Garibaldi-Meucci Museum Hosts Botanical Garden Field Trip Today
By: BWW News Desk Jun. 23, 2013
Today, June 23, the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum will host a bus trip to the New York Botanacal Garden's Italian Renaissance Garden exhibit "Wild Medicine and Healing Plants Around the World."New York Botanical Garden's Italian Renaissance Garden is inspired by Europe's first botanical garden, created in 1545 at the University of Padua, in the Venetian Republic. A lush landscape of Mediterranean flowers, including exotic varieties, endangered species and medicinal plants, this special exhibition is classically composed to evoke the original design that remains at Padua to this day."Healing Plants Around the World" features the research of some of New York Botanical Garden's leading experts in science, medicine, and ethnobotany. You will learn about plants such as the cinchona tree, the source of quinine that treats malaria, and white willow, whose bark leads to the production of aspirin. More than 500 species of medicinal plants are showcased, most of them grown in the Garden's glasshouses, making this one of the largest exhibitions of medicinal plants ever mounted.In the Garden you will:
•Learn how cultures around the world rely on plants for everything from medicine to cosmetics.
•Take a journey of the senses through a stunning re-creation of an Italian Renaissance garden with interactive stations highlighting the rejuvenating and healing powers of tea, cacao, and tropical juices.
•Explore a fascinating presentation of rare books and manuscripts known as herbals.At 1 p.m, a grand Italian Renaissance performance will take place, with singers and dancers in period costume playing historical instruments.The bus departs at 9 a.m. from Clove Lake Park, on Victory Boulevard in front of the War Memorial Ice Skating Rink. Lunch will be on your own in the garden. We will leave the garden at 2 p.m. for an hour of shopping for your favorite Italian specialties on Arthur Avenue, and be home by 5 p.m.Cost is $60 per person. Reservations required.
The Garibaldi-Meucci Museum was the home of Antonio Meucci, the true inventor of the telephone, and a refuge to Giuseppe Garibaldi, the legendary hero who championed the unification of Italy. For over 50 years the museum has fulfilled its mission to preserve the legacies of these great men, and to promote understanding of the Italian-American heritage through cultural, artistic and educational programs and classes. The historic Italian landmark on Staten Island, the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum is owned by the Sons of Italy Foundation and administered by the NYSOSIA-GMM-Board of Commissioners.
Regular museum hours are 1 p.m.-5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is $5 per person, members and children under 10 are free. Call ahead for groups of 10 or more. The first floor of the museum is wheelchair accessible, but the restroom is on the second floor.
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