COLLEGEVILLE, PA.- "To Follow Nature in Her Walks”: The Art and Environmentalism of John James Audubon, an exhibition of the four elephant folios of Audubon’s Birds of America series of engravings, is on view at the Philip and Muriel Berman Museum of Art at Ursinus College through August 13, 2006. The installation will include individual framed images, proof plates marked by the artist for corrections, and original copper plates used in the printing of the volumes. This collaborative venture with the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, the historic site of Audubon’s Pennsylvania residence, both celebrates the creative process of the artist and highlights environmental and preservation issues, an important aspect of Mill Grove’s mission.

The museum will also partner with the Renaissance Artist Puppet Company to stage an original performance in conjunction with the Audubon exhibit. The performance will take place June 10 at 8 p.m. There is a $10 charge for the program. In a series of vignettes using various traditional puppet forms including shadow, table top, and bunraku style rod puppets, this eye- and imagination-catching performance will bring to life the cyclical history of extinction and evolution that has marked the colorful lives of such American birds as the Great Auk, the Carolina Parakeet (the only parrot native to Eastern North America), and the American Bald Eagle. The performance will feature original music as well as the original script and puppets created especially for this production. Parents should be aware that a discussion of extinction may be upsetting to younger children.