Join us this weekend for our annual Goblin Jamboree Fundraiser - the Bay Area's best Halloween party for kids and families!
Come in costume (parents too!) and take a train, pony or pumpkin ride, get your face painted, go "boo bowling", and enjoy tons of other spooktacular attractions, performances and games.
Tickets are $14 (save $2 if you're a member!) and help support our educational programs and exhibitions. All activities, rides and performances are included. Infants under 1 are free.
Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Bay Area Discovery Museum will partner with Marin County Head Start to create a model for developing outdoor learning environments for underserved youth, aged five and under. The learning environments will bring children back to the outdoors to learn about the natural world and foster environmental stewardship, and may become an aid in the fight against childhood obesity. This planning project will assist the Museum in gaining a better understanding of these environments, with the goal of developing a future model of collaboration and exhibit tools for the early learning field.
Executive Director Richard Winefield says, “There is a critical need for outdoor learning areas for children, particularly from at-risk neighborhoods where safe outdoor areas may be non-existent. We will utilize our own expertise in place-based learning and examine the best practices of the field to develop plans for creative outdoor environments where young children can explore the natural world.”
Executive Director Rich Winefield was interviewed in the article, and he "hopes kids will come away motivated to choose leisure time physical activities." This exhibition will get the imaginative gears turning for parents and kids alike in an attempt to bring more physical creative play into daily life.
We hosted a Members-Only Hour last Sunday which was attended by 350 people who were excited to ride the "Flycycle", climb the "Canyon" and dance at the "Disco".
I know one thing, kids are amazing! My own attempt to snowboard took a lot of concentration and agility in order to stay on, maneuver and steer all at the same time! I only lasted about 15 seconds before I lost my balance.
Grandparents don't just serve to spoil their grandkids with candy, toys and furniture jumping privileges. They foster the development of children ages 3 - 19 months of age. A kind of nurturing that can result in higher learning scores.
A comprehensive study, started in 2004, was made from 10,000 Australian families. In the report, Housing and Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin says "This new study demonstrates just what a critical role grandparents play in the development of children." Read more about it here.
We see plenty of grandparents at the Museum aiding in the play and education of their grandkids. Around 5% - 7% of visitors are Senior Admissions and this past year over 100 visitors became Grandparents Galore Members.
This summer, you may have seen us asking a random (but representative) sampling visitors to fill out a survey - part of our constant effort to continually improve.
We had great responses (and if you didn't fill out a survey, feel free to email me with your thoughts!) - with one puzzling response:
Visitors reported bringing almost 50% more boys (343) than girls (240) to the Museum.
We looked back at the past few years of surveys, and realized this is a consistent result. You may know the fact that there are actually slightly more girls than boys overall, so this isn't some weird population quirk. No, it seems that parents are more likely to bring sons than daughters to the Museum.
We have some theories about this - but we want to know what you think. Are you more likely to bring boys to play here? What can we do to attract an equal number of girls and boys - after all, the creative, unstructured discovery play that happens here is equally important for girls and boys.
Share your thoughts in the comments - or email me directly at jcaleshu(at)badm.org - as mom to a boy (3.5) and a girl (7 months), this is a really important issue to me!
The Museum has re-opened today with new paint, new pavement and having undergone a deep cleaning of maximum proportions! A big thanks to everyone for your patience as we took these past two weeks for making these and other necessary upgrades.
Today also marks the first day of Free First Wednesdays. Museum admission is free all day, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Come to any or all of these and experience a fun, creative and educational class to share with your child!
Opening Saturday is our new special exhibition Run! Jump! Fly! Adventures in Action™. It's a action-packed, energetic and interactive experience that encourages a creative and physical way to get the blood pumping. On the various areas in the exhibition kids can test their:
While the Museum is getting some downtime, the Discovery Guides took a minute to give us a message about what they wish for the children who visit the Museum.
"I want to give children a joyful experience filled with: knowledge, excitement, gifts, thrills, creativity, newness, laughter, education & growth."
"I'Â’d like to be a facilitator of fun and help broaden their understanding of their physical surroundings, i.e. the Bay Area and marine life."
"I want to give children the chance to explore their surroundings."
"I hope to connect with a child, so when they leave the museum, they feel they have made a new friend. Help a child experience and explore something they havenÂ’'t before."
"Inspire children to an interest in storytelling and creation of tales."
"I would hope that the child would feel like this is their museum. They could feel safe and happy and have fun here every time they visit and have a sense of ownership to this museum."
"Have fun with everything and explore."
"I want to help children feel good about themselves -- build their self esteem."
"I wish that, through our music we share here, children continue to harvest their talent through days to come in their lives."
"A place to feel safe being themselves."
"I would like children to leave the museum with the experience of having been really involved in the process of creating, so that theyÂ’'re excited to go home and have that experience again later."
"A feeling of connection to something, whether that be to a place or another person."
"To learn more about the environment around them; nature, native plants, respect for nature, endangered species.principles of mother earth and how she needs our help. Experience the artistic process, learn discipline and patience in order to achieve their project goals through different mediums and self expression."
The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities held an informational hearing on museums and libraries on Thursday, September 11, 2008. Read more about it here. In her opening statement Chairwoman Carolyn McCarthy noted, "Museums engage visitors and ignite the imagination of young and old alike."
The hearing highlighted programs at museums and libraries that address societal issues such as engaging all youth in math and science and attracting diverse populations to library sciences. For additional information about museum advocacy and the hearing, click here. Get involved more actively and become a Museum Advocate by supporting the legislations that favorably impact museum policies.
The Committee on Education and Labor is also heading No Child Left Inside Act which focuses on environmental education to encourage an awareness of energy conservation, wildlife protection and sustainable resources. This resonates with our mission to connect children with the local environment - check out our programs such as Outdoor Learning and our Science by the Bay drop-in series for ways you can put your children on the path to environmental stewardship.
A fabulous article on children and food hit the "most emailed" list of the New York Times (free login required) this morning - even though I have a fairly food-adventurous 3-year-old son, I see some mistakes I'm making!
Pressuring them to take a bite: I know that it takes 10 or more tries for children to like a new flavor (adults too - I taught myself to like olives by trying it more than 2 or 3 times!). But I didn't realize that research shows children who are rewarded for trying new foods actually develop a dislike of the food! Far better to offer it and not make a big deal.
Keeping treats out of sight: We're trying not to make dessert a reward, but we do keep the cookies up on top of the fridge - and again, research shows that cookies in a jar are much more enticing than cookies on a plate!
Check out the whole article for the other mistakes - including dieting, serving boring vegetables (a little butter actually makes the fat-soluable vitamins accessible to your body!) and keeping your kids out of the kitchen (easier said than done with some preschoolers!).
