Naturally entertaining

November 8, 2008

WHO: Style editor Hayley Kaufman, her husband,Chris McNulty, and their kids, Nate, 4, and Rachel, 2
WHAT: Checking out the animals
WHERE: The Blue Hills Trailside Museum, Milton

Emily Carreiro is a naturalist, but she has something vaudevillian about her, a hamminess that comes from working week in and week out with children. On a recent blustery afternoon, she became my hero.

It was shaping up to be a grumbly Saturday, one of those days when, as a parent, you want to pack it in. The sky threatened rain. The kids threatened anarchy. I threatened to go AWOL.

My ever-patient husband, Chris, suggested a trip to the Trailside Museum in the Blue Hills. The excursion promised shelter from the elements and cheap entertainment - an ideal combination on the cusp of a chilly winter.

The timing of our visit was both good and bad. Good because we learned that NStar recently made a donation to improve the center. Bad because all the shiny new outdoor enclosures, where rescued red-tailed hawks, turkey vultures, and owls usually reside, sat empty. Still, we marveled at a glistening river otter, who'd perfected a flip turn even Michael Phelps could admire.

Then we paid our admission (a recession-friendly $3 for adults, $1.50 for kids, under 3 free) and plunged into the museum. We admired a stately Great Horned owl, got close to a (de-scented) striped skunk, shivered at a slithery rattlesnake. A bug exhibit, with diagrams of millipedes, bark beetles, and termites, caught Nate's eye. Rachel was partial to the climb-through tree display.

Finally, it was time for Carreiro and her live animal presentation. About 20 kids and parents gathered in the rustic auditorium to hear her reel off curious facts about a tiny Eastern screech owl and a humble gray tree frog.

She had the kids at hello. Even the shiest were transfixed by her presentation, which included biographies of the animals, tales of their rescues, and cool arcana. Nate, who'd been boisterous and fidgety all day, was in her thrall. When the tree frog relieved himself on Carreiro's shirt, he giggled happily. Soon after, he uttered the magic words: "When can we come back?"

For more information visit www.massaudubon.org and search for Trailside, or call 617-333-0690.