GREENLAND, N.H. -- Visit the campus of the Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland, N.H., the weekend of May 4-5 to help celebrate the opening of the 2013 season. A highlight of the weekend will be the Art of Great Bay, an art sale and exhibit featuring "re-purposed" or recycled artwork, held at the Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center. Artists from around New England will be exhibiting and selling re-imaged art and fine crafts.
"These amazing artworks range from a wolf head made from melted plastic bags, fine jewelry created from the roof of an old family sugar shack, to baby shoes made out of recycled plastic bottles," says Nicole Andrews, Discovery Center Naturalist and event organizer.
Admission to both the art show and the Center are free. The Great Bay Discovery Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with extended hours for the art show through 6 p.m.
The public is invited to an opening reception for the Art of Great Bay exhibition on Friday, May 3, 2013, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., with appetizers, artwork and a chance to meet the artists. The art sale and exhibit will continue on Saturday and Sunday (May 4-5, 2013) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The art show is co-hosted by the Reserve and its friends group, the Great Bay Stewards. There will be metal sculptures, fine jewelry, hanging artwork, and much more for sale. Many artists and local companies have donated artwork and other great prizes to be raffled. Prizes include a day-trip to Boston with museum tickets, and a wheelbarrow packed with gardening essentials. Proceeds from the show will support the education programs at the Center.
Inside the Discovery Center, get your hands wet in the estuary "touch tank," where you can pick up live horseshoe crabs and learn about the flounder, lobster and shellfish in the tank. Children and adults alike will enjoy hands-on exhibits and exciting outdoor features such as a model gundalow and lobster boat, waterfront area, and boardwalk ramble through the salt marsh.
The Center is the educational facility for the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and is funded by NOAA and administered by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. The Center is open from May through October, Wednesdays - Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (in October, weekends only). The grounds are open year-round from dawn to dusk.
The Discovery Center campus, which includes the Hugh Gregg Coastal Conservation Center, is located off Route 33 in Greenland, at 89 Depot Road. For more information, visit greatbay.org or call 603-778-0015.
Taken from the NH Fish and Game Website