Shakespeare: ‘Merry Wives of Windsor’ Opens July 12
Next on the playbill of the Vanderbilt Museum’s thirty-fifth annual festival Shakespeare in the Courtyard will be The Merry Wives of Windsor, which opens Friday, July 12, at 8:00 pm. The festival is presented by the Carriage House Players and sponsored by Farrell Fritz.
One of Shakespeare’s most hilarious plays finds the popular characters of Falstaff scheming to fix his financial woes by seducing the wives of two wealthy merchants. When the women catch onto Falstaff’s games, they play a variety of tricks on him to teach him a lesson. Fueled by wonderful slapstick comedy and delightful wordplay, this play will have audiences roaring with laughter.
‘Museum Together’: Fun Workshop for Families
Join a museum educator on Saturday, August 10, for Museum Together, a multi-generational family program. Tour the Hall of Fishes, examine shark teeth, corals, shells, and whale bone, and create art together inspired by the collections. Bring your children or grandchildren and have fun.
Summer Laser Light Shows: Sgt. Pepper’s and Kiss
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum’s Reichert Planetarium will launch its summer playbill of laser shows on Friday, July 5, at 9:00 pm, with Sgt. Pepper’s Light Show – which runs through August 9. Combining laser technology and the groundbreaking Beatles album, the show resurrects the spirit of the ‘60s. Songs include With a Little Help from My Friends, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and Revolution.
Sponsored by AARP Long Island.
Laser Led Zeppelin
Saturdays at 9 pm, July 6 – August 10
Relive the innovative sounds of Led Zeppelin while enjoying an immersive visual treat of custom laser imagery. Songs include Immigrant Song; Good Times, Bad Times; Kashmir; and Stairway to Heaven.
Laser Kiss
Fridays at 9 pm, August 16 – September 20
Relive the bombastic 70s phenomena of KISS! Laser KISS features the best classic songs including live tracks from their legendary performances. Songs include Rock and Roll All Nite, God of Thunder, and Love Gun.
Laser Queen
Saturdays at 9 pm, August 17 – September 21
Queen’s epic songs provided a soundtrack to the 70s and 80s. Laser Queen was inspired by these Rock and Roll Hall of Famers and combines their biggest hit songs with intense laser programming for one heck of a show. Songs include We Will Rock You, Somebody to Love, and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Take a Nature Walk on the Vanderbilt Estate with a Biologist-Ranger
Join CEED wildlife biologist-ranger Eric Powers on Wednesday, July 17, from 10:00 to 11:30 am for an interpretive nature walk on the museum grounds. (CEED is the Center for Environmental Education and Discovery.)
“I enjoy taking a slow easy walk through the woods as I look for tracks and listen to bird calls, Powers said. “I feel that animals often get a little closer when we are appreciating the beauty in nature.”
Please bring water and wear sturdy footwear. Bring binoculars if you have them, and your sense of adventure!
Other Nature Walks are scheduled for August 21 and September 18.
This is an advanced hiking trail with many steep climbs and descents along a variety of mixed terrain with an elevation gain of nearly 300 feet. There will be two opportunities to cut your hike short and head back to the parking lot if you feel you or your party cannot finish the entire loop. The signs will show you the way out.
Ticks are active in the woods all year long when temperatures are above freezing. To avoid ticks, please stay on the trail.
Tours Explore Vanderbilt Architecture and Collections
Take an intriguing walking tour of the Vanderbilt Estate with knowledgeable Museum educators. Learn about the history of the Eagle’s Nest estate; Warren & Wetmore’s design and exterior architectural details of the 24-room Spanish Revival mansion; and the striking ironwork of Samuel Yellin, considered the greatest iron artisan of the early 20th century, and visit the marine, natural history, and cultural artifact collections
Created by the Vanderbilt Museum Education Department, the first 2024 tour will be offered on Friday, June 28, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm. Others are scheduled for July 27, August 25, September 28, and October 20.
Tickets, which include general admission, are available for purchase ONLY at the door: Adults $16; seniors/students $15; children under 12, $14; and members free.
Beth Laxer-Limmer, Associate Director of Education, said, “The grounds are beautiful during the summer and the walking tour is a perfect way to be introduced to the history of the estate. There is an abundance of beauty in the eclectic architecture and the unique details that reflect William Vanderbilt’s interests.”
William K. Vanderbilt II (1878-1944) spent summers at his Eagle’s Nest estate and mansion on Northport Bay between 1910 and 1944. He and his wife, Rosamond, hosted intimate gatherings and entertained well-known guests, such as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Pierre Cartier, Conde Nast, Charles Lindbergh, and the Tiffanys. Eagle’s Nest is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Journey Through Space? Step Right This Way.
The Reichert Planetarium – with full-dome video, surround sound, and 197 comfortable new seats – will take you on enthralling, immersive journeys through the Solar System.
On Friday and Saturday nights, you can enjoy two amazing astronomy shows and very popular laser music shows.
The Planetarium offers great daytime programming for children and adults Friday through Sunday
On Friday from 9:00 to 10:00 pm, it’s FREE to observe the night sky in the Observatory (weather permitting).
Name a New Chair in the Reichert Planetarium
When you name a new chair in the Vanderbilt Reichert Planetarium chair, you support innovative planetarium education and entertainment programming.
Observe a milestone, honor a loved one, or name a chair for your family or organization.
Dedicate | Celebrate | Recognize | Memorialize
Your nameplate will remain in place for the life of the seat. (It does not reserve the use of the seat.)
Give a Unique Gift That Will Last a Lifetime
Looking for a fresh, unique, everlasting gift for a loved one?
Purchase and engrave a brick that will become a permanent part of the Vanderbilt Museum.
Your donation will help the Vanderbilt to bring outstanding science, history, and art education to more than 25,000 students annually.
Your brick will be installed and displayed in your favorite brick walkway around the Vanderbilt Mansion and Terrace, or on the 43-acre grounds of the beautiful waterfront Estate.
For more information, email jaimie@vanderbiltmuseum.org.
‘Laser Taylor Swift’ Extended through September 1
Showings of the Vanderbilt Reichert Planetarium‘s wildly popular new show, Laser Taylor Swift, have been extended through September 1. If you were not able to see one of her shows on the Eras tour, Laser Taylor Swift is the next best thing!
With more than 200 million records sold, a shelf full of Grammys, and an army of fans, Taylor Swift is an inspiration for generations. This dynamic show takes her biggest hits and brings them to life in dazzling laser light.
Tickets: $18. (Free for Museum members.)
Setlist: You Need To Calm Down, Love Story, Anti-Hero Exile, Look What You Made Me Do, Willow, Lavender Haze, I Knew You Were Trouble, Blank Space, You Belong With Me, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Shake It Off.
‘Haunting Menagerie’, Museum’s First Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition
Wendy Klemperer
On Earth Day, April 22, 2023, the Vanderbilt Museum debuted Wendy Klemperer: Wrought Taxonomies, the first exhibition of outdoor sculpture at the historic summer estate of William Kissam Vanderbilt II.
Wendy Klemperer’s sculptures—a haunting assemblage of animal forms that span imaginary, endangered, familiar, and exotic species—celebrate natural history and the nonhuman world through evocative interactions with the surrounding environment.
Using materials salvaged from scrapyards, she composes ecological narratives that respond to the history and collections of Suffolk County’s first public park and museum. Her brilliant use of gestural lines captures the spectator’s attention and invites museumgoers to reflect on the relationship between an interest in animal life and the incessant push of human industry.
Wrought Taxonomies is the inaugural exhibition in the Vanderbilt Museum’s outdoor sculpture program and the institution’s second exhibition of contemporary art focused on the relationship between culture and animals. Visitors will see large pieces visitors as they stroll the grounds of the Vanderbilt, one of the few remaining Long Island Gold Coast mansions. Smaller pieces suspended from trees wait to be discovered along the Vanderbilt’s hiking trail. Other works will be found near garden areas and the Marine Museum.
The Vanderbilt Museum occupies the former Gold Coast mansion and estate of William Kissam Vanderbilt II, the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt and a pioneer of American motorsport. Located in Centerport on the north shore of Long Island, it is renowned for its extensive marine and natural history collections, Spanish revival architecture, and picturesque parklands.
All sculptures are viewable with general admission to the Museum grounds. Educational programs and workshops associated with the themes and content of Wendy Klemperer: Wrought Taxonomies will be offered throughout the exhibition. Special thanks are due to the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, whose generous support made Wrought Taxonomies possible. The exhibition will run through April 2025.
Visitors are encouraged, during these weeks of mild autumn weather, to enjoy a picnic on the grounds.
Vanderbilt Wine Supports Education, Preservation
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum has partnered with Old York Cellars to create a special selection of wines – your purchase will support the Museum’s preservation efforts and education programs.
Eagle’s Nest, the waterfront estate of William K. Vanderbilt II, is the home of the Vanderbilt Museum and Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium.
Help us preserve this vital piece of local and national history. STEM education programs are based on Vanderbilt’s marine, natural history, and cultural artifact collections. Educational planetarium offerings are provided to more than 25,000 schoolchildren each year. Please purchase wine today and support our mission.
