The Springfield Museums’ monthly tour and lecture schedule continues in April with the popular Museums à la Carte lectures, which take place on Thursdays at 12:15 p.m. in the Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Admission is $4 ($2 for members of the Springfield Museums); visitors are invited to bring a bag lunch (cookies and coffee are provided). For more information about Museums à la Carte, call 413-263-6800, ext. 488. This month’s lectures are:
April 6 – Archives of American Gardens: Capturing Garden History. Cynthia Brown, manager of horticulture collections management and education at Smithsonian Gardens, discusses the Institution’s effort to conserve American garden history.
April 13 – Modern Astronomical Research at Lowell Observatory. W. Lowell Putnam, the Sole Trustee of Lowell Observatory in Arizona, details the 2015 New Horizons flight past Pluto and the Observatory’s contributions to the mission.
April 27 – West Africa: Voodoo & Villages. Visit four West African Countries (Ghana, Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast) with global traveler and photographer Amy S. Dane to learn about some African indigenous beliefs.
Note – there will be no lecture on April 20 due to school vacation week programs.
As an added feature, museum staff and docents will be leading guided gallery discussions titled “Continuing Conversations” following lectures on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month (Museums members only). April’s “Conversations” will take place at 1:30 p.m. on April 13 with curator of physical science Richard Sanderson and on April 27 with docent Dan Moraski.
On Friday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m., the Springfield Science Museum’s large rooftop telescope will once again be open for public sky gazing for the monthly “Stars Over Springfield” observatory program. These programs are organized by the Museum and the Springfield Stars Club, and take place on the first Friday of each month. The featured talk on April 7 is by Paul Cardon, who will present on the future of space travel. Stars Over Springfield programs are best suited for families with children ages 8 and older, however younger children are also welcome. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for children 17 and under. These programs are held rain or shine. If it is cloudy, a planetarium show will be presented in place of telescope viewing.
Monthly Walking Tours are presented on second Saturdays in collaboration with the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association (AQCA). Walking tours are free for Springfield Museums and AQCA members, $5 nonmembers, and start at the Museums’ Welcome Center. On April 8, Ben Murphy of DevelopSpringfield will lead a tour of the Municipal Group.