Wave hill Close Encounters Scavengers and Decomposers Petting Zoo credit Joshua Bright

Families
Nature

Close Encounters Nature Station

When

Sun, Jun 8, 2025 10:00AM – 4:00PM

Where

Grounds; Rain location: Wave Hill House

Price

Free

with admission to the grounds

Cuddle a caterpillar, meet a beetle, pet a pillbug! Chat with naturalists Lawrence Forcella and Pam Golben and meet live and preserved insects, invertebrates, and other creatures that make their home in Wave Hills trees, woods, and gardens. Curious about pollinators or other wildlife? Get your questions answered here!

Registration is not required. Questions? Please email us at information@wavehill.org or call 718.549.3200 x251.

This event takes place on a flat grassy area accessible via flat, paved paths that run along the edge of the Great Lawn. This station is fully accessible in good weather. In case of rain, it will move to Wave Hill House, which is fully accessible to all our visitors. The building is located along a paved route with moderate changes in grade.

Pam Golben

Pam Golben

Pam Golben is a seasoned naturalist. Currently focusing on native plants, she owns and operates Golben Farms, a native plant nursery in upstate New York. Pam is also a beekeeper and candlemaker, a NYS-licensed wildlife rehabilitator and environmental educator. In addition, she has a BS in Veterinary Science and Environmental Science-Organismal Biology, and was the Director of the Wildlife Center at The Hudson Highlands Nature Museum in Cornwall, New York for 15 years.
Lawrence Forcella

Lawrence Forcella

Lawrence Forcella is a naturalist and artist who resides in Maine. He has been bringing his knowledge and displays of insects to Wave Hill since 2002. His displays of insect specimens have been purchased by museums and he has wrangled his live insects and spiders for film and television, which he does through his company God of Insects. Lawrence's passion for the natural world extends beyond entomology and he has also amassed a collection of skulls and bones, some of which he has exhibited during Wave Hill's Decomposers and Scavengers Weekends.