Pathfinder – Nature Connection & Earthskills Workshops for Adults
Whether you are a backpacker, student, or professional participating in our Pathfinder Workshops for Adults you will learn useful earthskills that can be applied anywhere you may be and aid you in finding your path towards a deep nature connection. Please Join our newsletter to stay informed on our up and coming workshops.
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Bow Hunting Basics Series
This program is not your run of the mill "Hunter's Education class" which primarily focuses on firearm safety. This program is designed for those who want to become proficient in the art of hunting with a bow, one of our oldest and most effective hunting tools. No prior hunting or archery experience is necessary. We will incorporate both modern and traditional tactics to provide a well rounded foundation for your hunts. Your time during this program will be spent working on these skills, along with field study and research. By the end of the program you will have the skills and knowledge to take what you have learned and adapt it to any environment and many other species.
This is the basic version of our most intense apprenticeship, taking you on a journey through the most essential parts of the hunt.
Ages: 13 & Older (under 18 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: January - October, 2026
Where: Ancestral Knowledge Museum & Research Center
Registration Fee: $300-$700 Sliding Scale (pay what you're comfortable)
Here is a list of what you can expect to learn during this program:
Price: $300.00
Date: February 21, 2026
Beekeeping Basics - Intro to The Beekeeping Journey
Have you been curious about becoming a beekeeper but don't know how to get started? The Intro to the Beekeeping Journey workshop is perfect for anyone who wants to start down the path to becoming a beekeeper. This workshop will help you become comfortable taking your first steps into the fascinating world of beekeeping.
By participating in this workshop we will help minimize the learning curve and lessen the amount of "learning from error",
Topics that will be covered include but are not limited to;
- Getting setup with equipment, hive stand & choosing an apiary location in a backyard, roof top, agricultural or forested area.
- Acquiring local bees via bait hives (swarm lures) and or purchasing treatment free overwintered (survivor stock)colonies in your area.
- Seasonal management changes and transitions throughout the spring, summer, fall, and winter.
- How to growing your colony into maturity over time.
- How to provide them with the four essentials for them to thrive; a clean home, clean food, clean air, &clean water
Who: Ages 10 - 99 (anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: March 7, 2026, 1pm-4pm
Where: Riverdale/Lanham MD at the Ancestral Knowledge Museum & Research Center
Registration Fee: $25-$75 (Sliding Scale-pay what you are comfortable paying)
Price: $65.00
Date: March 7, 2026
Wild Apothecary: Tinctures and Salves
For millennia people have been using plants to alleviate the aches and pains of everyday life and to maintain their health. Two of the ways to deliver the healing powers of plants is through salves and tinctures. In this class we will teach you how to prepare your own salves and tinctures.
Ages: 12 & Older
When: Saturday March 14th
Time: 11am-4pm
Where: Ancestral Knowledge Museum & Research Center
Registration Fee: $45-$70
Price: $45.00
Date: March 14, 2026
Wild Edible Plants & Mushrooms - 9 Month Forager's Series
The Wild Edible Plants & 
Mushrooms Foragers Series will take you through 9 Months of the year to better connect you with our local plant community. It will enroll you in each of our wild plant walks for every month from March through November, plus our salves and tinctures class and will give you a discount code for the fall Wild Foods Weekend or any other plant focused workshops we run for the year.
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Price: $250.00
Date: March 15, 2026
Brain Tanning Buckskin - Natural Leather Making
Our Hide Tanning Workshop walks you through all the steps it takes to turn animal skins into usable leather for clothing, bags and footwear. You will learn both wet scrape and dry scrape methods of tanning. This is a 100% hands-on experience where you will tan a deer hide. In the end each participant will go home with a beautiful, all natural, and soft piece of buckskin.
Topics that will be covered include: skinning, fleshing, dehairing, softening and smoking of the hides.
Ages: 18 & Older (under 18 must be accompanied by a parent)
Where: Ancestral Knowledge Museum & Research Center Riverdale, MD
When: March 21-22 Sat & Sun 9am-5pm
Registration Fee: $120-$200 Sliding Scale (pay what you're comfortable)
Price: $120.00
Date: March 21, 2026
Available Spaces: 0
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- March
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 10am-1pm March 28th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (sliding scale pay what you are comfortable paying)
Price: $55.00
Date: March 28, 2026
Self Bow Building Workshop
Archery is a timeless sport. It takes patience and discipline, you and the bow work as one to deliver an arrow to the target. Modern compound bows are wonders of human ingenuity but the simple traditional flatbow made from a single piece of wood has a simplicity and beauty all its own.
The Self Bow Building Workshop engages in the fine art of bow making; learning to carve and shape a single piece of wood into a beautiful and efficient hunting bow. While participating in this workshop you will experience the complete process of bow making from start to finish. This is not a survival or quickie bow class.
You will learn how to properly select, harvest, and season bow wood. We then work through design & layout, shaping, tillering (bending), and finally shooting. Each participant will also learn how to make their own bow strings. In the end you will have completed a highly effective bow which you can use for target practice or to hunt and that you will be able to enjoy for many years to follow.
If you are interested in building arrows for your bow, please sign up for our arrow building workshop. If you would like to learn to hunt with your bow please consider signing up for our hunting apprenticeship series.
Ages: 18 & Older (space limited to 10 participants)
Where: Ancestral Knowledge Museum & Research Center Riverdale, MD
When: April 8-12 2026, 9am-5pm
Registration Fee: $375-$750 Sliding Scale (pay what you're comfortable)
If you would like to purchase an osage stave for your bow, we can provide one for an additional $100.
Price: $375.00
Date: April 8, 2026
Cob Oven- Build and Design Class
Cob is a versatile building material that has been used since time immemorial. It is cheap, made from locally available materials and when it breaks down it can all return back to the earth. While in our region cob has faded away from regular use, it still is a great way to build a wood fired oven. Come along as we walk you through the design process and build a cob oven. Once the oven is done drying and curing we welcome you to come back and join us for a pizza party.
Where: The Ancestral Knowledge Research Center and Museum, Lanham MD
When: The build will take place 4/25-4/26, 10am-3pm. The first firing is optional to attend. It will be June 11th at 6pm with pizza to follow
Registration Fee: $55-$85 (Sliding Scale, pay what you are comfortable paying)
Age: 10 & older (children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult)
Price: $55.00
Date: April 25, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- April
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 10am-1pm April 25th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $25.00
Date: April 25, 2026
Prehistoric Pottery Workshop
Join Keith and discover the art of making prehistoric North American pottery. You will learn how to locate and identify workable clay, how to process and prepare the material, experience several different techniques for making a vessel, how to properly dry your vessel, and how to properly build an open kiln for the greatest firing success rate! You will become aware of how making mud pies for fun is the earth calling you to learn how to make pottery!
Location: Riverdale, MD
Date: May 9th and 10th. Kiln building and firing on the 16th.
Registration fee: $180-$260 (sliding scale) three days of instruction and materials included
Age: 7 -75+
Price: $180.00
Date: May 9, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- May
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 10am-1pm April 25th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $65.00
Date: May 16, 2026
Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills Gathering - MAPS Meet (May 22-25)
MAPS Meet- May, 23-26 2025
The Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills 
Gathering (MAPS Meet) is an ideal event to kick-start your summer. It provides an opportunity to take a break from the hustle and bustle of modern life, letting you reconnect with nature's healing powers. Regardless of your outdoor experience, our expert instructors are ready to impart their knowledge at various levels. The topics covered every year are diverse, ranging from Fire by Friction, Natural Fibers, Stone and Bone Tools, Brain Tanning Leather, Natural Basketry, Primitive Pottery, Foraging, to Bows and Arrows, and much more
MAPS Meet is a intimate event with limited availability, accommodating a cozy 100 participants ages 13 and over. We generally reach full capacity very quickly, so please register early to guarantee your participation!
Price: $100.00
Date: May 22, 2026
Arrow Building Workshop
A bow is only as good as the arrows shot from it. Even the straightest stick you can find will still have wobbles and twists that need to be straightened before it is ready to be made into an arrow.
This two day workshop teaches the complete process of primitive arrow making. From harvesting the arrow shaft to taking the shot, you will learn all the steps it takes to make the most important piece of the bow hunting equation. You will learn different sources of arrow shafts, two methods of arrow straightening, spine testing, and how to fletch and haft your own arrow. You will walk away from this class with a deeper respect and understanding of the primitive arrow and hunting. If time permits there will be a flint knapping demonstration on how stone points are made.
Ages: 18 & Older
Where: Ancestral Knowledge Museum & Research Center - Riverdale, MD
When: June 20-21, 9am-5pm
Registration Fee: $125-$225 Sliding Scale (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $150.00
Date: June 20, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- June
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 9am-12pm June 13th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $25.00
Date: June 20, 2026
Flint Knapping & Primitive Tool Workshop
In the Flint Knapping & Primitive Tool Workshop you will learn basic tool production. This workshop will guide you through all the stages of reducing a raw piece of stone in the way that has been proven to be the most effective way to produce the sharpest edge possible on stones. You will also learn how to properly use antler, stone, and bone tools to reduce raw stone into usable tools. The stone will be your teacher and we will be your translator. You may find the lessons learned are beyond mere flake removal.
When: July 18 & 19, 2026 - 9am- 5pm
Where: Ancestral Knowledge Museum & Research Center, Lanham MD
Ages: 18 and older
Registration Fee: $125-$225 Sliding Scale (pay what you're comfortable) (includes $25 tool use and materials fee)
Price: $125.00
Date: July 18, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- July
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 9am-12pm July 18th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $65.00
Date: July 18, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- August
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 9am-12pm August 22nd
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $35.00
Date: August 22, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- September
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 10am-1pmSeptember 19th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $25.00
Date: September 19, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- October
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 10m-1pm October 17th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $15-$55 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $25.00
Date: October 17, 2026
Wild Edible and Useful Plant and Mushroom Walks- November
Learning to identify and build relationships with plants is one of the most enriching ways we can deepen our personal nature connection journey. Come along to enjoy a walk in nature and meet a variety of edible, medicinal, and useful plants in all seasons. This class will weave through topics such as:
- Botany basics
- Foraging for food and fun
- Traditional ethnobotanical knowledge
- Intro to herbalism
- Species and landscape ecology
- Safe and honorable harvest principles
- Plant processing and preservation methods
- Honing awareness and connection to the natural world
Age: 10 & Older (under 16 must be accompanied by a parent)
When: 10m-1pm October 17th
Location: Lanham MD
Registration Fee: $25-$65 (pay what you are comfortable)
Price: $35.00
Date: November 14, 2026