BETHLEHEM — Once a symbol of our nation’s industrial might, the rusting skeleton of the mills that housed Bethlehem Steel today serve as a backdrop to the annual music festivals of Musikfest and acts in the Yuengling Café.
Always looking to maximize the sprawling complex that is now known as SteelStacks, the Lehigh Valley Zoo has organized an ambitious undertaking in the inaugural “Step Outdoors Lehigh Valley” with a variety of mostly free outdoors-related activities Saturday-Sunday, May 30-31, for all ages. Showing the variety and scope of the event can be seen by those who have partnered with the zoo, including the Appalachian Mountain Club, Cabela’s, Delaware River Shad Fishermen’s Association, Delaware Valley Orienteering Association, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Jacobsburg Historical Society, Keystone Elk Country Alliance, Lehigh River Stocking Association, Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs Northampton County, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Pennsylvania Game Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Ruffed Grouse Society Lehigh Valley Chapter, Sierra Club Lehigh Valley, Trout Unlimited, United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania and Wildlands Conservancy.
From hiking to archery to birding and biking, those attending “Step Outdoors Lehigh Valley” have the opportunity to participate and enjoy activities and presentations by more than 25 different organizations whose missions focus on conservation, wildlife and outdoors recreation. There is a major emphasis on exposing children to outdoors activities that can be enjoyed by the entire family, including archery, fly casting, building a Toad Abode, navigating an orienteering course and donning SCUBA equipment.
An urban hike on the South Bethlehem Greenway, living history presentations and biking, canoeing and birding outings are among the other attractions being held. The activities conclude Saturday with a free, family-friendly concert by Grammy-nominated folk-rock duo Trout Fishing in America, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks.
“Research shows that children grow up well-rounded the more they are exposed to nature,” Lehigh Valley Zoo president and CEO Melissa Borland said in previewing the event. “Lehigh Valley Zoo strives to bring conservation education to our communities in unique ways and being a sponsor of ArtsQuest’s new Step Outdoors event is a wonderful opportunity to continue to unleash the wonder in children.”
One of the highlights of “Step Outdoors Lehigh Valley” is the opportunity for children and their families to get up close and personal with a variety of animals and wildlife during presentations in the ArtsQuest Center’s Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas. Both days the Lehigh Valley Zoo will have presentations featuring its live education animals, including amphibians and reptiles from the zoo’s recently opened Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Center.
If you go
What: Step Outdoors Lehigh Valley
When: Saturday, May 30, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, May 31, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem
Events: Saturday — Urban Hike, 10 a.m., presented by Appalachian Mountain Club, for registration, contact Cathy Reuscher at (610) 868-6903 or creuscher@outdoors.org; Opening Ceremony, 10:15 a.m., Levitt Pavilion, members of Jacobsburg Historical Society, dressed in 18th century attire, will present a replica of the original flag of the United States and a ceremonial firing of their flintlock rifles; Raptors Over the Ridge, 11 a.m., ArtsQuest Center, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary; Peas & Qs Family Series, 11:30 a.m., ArtsQuest Center, presented by Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania; Backpacking 101 Course, noon, ArtsQuest Center, presented by Cabela’s; Wonders of Wildlife, 1 p.m., ArtsQuest Center, presented by the Lehigh Valley Zoo; Tie One On Fly Tying 101 Workshop, 1-3 p.m., ArtsQuest Center, Trout Unlimited Hokendauqua Chapter, pre-registration is required at www.steelstacks.org/stepoutdoors; Family Bike Ride on the Lehigh Canal Towpath, 1 and 3 p.m., presented by Wildlands Conservancy, pre-registration is required at www.wildlandspa.org; Peregrine Falcon Viewing, 2 p.m., Sands Bethlehem, presented by Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, pre-registration is required at
www.steelstacks.org/stepoutdoors; Mix and Matter — Hot & Cold Chemistry, 2:30 p.m., ArtsQuest Center, presented by the DaVinci Science Center.
Sunday — Urban Hike, 10 a.m., presented by Appalachian Mountain Club, for registration, contact Cathy Reuscher at (610) 868-6903 or creuscher@outdoors.org; Birding Walk, 10 a.m., presented by Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, Ice House on Sand Island; Good Bugs/Bad Bugs Matching Game, 11 a.m., presented by Penn State Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, Air Products Town Square; Peregrine Falcon Presentation and Viewing, 11 a.m., presented by Pennsylvania Game Commission, Sands Bethlehem, pre-registration is required at
www.steelstacks.org/stepoutdoors; Metal Detecting 101 Course, 11:15 a.m., ArtsQuest Center, presented by Cabela’s; All About Elk, Noon, ArtsQuest Center, presented by Keystone Elk Country Alliance; Wonders of Wildlife, 1 p.m., ArtsQuest Center, presented by the Lehigh Valley Zoo; Art and History of the Pennsylvania Longrifle, 2:30 p.m., ArtsQuest Center, presented by Jacobsburg Historical Society.
Website: www.steelstacks.org/stepoutdoors