SCIENCE TALKS, the Institute's popular lecture series in partnership with The Nature Conservancy concludes for the season on Thursday, April 24 when Restoration Director Chris May presents Extreme Makeover: Nature Edition! May's discussion reveals how the Nature Conservancy is implementing the latest ecological techniques to restore, protect and preserve rare species and habitats in the Great Lakes Region. The event starts with a meet and greet at 6:30pm, followed by the lecture at 7pm. Tickets are $10 per person. Register online or by calling 248 645.3210.

The Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research is pleased to present its Spring 2014 Collections and Conservation Program Series through June 2014. We'll "clean house" and examine the paintings at Cranbrook House (April 24); take a close-up look at the bronze sculptures on campus (May 4); discover the work that goes into maintaining the Kingswood School's historic structure (May 18); and-with white cotton gloves, of course-page through the Academy's rare books, including its Kelmscott Chaucer (June 8). Tickets to individual programs are available at $30 per person for Cranbrook Members, and $35 for the General Public. To learn more about each lecture, including topics, dates and times, locations, and presenters, click here. For reservations, contact Kim Larsen at 248 645.3319, or by email.

On Sunday, April 27, go inside the Academy's private studio spaces at our third annual OPEN(STUDIOS) Art Sale + Community Day. This is the only time of the year when the public is invited inside the private studio spaces to see today's emerging artists and designers at work. Student artists and faculty from each of the Academy's 10 departments will be on hand to discuss their work and show off their creative environment. Select pieces of student art will be for sale.

Every OPEN(STUDIOS) ticket includes admission to the Art Museum, the Institute of Science, and a voucher for a future admission to Cranbrook House and Gardens. Participate in hands-on art and science activities for the whole family, have lunch at a mini food truck rally and more! To purchase tickets online, and for parking information, click here. Event will be held, rain or shine. For more information, please contact 248 645.3214 or email.

What do sculptor Marshall M. Fredericks and architect Alden B. Dow have in common? A great deal more than you may think, which is why they are the subject of the Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research's next "Day Away" program. Join the Center as we travel from Cranbrook to the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University, then on to the Alden B. Dow Home in Midland, and back to Cranbrook, exploring the legacies and Cranbrook connections of these uniquely Michigan figures along the way. The tour includes all transportation, admission fees, and lunch at Café Zinc at the glamorous H Hotel in Midland. Cost is $75 for Cranbrook Members and $85 for the general public. To learn more about A Day Away, including a complete agenda, click here. This event is limited to 45 guests so early registration is encouraged! For reservations, contact Kim Larsen at 248 645.3319, or by email at klarsen@cranbrook.edu.

Cranbrook celebrates with the surest sign of Spring when the Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary presents its 42nd Annual Spring Plant Sale fundraiser on Tuesday, May 13 from 10am to 7pm and Wednesday, May 14 from 10am to 2pm. Native plants and wildflowers, annuals, perennials, Conservatory Greenhouse plants, herbs, organic heirloom tomatoes, and more, will be offered. In addition, Auxiliary volunteers will be on hand to share their green thumb knowledge with plant sale guests. Visitors can also purchase an assortment of locally produced arts and crafts merchandise, honey, beeswax candles, and Cranbrook memorabilia in the Thistle Gift Shop. For more information about the Cranbrook House and Gardens Auxiliary or the Annual Spring Plant Sale Fundraiser and available items, please visit our website, call 248 645.3149, or email houseandgardens@cranbrook.edu.

As the school year closes, Junior students celebrate two very important traditions among Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School upperclassmen. The Junior Ring Ceremony, a long-standing tradition of the Kingswood School before its merger with Cranbrook, has continued as a significant transitional event of the girls' junior year. Symbolizing the move "up the ranks," the ceremony represents the first step of the graduation process for the senior class. The girls wear white and pastels and a complex ritual of how the ring should be placed on the finger still exists.

The Passage of Leadership Ceremony, held the same day this year, celebrates transitions, when the upper school boys gather to reflect on their Cranbrook Kingswood roles of the past, present and future. For the seniors, it is the beginning of their transition from high school to their roles as alumni and young people ready to tackle the challenges of adulthood in college and beyond. During the ceremony, each junior boy formally receives their school ring and a school memento from someone affiliated with the school who is important to them. Each junior boy also places his name in the "Passage of Leadership" book. The Ceremony represents a formal opportunity for the Junior Boys class to step up to the opportunities of leadership, to set the tone for the coming year, and to embody the motto of Cranbrook, "Aim High," with their everyday life.

The continuation of traditions like these offer Cranbrook Kingswood students the opportunity to acknowledge Cranbrook history as they look toward the own futures.