As if 14 lasers and more than 10,000 LED lights along a luminary-lit trail weren’t enough, Winter Lights at Audubon is adding even more to this year’s spectacular show.
The Audubon Community Nature Center’s merger of nature with cutting edge technology is a special treat because YOU get to control your experience. Interactive LED lights, including a drum that changes lights in the building, firefly lasers and animal quiz boards, create a new twist on light shows.
Extending over four weekends this year, Winter Lights is adding an interactive video, where visitors can push a button to add new characters to an 8’ by 4’ screen with a video of an underwater pond. Local artist Gary Peters is creating the interactive animation that will be projected outside.
You can expect to walk about a half mile on a paved and ice-free trail, stop to control lights, warm up at the fire at the halfway point, and gasp at the finale at the Blue Heron Overlook.
Brownies, oranges, snacks, hot chocolate, and coffee are available to purchase inside. The indoor exhibits will also be open, with live animal displays, a fishing pond, and puppet theatre.
Winter Lights is 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 17th; Thursdays and Fridays, December 22nd, 23rd, 29th, and 30th; and Friday and Saturday, January 6th and 7th. Admissions are $10.00, $8.00 for Friends of the Nature Center and children 3 – 15, and free for children 2 and under.
Opening night is adults-only on Friday, December 16th, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It includes live music by Smackdab plus beer and wine. Admission that evening is $25.00 or $20.00 for Friends of the Nature Center.
Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other interest youngsters can earn the right to buy a fun patch at Winter Lights. Patches are available for $3.00 on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit the Welcome Desk at the Nature Center when you arrive for a list of requirements.
For a Winter Lights preview on Youtube, check out YouTube.
The creation of Winter Lights is a collaboration between Audubon staff and Steve French, President and Principal Engineer at Volt Vision in Warren, Pennsylvania. Audubon especially thanks Everyday’s True Value for donating 1,000 feet of wire to help permanently wire the show.
To learn more, call (716) 569-2345 or click on Events under Programs & Events at Audubon Community Nature Center.
The Audubon Community Nature Center is at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, New York, and Warren, Pennsylvania.
Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.
