EUGENE–The 2000 winter solstice, on Thursday, Dec. 21, will be a very dark, very short day. In the Willamette Valley, the human, animal and plant inhabitants also can expect it to be foggy, soggy and dank.

So what does a moss think about this time of year? How do birds cope?

From sunset–around 4:30 p.m.–to 7 p.m. on Dec. 21, the thoughts of mosses, the travels of birds, the seasons of the Earth and the stories of our ancestors will be among the topics discussed at the University of Oregon Museum of Natural History’s second annual Winter Solstice Celebration.

The event–in the lobby and courtyard of the museum, 1680 E. 15th Ave.–will feature cider, science and stories. Visitors will take home a solstice treat of sunflower seeds to help their backyard birds through the winter.

Cost is $3 per person or $6 per family, with free parking in the UO lot east of the museum. All proceeds from the event, which is organized by the Friends of the Museum, will benefit museum public educational programs.

According to organizers, the Winter Solstice Celebration will encourage visitors to lighten up, with dozens of twinkling lights and Pacific Northwest greenery, as well as museum volunteer-made suet feeders, wrapping paper, and mittens and scarves for sale. The museum store, featuring books on the Pacific Northwest, handcrafted jewelry, petroglyph designs and toys, also will be open for last-minute holiday shopping.

By topic, speakers during the Winter Solstice Celebration include the following four local scientists, naturalists and cultural experts:

• In "The Solstice Sky," Tim Jenkins, a UO adjunct assistant professor of physics, says he "will talk about the seasons from an astronomical viewpoint–why do we have seasons? What is the winter solstice?" He has taught introductory astronomy courses at the University of Oregon and at Whittier College in California since 1988.

• In "December Thoughts of Plants," Willamette Valley plant expert David Wagner will discuss the significance of the solstice to plants. "I’ll talk about what plants are doing this time of year–if I were a moss, what would I be thinking about?"

A founding member of the Mt. Pisgah Arboretum and the Eugene Natural History Society, Wagner spearheaded plant walks and parks cleanup projects that have been adopted broadly throughout the community. He was curator of the UO Herbarium for many years before it was moved to OSU.

Wagner is the creator of the popular Willamette Valley Nature Calendar, several of which he took with him as gifts to Katmandu when he traveled to Nepal last month as part of Eugene’s sister city delegation. His 2001 calendars will be available in the museum store during the Dec. 21 event.

• In "Backyard Birds," biologist Herb Wisner will talk about the types of birds that winter in the Willamette Valley. A favorite interpreter of the life of birds to local school children, he is a leader of the Dec. 31 Christmas Bird Count, sponsored by the Lane County Audubon Society.

Wisner, a longtime museum tour guide, is a UO senior instructor emeritus in biology. He has taught courses on the animal kingdom and the natural history of birds at all levels from junior high to university. He is a member of the Audubon Society and the Eugene Natural History Society.

• In "Solstice Traditions," folklorist Twilo Scofield, who also is a musician and a writer, will talk about traditional solstice celebrations from ancient times to the present. "I’ll include some of the Yule customs and folklore of the evergreen plants we use to decorate at this season–why, for example, we sing ‘Here we come a’wassailing among the leaves so green,’ " Scofield says.

Museum of Natural History exhibits and the museum store are open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday on the UO campus near the corner of East 15th and Agate, behind the Knight Law Center. Regular admission is by $2 donation, with UO students and museum members admitted free.

Currently on display through April 1, 2001, is "Lay of the Land" featuring landscape photography by retired UO geologist Ewart Baldwin. The series of prints that make up the exhibition capture the impact of volcanic eruptions, massive floods and bone-cracking earthquakes in creating Oregon’s breathtaking landscape.

The museum will be closed Saturday, Dec. 23, through Jan. 1, 2001, for the winter holidays. Normal operating hours will resume on Tuesday, Jan. 2.

For information about the Dec. 21 Winter Solstice Celebration or about featured and on-going exhibits, visit http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/ on the web, call (541) 346-3024, or send e-mail to mnh@oregon.uoregon.edu. For a 24-hours-a-day taped message about museum exhibits and activities, call GuardLine from a Touch-Tone phone, 485-2000, ext. 3447.

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