2026 Cryptogamic Microscopy Weekend Workshop with Kerri McCabe

🔬🍄 Cryptogamic Microscopy Weekend 2026🍄🔬

February 20-22, 2026 | Ozark Natural Science Center Main Campus

This is a unique opportunity to dive deeply into the microscopic world of fungi and cryptogams. Join us for 3 days with  expert Kerri McCabe. Through guided hikes and lessons, Kerri will teach you techniques for identifying mushrooms. Meals are included, with optional lodging in one of our lodges or campsites.

Workshop Description

🌿 Explore the Hidden World of Cryptogams! 🔬

Join us for a hands-on workshop where we’ll uncover the fascinating world of cryptogams—organisms that thrive in cool, wet winter months. From slime molds and algae to lichens, mosses, liverworts, ferns, and fungi, these hidden treasures span the Protista, Plantae, and Fungi kingdoms.

Using stereoscopes and compound microscopes, we’ll explore the unique shapes (morphology) and structures of each group. Dive into their macro and microscopic features, with a special focus on fungi! 🍄✨

Don’t miss this chance to learn more about these vibrant and delightful organisms!

Important Information

• To attend the workshop, purchase a Workshop Ticket (below) - includes all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch.

• To add lodging, choose a room in a lodge, glampsite, or campsite. When you purchase a room with multiple beds, you are welcome to add other workshop guests to your room at no extra cost.

• ONSC trails are rocky and steep, and there is a 3-minute walk from the parking lot to the Ewing Event Center. If you need accessible parking or any other accommodations, please let us know.

• This workshop is for ages 16 and up.

  
  

  All proceeds go to support research, citizen science, and education at Ozark Natural Science Center.

Tickets & Lodging

🎟️Ticket Options🎟️

🔬 Full Workshop Ticket (Fri–Sun) — $100

Includes:

✅ All activities, presentations, and hikes

✅ All meals from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch

✨Optional donation to ONSC

Despite rising costs in nearly every area, ONSC remains committed to providing affordable, high-quality programs that connect people with nature. We are not raising our prices at this time. If you find value in our work and would like to support our mission, we gratefully welcome tax-deductible donations to help sustain our efforts.

🛏️ Lodging Options🛏️

Choose from comfortable lodge rooms, our cozy glampsite, or primitive campsites.

💡 Sharing with friends or family? When you book a room with multiple beds, you can add other workshop guests at no extra charge.

🏡 Lodge Rooms — $60 per night

• 1 Twin Bed

• 2 Twin Beds

• 2 Twin Bunkbeds (sleeps 4)

• 3 Twin Bunkbeds (sleeps 6)

⛺ Glampsite — $40 per night

• A rustic yet comfortable outdoor experience

• No shower access. Restrooms available.

🌲 Primitive Campsite (Platform) — $15 per night

• For the true nature lovers!

• No shower access. Restrooms available.

Workshop schedule 

Friday, February 21, 2025

• 4-5PM | Arrive, settle in, check in

• 5-5:30PM | Meet and mingle

• 5:30-6:30PM | Dinner

• 6:30PM | Presentation: Using Stereoscopes and an Introduction to Cryptogams

• Night Hike | Lichens Under UV

  
  

Saturday, February 22, 2025

• 8-9AM | Breakfast

• 9AM | Collection Tips and Tricks; Safety Talk (slips, trips, and falls); Collection on Campus Grounds and Surrounding Areas

• 12-1PM | Lunch

• 1-1:30PM | Break

• 1:30PM | View Specimens with the Naked Eye; Setting Up the Stereoscopes; View Specimens with the Stereoscopes; Drawing Project and Scavenger Hunt (PRIZES)

• 5:30-6:30PM | Mycocentric Dinner

• 6:30PM | Presentation: Using Compound Scopes and Mycology Microscopy

• Night Hike| Mosses, Ferns, and Fungi Under UV

  
  

Sunday, February 23, 2025

• 8-9AM | Breakfast

• 9-11AM | Microscope Safety (glass, razorblades, etc.); Prepping Material for Slides; Mounting a Slide; View Material with the Compound Scope; Measuring Objects; Drawing Project and Scavenger Hunt (PRIZES)

• 11AM-12PM | Wrap up and Clean up

• 12-1PM | Lunch

• 12:45-1:30pm | ONSC Store Open

• 1:30PM | Departure

Additional Information

What to Bring

• Microscopes, if available

• Appropriate footwear and clothes for hiking: closed-toed shoes, multiple weather-proof layers, warm layers

• Reusable water bottle

• Imagination!

Provided

• Access to scopes and associated materials

• Presentation handouts

• Art supplies

• Collection materials

About the Instructor

Kerri McCabe started her fascination with plants and cryptogams while attending the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) as an undergraduate.  She received a BS in Biology with a focus in Plant Science.  She spent some time on a forklift before deciding to go back to school for a MS in Biology.  Her focus this time involved reptiles, specifically, pit vipers and how cold temperatures affect their venom and digestion.

After graduate school, she worked as a research assistant at the University of Arkansas (U of A) – Fayetteville.  She helped research native and nuisance crawfish in the Spring River watershed.  This experience led her to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) in the Water Division.  She spent 13 years inspecting Arkansas’ wastewater treatment systems and sampling Arkansas’ water resources.  She recently accepted a federal position with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Her love of fungi stems from a connection with the outdoors and hiking.  She is a member of several mycological groups, which includes Missouri Mycological Society (MOMS) and the North American Mycological Association (NAMA).  She recently started the Ozark Highlands Mycological Association (OHMA) to bring mycophiles in NWA together to learn, love, and support mycology in the region.

Ozark Natural Science Center ONSC offers a unique, immersion-based approach to learning about nature and the natural sciences. Students visit us for authentic science learning experiences that are correlated with national and state science learning standards and provide in-depth education in biology, ecology, geology, social studies, and nature art – all while students have fun hiking and experiencing nature. Camp activities include  hikes, team-building, games, art, and small-group activities.

Ticket Refund Policy

• Refunds up to 1 week before the event: Tickets are refundable minus any applicable fees (processing, administrative, etc.) until 7 days before the event.

• Refunds within 1 week of the event: For refund requests made less than 7 days prior to the event, a 50% refund will be given.

• No refunds within 24 hours of the event: Refund requests made within 24 hours of the event are not permitted, except in exceptional circumstances and only with approval from ONSC administration.

*Please note that all refund requests must be submitted in writing to jill.bowman@onsc.us. Refunds will be processed within 7-10 business days.

Questions? Please email ONSC's Program Manager, Breana Patterson at breana.patterson@onsc.us