The Merrymeeting Arts Center’s “Vernal Pools: Ferns and Fiddleheads” show is held annually and features emerging student artists  aged 18 and under. Each year there is a focus on a plant or animal related to the distinctive Maine spring woods ecological feature: vernal pools.

This year the show features artists from the Freeport Middle School (Reagan Monarch, art teacher), the Marcia Buker Elementary School in Richmond (Tina Wood, art teacher) Woodside Elementary School in Topsham (Brian McPherson, art teacher) along with others from the area.

A detailed exhibit on the botany and nomenclature of ferns has been installed by Betsy Steen from the Bowdoinham Historical Society and Friends of Merrymeeting Bay.

Two community events have been scheduled to complement the show. Jane Page-Conway will offer a Fern Art Workshop on Saturday, May 9 from 10-12 a.m. 

A Fern Walk will be led by Andy Cutko on Sunday, June 14 from 2-4 p.m. for those who want to learn about fern habitat and the identification of ferns.

“Vernal Pools: Ferns and Fiddleheads” will run through May 31.

The gallery is open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call 207-370-5002 for more information.

The Merrymeeting Arts Center is located at 9 Main Street (gray building down by the waterfront in the village), in Bowdoinham, and other times by appointment.

For more information, visit www.merrymeetingartscenter.org.