Auditorium

• Our fully-carpeted auditorium holds up to 114 people in rows, in comfortable, non-fixed chairs.
• For meetings and seminars that require seating at tables, up to 56 people can be accommodated.
• The room features a sophisticated lighting system with a wide variety of presets, recessed soffit light and overhead light combinations, and adjustable brightness.
• The room is also equipped with a large drop-down projection screen and a digital projection and sound system for DVDs, VCR tapes, and PowerPoint slides and other graphics from laptops (users must provide own laptops).
• The room has wireless internet connectivity as well as plug-ins for Ethernet cables.
• Rotating bird and other wildlife art displays grace the walls.

Fuertes Room

In the adjacent Fuertes Room you’ll find a beautifully crafted wooden conference table which seats 18 in comfortable, hand-carved chairs (as many as 16 additional chairs can be added to the room). The room is the donated private library of Frederick Brewster, from his Connecticut mansion, and it features original artwork by Louis Agassiz Fuertes, one of the world’s great bird artists. Brewster commissioned Fuertes in 1909 to design the teak-paneled library and complete a set of oil paintings that would wrap around the room. Fuertes’ personal book collection is also housed in the room. Among birders, the Fuertes Room has often been called the “Sistine Chapel of Birding.”

• The Fuertes Room has a small drop-down projection screen at one end.
• Like our auditorium, this room is equipped with a sophisticated lighting system with variable presets, recessed soffit light and overhead light combinations, and adjustable brightness.
• A sound-dampening divider wall can be closed between this room and the auditorium.
• When this divider is open, a large drop-down screen on one side of the Fuertes Room can be lowered, on which projections originating from the auditorium (DVDs, VCR tapes, and PowerPoint and other graphics from laptops) can be shown.

Observatory

We call our lobby/atrium space the Morgens Observatory. A floor-to-ceiling wall of windows overlooking Sapsucker Woods pond and the Treman bird-feeding garden, the latter recently overhauled into an outdoor exhibit on "bird-scaping," greets guests as soon as they enter the Visitors’ Center. The Observatory is a popular locale for served and buffet dinners and receptions.

• As with our other rooms, the observatory utilizes a sophisticated lighting system with variable presets and combinations.
• A gas fireplace warms the mood of the room on a cold day or evening, while a radiant-heat floor adds comfortable warmth.
• Original artwork graces the space.
• Interactive bird-sound and other kiosks help visitors learn about the birds that frequent Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary.
• The Wild Birds Unlimited store offers a wide variety of bird-related gifts and collectables for purchase.

Maximize Meeting Space with Room Combinations:

Various combinations of rooms are available: the Fuertes Room with the auditorium, the observatory and the auditorium, and all three spaces together. Prices for these combinations reflect discounts off the prices of the rooms individually.

Combining the Fuertes Room with the auditorium provides a spacious feel for seminars and presentations that utilize seating in rows, and attendees are able to view the Fuertes paintings as a backdrop to a speaker or panel.

The observatory and the auditorium in combination provide a space that can accommodate up to 300 people for a standing reception.

Ask Us!

If you would like information about:

• Caterers and other vendors
• Lodging
• Transportation to the Lab
• Entertainment (musicians, etc.) for your event

Please feel free to ask us [call (607) 254-2466 or email clo_events@cornell.edu]! We’ll be happy to share what we know, and if we don’t have ready answers, we'll be glad to assist with your research on any of the above issues.

Special Hotel Discount

Located just minutes away from the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity and the 220-acre Sapsucker Woods Sanctuary, the Courtyard by Marriott offers Lab visitors a special reduced rate of $125.00 per night. This rate is based on availability and subject to change. Please call 866-541-3600, and ask for the Lab of Ornithology visitors' rate, or click on the link below.

Complimentary shuttle service is available to and from the Lab by appointment on the hour. The Courtyard by Marriott shuttle runs from 7 am to 6 pm, so the shuttle will be able to get you on the trails to view the early birds! For more information, or to reserve your room at the reduced rate, visit their website: http://cwp.marriott.com/ithcy/labofornithology