Welcome to the Discovery Trail
Atoms to artifacts, foxes to fossils, robins to rhododendrons, sculpture to storytellers – Ithaca's Discovery Trail has something for everyone!
From peaceful walks to famous talks, from hands-on fun to genealogical research, there's so much to see and do along the Discovery Trail. These eight fascinating sites are an easy drive from downtown Ithaca, Cornell University, Ithaca College, Cayuga Lake and other Finger Lakes attractions.
The Discovery Trail Partnership is a group of educational organizations based in Ithaca, NY. The only organization of its kind, the Discovery Trail promotes awareness and understanding of the connections among art, history, literature, science, and the natural world.
Discovery Trail News
Ceramics From The Garden
On display March 1 to April 30, garden designer Marc Peter Keane will display his ceramic sculptures that are made from substrates of leaves and meadows grasses, some of which were harvested at the Plantations itself. The works, which resemble nests and cocoons, are fired for 5 days in a traditional Japanese wood kiln. The color patterns and textures of the surfaces are the result of the serendipitous effects of flame on raw clay. More
Watch the World Wake Up This Spring
The annual Spring Field Ornithology course offered by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is perfect for anyone who enjoys being outdoors. This year's eight-week course takes place March 20 through May 12 and is designed for bird watchers of all skill levels. Click MORE for details and to register for the course. More
Decay to DJ: Exploring the Roots of Hip Hop
March 1 to May 25, The History Center presents an exhibition featuring several large-format photographs from South Bronx native, Joe Conzo, Jr. Depicted in the images will be scenes of the South Bronx in the 1970s, a place of urban decline that would ultimately give birth to hip hop music. Through Conzo's images, the exhibition will explore the social and economic conditions of 1970s South Bronx and serve as a backdrop for the foundation of what would become a uniquely American art form. More
Our Expanding Oceans
On display January 25 to May 13 at Museum of the Earth. The exhibit highlights the expansion of our planet's waters in areas ranging from New Orleans to Venice to the Atafu Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. More
Sciencenter exhibit: From Here to There
Lift, launch and levitate your way through hands-on exhibits to explore how things move by land, sea and air! Ride a hovercraft to experience air pressure; float a boat to experiment with air flow. Experiment with hands-on exhibits that make learning about gravity, friction, and the laws of motion fun at the Sciencenter's spring exhibition. More
Tompkins County Public Library
Animalia in Art: An Exhibit of Animal illustrations curated by Jenny Pope through March 21 and Birds, Beasts and Books: Animal Illustrtions in Literature curated by Nancy E. Green of Cornell University's Johnson Museum of Art. Other books on display will include an anniversary edition of one of Edward Lear's illustrated alphabets published by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories. At the Library till March 22. More
More News
Upcoming Trail Events
ESL Snack And Chat
Non-native English speakers are invited to join the Library each Wednesday for ESL Snack and Chat Conversation Groups. These informal, drop-in sessions offer a relaxed setting for practicing conversation and listening skills. More
Date: Wednesday, February 27
Time: 3:30 pm
Place: Tompkins County Public Library, BorgWarner Community Room East
Art for Lunch: Weavers' Stories
Ellen Avril, the Johnson's curator of Asian art, will discuss the exhibition Weavers' Stories from Island Southeast Asia. More
Date: Thursday, February 28
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Place: Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
Third Place
Third Place - it's not school and it's not home. Hang out at TCPL's Third Place, a time planned with you and your friends in mind. Socialize, relax, and enjoy games and crafts geared for people in middle and high school. Always free, always food and every Thursday. More
Date: Thursday, February 28
Time: 3:30 - 5:30 pm
Place: Tompkins County Public Library, Thaler/Howell Programming Room
Opening Reception for Ceramics from the Garden
Garden designer Marc Peter Keane will be on hand to discuss his exhibit. Marc's ceramic sculptures are made from substrates of leaves and meadows grasses, some of which were harvested at the Plantations itself. The works, which resemble nests and cocoons, are fired for 5 days in a traditional Japanese wood kiln. The color patterns and textures of the surfaces are the result of the serendipitous effects of flame on raw clay. More
Date: Friday, March 1
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Place: Cornell Plantations, Nevin Welcome Center
Opening of Decay to DJ
The History Center is proud to present Decay to DJ: Exploring the Roots of Hip Hop, opening on Friday, March 1 and running throughout the month. The exhibit, featuring photographs from Joe Conzo, will tell the story of the birth of Hip Hop in the Bronx in the early 1970's, and will set the stage for a number of other Hip Hop related programs and exhibits opening in April throughout the community, as part of Hip Hop: Unbound from the Underground - an Ithaca Community Celebration of Hip Hop Culture. More
Date: Friday, March 1
Time: 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Place: The History Center in Tompkins County
New Jane Austen Exhibit Opens at Gallery Opening Night
TCPL features a new Jane Austen Exhibit and Karen Allaben-Confer's rescheduled Artist's talk. Ithaca High School Students under the direction of Maryterese Pasqual Bowen present a delightful and informative exhibit celebrating the 200 year anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice. Students will be available in costume to discuss the exhibit from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Plus Wildlife artist Karen Allaben-Confer will present Living With Relics of the Pleistocene: Adventures of an Artist in Residence for the California Condor Reintroduction Project at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona at 6 pm in the BorgWarner Community Room. This talk is rescheduled from February's Gallery Night. More
Date: Friday March 1
Time: 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Place: Tompkins County Public Library
Night Hike
Hike our wooded trails under the big sky of our back fields or around our ponds. Find out who is awake and stirring under the moonlight. No need to bring a flashlight, you'll be surprised how much you see without one! Please call ahead for availability. More
Date: Friday, March 1
Time: 7:00 pm
Place: Cayuga Nature Center
More Events