unlvarboretum@unlv.edu.
The Medicinal Use of Plants
Thursday November 6, 2008 – 7:30 p.m. – Barrick Museum Auditorium
Dr. Angela O’Callaghan
Using plants for medicinal purposes is probably as old as humanity itself. While they are most often food, plants have been necessary as herbal remedies. Long before there were pharmacies, humans were using the plants that grew around them. Prepared as tinctures, teas, and as poultices, they were essential to maintain health and to help people recover from injury and illness. There is an enormous variety of plants utilized in this fashion, and while one plant might have been used for a particular purpose by one group of people, it often served a very different purpose for another. Some plants appear to have had a number of different medicinal properties.
Thousands of plants have been used to cure ailments among many populations around the globe. Some of these have been studied in depth by researchers who have found that they can be as efficacious as the herbalists claimed. It appears that, frequently, the very flavors and aromas that make plants desirable to our taste can also be important for health. Happily, many of these are readily found as garden or houseplants. For more information call 895-3381 or email unlvarboretum@unlv.edu.
Pre-Columbian Art and the Olmecs: Mesoamericas First Civilization
Fridays, November 7th thru December 5th (no class November 21st)
Mannetta Braunstein
First in a series of classes on ancient Mesoamerican cultures. This class will begin with an introduction to the peopling of the Americas and end with the rise of the first ‘civilization’, the Olmecs. Fridays 10 am - 1130pm in the Barrick Museum Auditorium. For more information, e-mail michelle.baker@unlv.edu or call 895-3254.
Birding at Pahranagat
Saturday, December 6th, 2008 – 7am to 3pm – Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge
Scott Page, Jeanne Tinsman and Kevin Des Roberts
Located 90 miles north of Las Vegas, Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge is a birding hot spot. This area is over 5000 acres and provides a respite for migrating birds throughout the west. The refuge has a series of spring fed lakes that vary from open lakes to marshes. This community provides habitat for winter migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway. Over 240 species of birds have been recorded in this area. Join us for a day of birding with experts Scott Page, Jeanne Tinsman and Kevin Des Roberts. Bring your binoculars, field guide, lunch, comfortable walking shoes and warm clothing. A limited number of binoculars, spotting scopes and field guides will be provided. Travel to the refuge will be in a comfortable motor coach. Bring your binoculars, water, lunch and comfortable walking shoes. Travel to the refuge will be in a motor coach. For more information, e-mail michelle.baker@unlv.edu or call 895-3254.
Ongoing Exhibits
Gods, Kings and Artisans of Ancient Mesoamerica
Ceramics of Ancient West Mexico
Painted Vessels of the Maya Elite
Power and Guidance - Early Classic Figurines of Mesoamerica