Latest News
Summer Presentation Schedule – 2019
Summer is heating up and we have a very full calendar of Traveling Natural History presentations ready for you! Please call ahead and check with the host organization to ensure there is space before you go! Many venues have limited seating and you may need reservations. Month Date Presentation Organization Start Time End Time June 2019…
Wiscasset Elementary Dedicates New Outdoor Classroom
Wiscasset, Maine. On June 5th, members of the community gathered to officially open a new addition to Wiscasset Elementary School: their very own outdoor classroom space. The new structure, made possible by local carpenter Jason Putnam, who donated his time and expertise to build it with volunteer help and support from Chewonki, which provided advice and…
Bringing the Mountain to Chewonki
Step through the double doors of Chewonki’s Center of Environmental Education and follow the trail markers to Katahdin. Katahdin: Maine’s highest mountain! It is the subject of legends among generations of native peoples and Chewonki folk. Thanks to Gordon Hall III (Boys Camp staff 1951-1953; Chewonki trustee 1972-present; chair of the board 1997-2004; past participant…
Doc Shocked by Poetic Schlock!
Doc Shocked by Poetic Schlock! – or – Epistemological Onomatopoeic Disaster on the Neck! – or – “Bye Bye, Birdee!” (Editor’s Note: last week’s article “It’s for the Birds” generated a flood of interest in the origin of the name “Chewonki”, but no response was quite so keen as the letter we received from Master…
How Does a Cheer Mean?
The odd title of this piece is a take on John Ciardi’s classic book, How Does A Poem Mean? Ciardi was one of the great literary interpreters and word sluths of our day. To him every word “…is a feeling…involves the muscles…is a history…is a picture.”, that is, a dynamic “how”, not a static “what”….
Chewonki Announces Incoming and Outgoing Trustees and Advisors
Our 2019 Annual Meeting took place at Chewonki on May 17 and 18, and among the items on the agenda were appointments to the board of trustees and the board of advisors. Trustees and advisors play an essential role in shaping Chewonki. They use their skills and wisdom to guide us toward more effectively meeting…
It’s for the Birds
Throughout our 100+ years of history on this saltwater peninsula, everyone from the youngest camper to the loftiest scholar in our ranks has offered an explanation for the name “Chewonki,” (the Anglicized form of a Penobscot word). One vocal faction often explains the word “Chewonki” to mean “the place of the turning,” perhaps because when…
Farm Physics vs. Farm Physiques
Seventh graders from the Elementary School at Chewonki explored physics last week when they visited Salt Marsh Farm to study simple machines and Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion. Our Suffolk Polk draft horse, Bob, and Farm Manager Megan Phillips led the lessons, demonstrating how farmer and animal use muscle; body position; harness; and machinery…
33rd Time’s The Charm
Three buses emblazoned with “Cape Elizabeth School System” roll up to the Chewonki Center for Environmental Education and the bus doors snap open to release 114 sixth-graders and 12 chaperones from Cape Elizabeth Middle School, just south of Portland. This is the 33rd year that Cape Elizabeth middle-schoolers have come to the Chewonki Outdoor Classroom….
