The Whaling Museum invites adults to get creative and learn new skills while enjoying thoughtfully selected cocktails to enhance each monthly program. This new series will incorporate crafts for adults that celebrate history, science, and the sea. Each month, the museum education team chooses a craft that highlights a link to the museum, either from a historical or scientific angle. Cocktails are selected to further immerse participants in the theme of the evening.
The debut session stars an adorable, felted whale ornament and mulled wine to get in the spirit. It will take place on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Participants work with wool and a needle to craft a whale ornament with fins, eyes, a tail, and a loop for hanging. Mulled wine will be served. The full program description is as follows –
Crafts & Cocktails: Felted Whale Ornaments and Mulled Wine. Join us for this festive felting workshop as we explore the history of wool crafting! Discover how whalers carved knitting needles and sewing tools out of whalebone for their wives and loved ones and see examples from our collection. Design and create a needle-felted whale ornament to take home. Sip a festive mulled wine cocktail as you work and learn about the origins of this traditional drink.
The January session will take place on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Participants will decoupage shells with a sample of patterns to choose from and use paints to decorate it as a fanciful trinket dish. Sample dishes will be shared for design ideas. Champagne will be served as the cocktail for the evening. The full program description is as follows:
(Photos courtesy the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum & Education Center)
Crafts & Cocktails: Nautical Trinket Dish
This January we’re celebrating one of life’s most iconic duos-oysters and champagne! Explore the fundamental role oysters have played in the history of New York and discover current efforts to bring these bivalves back to Long Island Sound. Then, dive into the surprising history of champagne and enjoy a glass of bubbly while designing a unique seashell trinket tray.
The February session takes place on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Participants will receive watercolor paper and paint with instructions for different watercolor techniques to use in their design. The cocktail will be a “layered” vodka drink. The full program description is as follows:
Crafts & Cocktails: Watercolor Wonders
Explore the science of water through the world’s oldest kind of painting – watercolor! Discover how both sailors and painters learned to exploit the unique properties of water for their own purposes. Harness the power of physics to engineer a colorful layered cocktail to enjoy while you experiment with a variety of fundamental watercolor techniques. Create a nautical watercolor painting to take home.
The final session in our winter series will take place on Thursday, March 7, 2024. Participants decorate a planter with sea shells and plant a succulent to take home. Rum will be served as the cocktail of the evening in honor of the sailors that used to drink grog while out at sea. The full program description is as follows:
Crafts & Cocktails: Seashell Succulent Planter
Whales, dolphins, starfish….not the sea creatures, but the PLANTS! Join us to explore the incredible world of succulents. For sailors out at sea, every drop of water was precious, but these hardy plants thrive in dry conditions – in fact, too much water often leads to their demise! Learn about the health benefits and easy care for these houseplants and decorate a terracotta pot with seashells to plant your very own sea creature succulent cutting. Unlike those sailors, we won’t leave you high and dry! Sip a rum cocktail while you work in homage to the grog sailors used to drink.
“Just as we find ourselves drawn to the sea today, artists and artisans throughout human history have found inspiration in the watery parts of the world. Through educator-led instruction and artifact exploration, participants will have the opportunity to explore the fascinating origins of sea-inspired crafts, while engaging their creativity and learning new skills. Our carefully curated accompanying cocktails will further bring the past to life as we celebrate Long Island’s maritime heritage,” said Brenna McCormick-Thompson, Curator of Education, The Whaling Museum & Education Center
“Adults will appreciate the dedicated attention to detail museum educators have made when crafting each session to encapsulate educational themes with adult enjoyment. Each evening is a perfect opportunity for friends, partners or family members to gather and spend time in a relaxed and unique environment. They’ll go home with something to remember the evening by in addition to a new skill,” said Gina Van Bell, Assistant Director, The Whaling Museum & Education Center.
Craft & Cocktails sessions are scheduled monthly on Thursday evenings at 6:30pm. Upcoming session dates for December through March 2024 will take place on Dec. 7, Jan. 11, Feb. 8 and March 7.
Each Craft & Cocktails session is approximately 1.5 hours long. Admission is $30 per participant and $20 for Museum Members. Registration is online at cshwhalingmuseum.org/craftsandcocktails.
—Submitted by the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum & Education Center
