Albuquerque Biological Park Calendar of Events
October 2008 |
Featured Events
- Senior Birding Club at Tingley Beach - October 1
- Aquarium Evening Lecture - October 1
- Brown Bag Lecture about Hummingbirds at the Zoo - October 2 and 4
- Harvest Festival at the Botanic Garden - October 4 & 5
- Free Fishing Clinic at Tingley Beach - October 11
- Ikebana Show at Botanic Garden - October 11 & 12
- Horticulture Volunteer Orientation - October 15
- The Rio Grande Cup at Tingley Beach - October 18 & 19
- Railroad Tracks in Your Backyard Garden - October 18 & 19
- Wolf Awareness Week - October 19 - 24
- Touchpool Volunteer Training - October 21
- Aquarium Overnight - October 24/25
- Zoo Boo - October 25
January February March April May June July August September November December
Senior Birding Club at Tingley Beach
Wednesday, October 1, 30 minutes past sunrise
Whether you are an expert birder or just want to learn more about our native birds, the Senior Birding Club is a great way to meet other bird enthusiasts and explore some wonderful avian habitats. Join the Senior Birding Club on the first Wednesday of each month. They meet at the Tingley Beach Train Station thirty minutes after sunrise. You'll visit the Tingley lakes and the adjacent bosque (forest) to identify and count birds, accompanied by the Tingley Beach Curator and BioPark volunteers.
No experience is needed. Wear weather-appropriate clothes and comfortable walking shoes. Bring your binoculars and a bird identification book. Participation is free of charge. For more information, please call (505) 248-8514.
Evening Aquarium Lecture .
Wednesday, October 1, 7:00 - 9:00pm
Title and speaker: To be announced.
Aquarium evening lectures take place every other month on the first Wednesday in the Aquarium Theater. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for seniors and children. Refreshments are included. Call 848-7180 for more information.
Brown Bag about Hummingbirds at the Zoo.
Thursday, October 2 and Saturday, October 4. 12:45 - 1:30pm
Topic: How high can a hummingbird fly? Adaptations to high altitude in the most extreme vertebrate animal
Speaker: Dr. Christopher C. Witt,
Museum of Southwestern Biology and Department of Biology,
University of New Mexico
Allen's Hummingbird
The tiny, iridescent hummingbirds that visit your feeder are not only beautiful, but highly adapted animals, with wings that beat over 50 times per second and flight patterns that would make a helicopter pilot proud.
Join us at the Zoo Colores Education Building, next to the Cottonwood Cafe, to learn more about these amazing birds. Brown Bag lectures at the Zoo are included with general admission.
Brown Bag lectures take place twice a month (on a Thursday and a Saturday), alternating between the aquarium/garden and the zoo locations.
Harvest Festival at the Heritage Farm.
Saturday, October 4 & Sunday, October 5. 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
You don't need to leave town to visit a farm this harvest weekend. Come to the Rio Grande Botanic Garden's Heritage Farm to sample the fruits, vegetables, smells, tastes and sounds of the fall harvest. Find out how cider is made and sample our fresh cider pressed on-site. Docents will be stationed at kitchen garden, orchard, vineyard and house with demonstrations and interpretive activities, crafts and games; and old-time bands will provide music. Harvest Festival activities are included with general admission.
In collaboration with the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and National Hispanic Cultural Center, the Botanic Garden will offer a Farmer's Market from 10am to 2pm featuring Native American and Hispanic vendors. No fee is required to access the Farmer's Market.
FREE Fishing Clinic at Tingley Beach.
Saturday, October 11, 10:00am to 12:00pm.
Location: Tent on lawn near train station.
With support from New Mexico Trout and the BioPark's Fishing Guide volunteers, this FREE fishing Clinic will be offered at Tingley Beach every month on the second Saturday. Instruction may include basic fly-tying methods, fly-rod casting techniques, fishing etiquette, effective 'catch and release' practices and enhancement of advanced skills. Equipment and supplies are available for use during the clinic on a first come, first served basis and are free of charge.
Participants are welcome, however, to bring their own gear. In addition, Tingley Outfitters provides basic equipment for purchase inside the train station.
Ikebana Show at the Botanic Garden.
Saturday and Sunday, October 11 & 12, 9:00am - 5:00pm
An exhibition of Ikebana (Japanese flower arranging), titled An Ikebana Autumn, will be held at the City of Albuquerque’s Rio Grande Botanic Garden on Saturday, October 11, and Sunday, October 12, in the Botanic Garden Showroom. The exhibition will open at 9:00am and close at 5:00pm each day. Admission is included with Botanic Garden admission ticket ($7.00 for adults) or annual membership pass to the NM BioPark Society. The exhibition is sponsored by the Ikebana International Chapter #41 and the New Mexico Branch of Ichiyo School of Ikebana. Check back for more details.
Horticulture Volunteer Orientation.
Wednesday, October 15, 9:30am to 12:00pm
Please call (505) 848-7180 for more information. The training will take place the Aquarium/Garden Education, 2601 Central Ave. NW.
The Rio Grande Cup at Tingley Beach
Saturday and Sunday, October 18 & 19, beginning at 10:00am daily.
The Duke City Model Yacht Club is proud to sponsor the first running of the Rio Grande Cup race for boats conforming to the International RG65 Class of radio control model yachts.
Please join us as a participant or spectator at the Tingley Beach Model Boat Pond on Saturday and Sunday, October 18-19, 2008. Racing will start at 10:00am each day.
The RG65 Class began in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the 1950s. The "R" stands for radio, the "G" for Juan Gherzi, who initiated the class, and the "65" for the size of the boats, which are all 65 centimeters (about 25 1/2 inches) long. The Class rules give designers and builders wide latitude in the ways they strive for the fastest boat; the only other restrictions are on the amount and height of the boat's sails.
Call Steve Bailey at (505) 977-5903 for more information. You can also contact Bailey for information about the social event for club members, entrants, and their guests on Saturday night.
"Railroad Tracks in Your Backyard Garden" at the Botanic Garden.
Saturday and Sunday, October 18 and 19, 9:00am-5:00pm.
Enthusiasts from the New Mexico Garden Railroad club will demonstrate how to bring backyard gardens to life with motion and sound through the use of miniature, G-scale trains and their unique, complementary landscape.
Club members will showcase their personal collection of model trains in active displays set up through-out the botanic garden. They will be available to give advice on how to get started installing trains in personal gardens, and will have photo tours of the best garden train layouts in the state. Background stories will be shared about the Botanic Garden's permanent garden railroad display, with its village and mining scenes, to make the complex come alive for visitors.
Wolf Awareness Week at the Zoo.
Sunday October 19 - Saturday October 24, 10:00am to 2:00pm daily.
Visit the Mexican Wolf exhibit at the Rio Grande Zoo to learn about wolf conservation and re-introduction in the Southwest. Find out the crucial role these animals used to play in New Mexico's ecosystem and get hands-on with wolf biofacts. Call 764-6214 for more information.
Touchpool Volunteer Training at the Aquarium
Tuesday, October 21, 9:30am - 3:30pm
Touchpool volunteers assist with the hands-on invertebrate Touchpool at the aquarium and introduce visitors to horseshoe crabs, horse conchs, sea urchins and other fascinating marine animals. For more information, please call (505) 764-6245.
Aquarium Overnight.
Friday, October 24, 7:00pm to 8:00am on Saturday, October 25
Sleep next to the sharks at this family-friendly event. Participants will learn about interesting facts about ocean species and their nighttime behavior during this special Aquarium sleepover. Includes games and crafts, Touchpool visit and ocean film fest in the theater. Children under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Cost: $25/person. Call (505) 848-7180 for more information and to pre-register (required).
Zoo Boo Twenty.
Saturday, October 25, 11:00am to 4:00pm
Zoo Boo offers a safe alternative for trick-or-treating. Four children in costume get in free with a paying adult ($7). From 11:00am to 4:00pm there are games, Haunted Habitats, a variety of performances, a costume parade, costume judging and sweet treats from many sponsoring businesses and civic organizations. Sponsor tables will be located throughout the zoo.
As always, this year's event is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Shelly Lerner Burstein, a much-loved local pediatric cardiologist and zoo docent. A heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful people and businesses who donate each year to the Zoo Boo Education Scholarship Fund, which provides tuition assistance for underserved youth interested in taking BioPark classes.
Zoo Boo 20 is sponsored by Univision Radio's KISS-FM. Thank you to our generous media sponsors!
There will be a FREE park and ride from the aquarium/garden parking lot to the zoo for Zoo Boo visitors. Additional details will be posted here when available.
For more information or to volunteer, please call (505) 848-7150 or (505) 764-6245.