South Fork Natural History Museum: Turning visitors into responsible caretakers of our planet

The South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO) & Nature Center was founded in 1988 by a group of South Fork naturalists. The museum is dedicated to teaching and inspiring families to become engaged and responsible caretakers for our planet now and for generations to come.

A place for children and adults of all ages to discover, explore, learn, and interact with the Museum – admission is free. Visitors are accompanied by the museum’s expert environmental educators as they experience the galleries, featuring live and recreated natural habitat exhibits. There are colorful floor-to-ceiling photo murals of forests, ponds, and ocean landscapes, not to mention a Marine Touch Tank where visitors can, in the water, hold sea stars, crabs, sea urchins, and whelks. There are likewise terrariums and aquariums featuring local wildlife, all of which engage the senses and bring the outdoors inside.

The magic continues outside with SOFO’s Native Butterfly Garden, Native Wildflower Garden, Educational Pond, Purple Martin nesting gourd site and more. Visitors can take nature walks through the 40-acre Vineyard Field Preserve bordering the museum and explore the six-mile trail system of the Long Pond Greenbelt, which features an expanse of interconnected ponds, woods and wetlands abounding with rare plants, animals, and ecological communities.