Category: News

Despite the rain, over 150 guests of all ages found fun new ways to learn about birds at the Migratory Bird Festival on Saturday. Created by an all-volunteer team from the Les Fruits de Mer association, this year’s festival took place at Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House in French Quarter.

“This was our sixth Migratory Bird Festival, so we created a lot of new activities to keep it fresh,” explained Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “You could listen to bird sounds and measure yourself compared to local birds. People loved decorating their own bird tote bags and playing Bird Bingo in the gardens.”

The Migratory Bird Festival celebrates the birds that travel thousands of miles each year to live in St. Martin. They connect this tiny island to the rest of the Americas. The festival also highlights the things these birds need to survive. At the Portable Pond, guests could see aquatic insects and other creatures that many migratory birds eat. The Habitat Scavenger Hunt sent kids looking for food, shelter and other things that birds depend on.

“This was our first Migratory Bird Festival at Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House,” commented Les Fruits de Mer co-founder Mark Yokoyama. “It was the perfect place, with lots of indoor and outdoor space to explore. Many people from French Quarter came to the festival, and we want to keep building the connection between the town and the Amuseum.”

The 2018 Migratory Bird Festival was made possible by a team of 20 wonderful volunteers. The festival was free thanks to the support of its sponsors: L’Auberge Gourmand, BZSE, Coalys, Delta Petroleum, ECOFIP, Frigodom, IZI LIGHT, Lagoonies, Pelikaan Brewery, St. Martin’s Sweetness and SXM Logistics. To see highlights from the festival, visit http://lesfruitsdemer.com or find Les Fruits de Mer on Facebook.

Amuseum Naturalis is excited to host the 6th annual Migratory Bird Festival!

The annual Migratory Bird Festival is a free, public event where residents and visitors alike can see, celebrate, and learn about the marvelous migratory birds that travel thousands of miles each year to visit or spend the winter in St. Martin. These amazing birds connect the Americas with their incredible journeys, and St. Martin plays an important role in their life cycle. Activities at the 2018 Migratory Bird Festival will include birdwatching, BirdSleuth games, interactive discovery stations, art activities, and more! This year’s event will be held on Saturday, October 13th from 9am to noon at Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House in French Quarter. The festival is brought to you by Les Fruits de Mer, and the 2018 sponsors: L’Auberge Gourmand, BZSE, Coalys, Delta Petroleum, ECOFIP, Frigodom, IZI LIGHT, Lagoonies, Pelikaan Brewery, St. Martin’s Sweetness and SXM Logistics.

Date: Saturday, October 13, 2018
Time: 9am – Noon
Location: Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House, French Quarter

Les Fruits de Mer is excited to offer BirdSleuth Caribbean training to teachers and youth group leaders on St. Martin. This fantastic program helps kids connect to science and nature through birds. It was adapted specifically for the Caribbean, so it uses birds and habitats found right here on St. Martin. Binkie van Es is the instructor for the bilingual class. Our September session is full, but we are planning a second training on October 20th and 21st.

We put up a series of panels about the native plants and trees growing at Amuseum Naturalis. They tell about the amazing skills that help these plants survive on St. Martin. It’s harder than you might think! They also feature beautiful vintage botanical illustrations. Enjoy a walk through the garden and learn about the plants and trees around you!

After having many teams of Scouts helping at the Amuseum for the past three weeks, it was great that the whole group could come and see it! The Scouts came from all over France (and even some from Germany and Belgium) to help St. Martin after Hurricane Irma. At the Amuseum, Scouts helped us clean, garden, build and more!

We’re having a fantastic time with group visits to the summer preview of the new Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House! We’ve already hosted a bunch of school and summer camp groups. We’ve been exploring the Amuseum and doing fun activities in the exhibit hall and the gardens.

We had a fantastic time at today’s open house at Amuseum Naturalis. Over 100 people came by to enjoy our summer preview. Guests also brought plants for the bush tea garden. Huge thanks to volunteers and guests alike! For July and August we will be open from 9am to noon, so please come by to see us! We have 8 fascinating exhibits right now. You can also watch our films in our micro-theater and enjoy seeing the historic house and grounds. As always, admission to the Amuseum is free!

People of all ages are invited to visit Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House this Sunday from 9am to noon. St. Martin’s free museum of nature, history and culture is celebrating the launch of its summer preview with an open house event.

Amuseum Naturalis is a museum dedicated to sharing all that is unique about St. Martin. It was developed by the non-profit association Les Fruits de Mer. During 2016 and 2017, it was located in Grand Case. The association is relaunching and expanding the Amuseum at the historic Old House in French Quarter.

“Right now, everyone is looking for fun stuff to do—especially parents and kids,” explained Les Fruits de Mer President Jenn Yerkes. “We decided to do a summer preview so people can start enjoying the Amuseum, even while we continue to develop it.”

The summer preview includes an exhibit hall with eight exhibits. Visitors will discover fascinating displays on topics like animals found only on St. Martin, traditional building techniques and the tree with the hardest wood in the world. They can also see projects in progress, like the Amuseum’s bush tea garden.

The open house is Sunday, July 22nd from 9am to noon. Following the open house, the Amuseum will be open Monday to Friday from 9am to noon during July and August. Admission to the Amuseum is free. Schools and youth groups are invited to contact Les Fruits de Mer to arrange a group visit.

Amuseum Naturalis at The Old House is located in French Quarter at the top of the hill above Le Galion.

March 21st is Bonus Day for our fundraiser. We are going to try to win $1,000 by having the most donors on that day. Head over to our fundraising page to make your donation: Amuseum Naturalis Fundraising Page.

The relaunch of Amuseum Naturalis has been progressing in many ways. Our volunteer days have been getting more and more busy with loads of people coming out to help. Luckily, we have plenty of work to do! Here’s a short video from Saturday:

Our next clean-up is Saturday, March 24th from 9am to noon with a BBQ after. Please come by! You can also invite friends via Facebook.

We’ve also been going gangbusters on our March fundraising campaign. In the first week, we raised over $8,000 from 69 generous donors. This campaign continues through March 30th, so please join us! Or send an email to someone who might want to help—it works! 91% of the people that donated recevied an email from someone about the project. Click here to see the project page, learn more and donate!