Join the Madison Nature Journal Club coordinator and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance volunteer Amy Schleser at the UW Geology Museum to sketch, write, and wonder about the 100s and 100s of fossil and rock specimens… gems, metals, minerals, ancient water life, ancient land life, and a few huge skeletons of dinosaurs, a mastodon, and an ancient "armadillo."
Amy will start off giving some quick tips on interesting things to notice and record in your journal. Then we’ll split up to find what’s interesting to us, journal, and meet back up to discuss what we journaled about near the end of the event.
*Note: The Geology Museum closes at 1pm which is why this is an earlier than usual event timing.*
There is no cost to participate. Registration is capped at 10 people — register below!
This event is cohosted by artist and educator Amy Schleser and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.
DETAILS:
Where to meet: Meet in the UW Geology Museum lobby. Just look for people with sketchbooks and possibly a whiteboard.
Where to park: The the nearest parking lot is Lot 80 (beneath Union South), about 2 blocks away. Free street parking is also available on a first come first served basis, but is usually pretty tight around this area.
Is this event location accessible? The museum itself and the parking garage are accessible, just be prepared to travel the two-blocks between them. There are bathrooms nearby you can use throughout the event.
What should I bring?
Pencil and paper, or anything fancier.
No oil or acrylic paints as this is a museum, though waterbrushes with watercolor palette should be fine.
You may want to bring a portable sketching stool if you want the flexibility to settle down anywhere (if you’re not comfortable sketching while standing or sitting on the floor.) There is some seating around the museum.
Who should come to this event? Do I need to know how to draw? Anyone can join in! No drawing experience is needed—beginners encouraged. The club is mostly adults right now, but we'd love to have more children join us.
What is nature journaling?
When nature journaling, you document what you notice, wonder, and feel using pictures, words, and numbers. People nature journal to show love and attention to nature, to reignite childlike-curiosity, to explore their city’s natural spaces, to practice mindfulness, and to get excited about conservation.
What exactly will we do at this event?
The group gathers at the beginning for about 20 min to meet each other and learn some nature journaling tips. Then we journal individually, oftentimes spreading out. (I'm happy to join anyone who would like additional tips). At the end, we come together again to optionally share our journal pages and chat about the most curious things we noticed.
