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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. 

Three cheers for Grandma and Grandpa!

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.

Our weekly programs also begin this week:

• Miss Kitty
• Music Together
• Outdoor Learning

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:

• Balance
• Strength
• Coordination
• Endurance

Welcome back everyone!

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'’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 haven’'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 they’'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."
• " ...

  read more >>

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!).

Heather has closed up Summer Camps and beginning her new fall program Outdoor Learning. We sat down with her and asked a few questions:

-What do you love about the Museum?
I love it here because the Museum offers children the opportunity to play and explore to their hearts content. Everything here is their scale, and they can direct their own experience.  

- What are your hobbies and interests?
I love to take my dog Zooey to the dog park; I’m big on crafts like knitting and beading. Since I just got married, I’m working on sending out hand-made Thank You cards!  

- Tell us about your new class, Outdoor Learning!
Our new Outdoor Learning classes will give children and their caregivers direct experiences with the natural environment surrounding the Bay Area Discovery Museum. For young children, Outdoor Learning is the opportunity to play outside and discover nature. In these classes, we’ll guide the children’s experiences through open-ended play, guided art experiences, songs and stories.  

-What will the kids learn? What will parents learn?
Children will learn about the plants and animals which live in Fort Baker, what is needed to survive here, and the features that make them unique. The classes will offer parents ways to extend their visits to the Museum by becoming more familiar with Fort Baker, as well as some ways to encourage their child’s creativity.

-Where will you go on your classes?
We’ll visit some of the amazing spots right outside the Museum gates, including our beaches and the Parade Ground.

- Can they bring the whole family?
Each class has a maximum of 10 children, and there is an additional charge for siblings.

Come out and join Heather for Outdoor Learning!
Registration is open now.

The Museum will be closing for two weeks starting Monday, September 15.

During the close we will be doing some work at the Museum that can't be done on the Mondays when we're closed.

• Roof work
• Ceiling to floor exhibition cleaning
• Carpet washing
• Exterior painting
• Pressure cleaning
• General maintenance

We thank you for your patience as we take these two weeks to keep the Museum in good shape for years to come.

Also, take these last few days to get one more look as we say goodbye to Tales from the Land of Gullah on Saturday, September 14.

Thanks to the Board of Trustees member Bill Grayson, the Museum has a new friend in James Wilkinson. Jim is currently Chief of Staff to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Pauslon. He is also an accomplished runner who recruits friends and associates to sponsor his runs to support his favorite causes. His current favorite cause is the Museum, specifically our work with under-served communities.

Every dollar he raises will support bus trips and Museum admission for children from under-served communities to romp, stomp, run and jump their way through a creative and educational experience at the Museum. Our gratitude to Jim and his girlfriend Rachel Wadsworth for helping to fund our Bus Bridge program – together, they’ve already raised more than $20,000.

Run, Jim, run!