JAMESTOWN – If you haven’t made it yet, Friday and Saturday (January 6 and 7, 2017) are your last opportunities this season to experience Winter Lights at the Audubon Community Nature Center.
Visitors the past three weeks have gasped in amazement and delight at this light show that has grown every year since it began in 2013. It now features more than 10,000 LED lights along a luminary-lit trail.
According to Senior Naturalist and Exhibits Coordinator Jeff Tome, “Even more lasers were added to Winter Lights this year, including some near the building. There is also a magic wand that controls lights and an 8 foot by 12 foot interactive outdoor movie screen.”
This Friday and Saturday (January 6 and 7, 2017) is your final opportunity this season to see Winter Lights at Jamestown’s Audubon Community Nature Center. Pictured here is a young visitor playing a drum that changes the lights on the Nature Center building.
Tome said a new laser near the outdoor fire produces an array of light effects across a pond in the backyard. Another new addition is an indoor exhibit that features some of the technology behind Winter Lights, including flexible LED strip lights that change color, thumb-sized computers referred to as the “brain,” and sensors.
The Audubon’s merger of nature with cutting edge technology is distinctive because the visitor controls their own experience. Interactive LED lights, including a drum that changes lights on the building, firefly lasers and animal quiz boards, create a new twist on light shows.
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 be fascinated by 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 to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, January 6 and 7. Admissions are $10, $8 for Friends of the Nature Center and children 3-15, and free for children 2 and under.
Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other interested youngsters can earn the right to buy a fun patch at Winter Lights. Patches are available for $3 on a first-come, first-served basis. Visit the Welcome Desk at the Nature Center when you arrive for a list of requirements.
The creation of Winter Lights is a collaboration between Audubon staff and volunteers 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 Winter Lights at auduboncnc.org/events.
The Audubon Community Nature Center is at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, New York, and Warren, Pennsylvania.
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