Make A Bird House

Familiar birds who live in the Hudson Valley year-round are actually in decline: the American robin, barn swallow, Carolina chickadee, Eastern screech owl, house wrens and many other types of wren, northern flicker, and purple martin are among them.

Join us as winter approaches to build a bird house, designed for one of these species, from scratch. The house will provide an opportunity not only to help sustain bird populations but also to observe birds up close. Woodworker and former science teacher Kathy Prisco will guide you through this easy, hands-on beginner building project. Staff from the Maritime Museum will also tell you a little bit about these common local birds. After learning about the birds, you can choose to make a nesting shelf for a barn swallow, or a house for an Eastern screech owl, or a wren house. Each house includes a fact sheet that tells you how to install the house optimally for the type of bird that will live in it.

Date: Sun., March 31, 10 AM - 5 PM
Instructor: Kathy Prisco
Class size (max.): 6
Attendance (min.): 3*
Skill level: basic
Prerequisites: none

Registration
Household Member & Above: $200**
Individual Member: $210**
General Public: $230
Register By: March 24

Materials: $30 (price at checkout will include tuition and material cost)

*Classes that do not meet the minimum attendance number may be cancelled or rescheduled. If so, you will receive a full refund, or class credit, regardless of the cancellation date.

**We encourage students to become members (for as little as $30/year) to receive 10-15% off class tuition. You must be a current member on the date of registering to receive your discount. Please login to activate your member discount. To become a new member, please sign up here, or call 845-338-0071.

Instructor: Kathy Prisco is a certified science teacher who has taught at Poughkeepsie Day School where she learned cooperative teaching and alternative teaching methods. She went on to teach Biology, Chemistry, STEM, and Engineering at Spackenkill High School. She pioneered Project Lead the Way and MST at Spackenkill, two innovative, project-based learning programs that apply in-demand transportable skills to problem solving in an exciting and engaging way. She coached the Science Olympiad Team for 25 years, consistently qualifying for State Finals and even making it to the National Competition twice.

After retiring from the classroom in 2020, she focused her passion for building and creating on wood crafting, jewelry making, and creating handcrafted artwork. After discovering the Wooden Boat School, Kathy was able to combine her two passions—teaching and creating—in one place where she thoroughly enjoys helping people turn wood into functional art while having a lot of fun along the way.