Big Night Celebration: Amphibians on the Move!
Big Night at CMTM
Sunday, March 5 and Monday, March 6, 2023
Free With Admission
Daily Programming Highlights:
MAKE + CREATE: Create leaping frogs in the IDEXX STEM Learning HUB.
LEARN: Learn all about vernal pools! Learn how each spring frogs and salamanders travel to special habitats to reproduce.
LISTEN + DO: Listen to a reading of the book The Salamander Room, and create a vernal spring pool for salamanders.
Sample “home for a salamander “ by a CMTM visitor.
In preparation for the annual Big Night, we spoke with Colin, CMTM’s Live Exhibits Coordinator, to ask a few questions about the phenomenon and how kids and adults can help.
What and when is Big Night?
Colin: The Big Night is the first few warm, wet nights of spring when Maine's native amphibians migrate to temporary wetlands called vernal pools to breed.
What do animals like our animal ambassadors do on Big Night?
Colin: During Big Night, species like Wood Frogs, Spotted Salamanders, and Blue-spotted salamanders wake up from hibernation and travel to these temporary bodies of water where their young will grow up safe from aquatic predators like fishes.
What can people do to help that night/ time of year?
Colin: Unfortunately, amphibians often cross roads during these important journeys, where they risk getting run over. You can help your amphibian neighbors by carefully helping them crossroads (when it is safe). Maine Big Night is a citizen science project with recommendations for crossing sites across the state. Adults can also get certified as a Big Night Volunteer and "adopt" a crossing site to survey (kids are welcome and encouraged to help with a certified adult!). It's a great way to not only get involved in helping your local ecosystem, but it's also extremely fun!
Learn More
To learn more about Big Night in Maine, visit https://www.vernalpools.me/big-night/.
To learn more about CMTM’s exhibit, From the Mountains to the Sea, and our animal ambassadors, visit the EXHIBIT PAGE.