In Brief:

Title: 34^th Annual Maple Sugaring Weekends Event at RMSC Cumming Nature Center Explores Science of Maple Syrup Production

Location: 6472 Gulick Road, Naples, NY 14512

Phone: (585)374-6160

Dates/Times: 9am–3pm, March 17–18 and 24–25

Admission/Costs: Various (see below)

Detailed Information: www.rmsc.org; Facebook; Twitter (@rocRMSC)

34^th Annual Maple Sugaring Weekends Event at RMSC Cumming Nature Center Explores Science of Maple Syrup Production

ROCHESTER, NY—A springtime tradition for many Western New York families, Maple Sugaring Weekends returns for a 34^th season the last two full weekends in March at the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) Cumming Nature Center (CNC). Maple Sugaring, a volunteer driven event, helps maintain CNC operations.

At Maple Sugaring Weekends, visitors explore the science and lore of maple syrup production with volunteer guides along the CNC Pioneer Trail. Participants learn how a tree makes sap and discover the different processing techniques. Highlights include a 100 percent pure maple syrup tasting in the sugarhouse, and a pancake meal in the visitors center.

This year's event dates are Saturday and Sunday, March 17-18 and 24-25. Program details include:

- Sugaring demonstrations, which take place from 10am-3pm.

- Pancake meals, which are served from 9am-1pm. All meals include pure maple syrup and a choice of beverage.

Pancake Meal Cost (includes nature center admission):

- Adult meal (5 pancakes + 2 sausages): $10; RMSC members $9

- Child meal (3 pancakes + 1 sausage): $8; RMSC members $7

Program admission without the pancake meal is $3 per person ($10 per family).

"We're fortunate for the dedicated volunteers that come back year after year to make our maple sugaring event a success," said Dave Gotham, Director, CNC. "Their efforts create a welcoming environment for community members to come and create, or further, a great outdoor tradition with family and friends."

Dave Gotham serves as the sugar maker (the person who turns the sap into pure maple syrup), and has been since the Cumming Nature Center's sugaring program began in March of 1979. Sugaring processes are demonstrated through tactics used by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), 1790s pioneers, as well as modern sugaring operations.

Volunteers for the event handle everything from parking logistics to pancake meal preparation. For the past several years, students from local colleges and high schools as well as adult volunteers have acted as program interpreters along the trail to the sugarhouse. To prepare, they spend a day at the CNC learning maple sugaring lore, from how a tree makes sap to the different processing techniques of Native Americans, early pioneers, and today's modern sugar bush managers. Over the course of two weekends, 25–30 volunteers can explain such things as what part of the tree contains sap, how to tap a tree, and how much sap (40 gallons!) is required to produce one gallon of syrup.

Maple Sugaring Weekends is the CNC's major annual fundraising event.

For a high-resolution images and additional information, contact Debra Jacobson, Director of Marketing and Community Affairs, RMSC at (585)697-1944 or debra_jacobson@rmsc.org.

Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) receives major funding from Monroe County. RMSC includes a planetarium, nature center and science/regional history museum. The Rochester Museum & Science Center stimulates broad community interest and understanding of science and technology, and their impact—past, present, future—on our lives. For more information about RMSC, visit www.rmsc.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@rocRMSC).

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