Happy Valentine's Day! And President's Day! ... and winter vacation days...
We are ready to celebrate!
(photo from aussiegal on Fickr.com)
On Sunday, February 14, Our Funny Valentine - Shuffles the Clown - will perform her silly antics for free at Heritage State Park's Visitor Center at 2 p.m. The Children's Museum, Holyoke MerryGoRound, and Heritage State Park are offering "Holidays in the Park" starting with Valentine's Day. The Merry Go Round is offering a sweet treat, and we will have all the materials for our young visitors to make pretty (or zany) Valentine's cards, upstairs in our picnic area. Activities are free and from 1-3, Shuffles (courtesy of Clowntique) is from 2-3. (Admission to the museum is $6/person; $1 for a ride on the MerryGoRound.) We thank the Holyoke Parks and Rec. Department for sponsoring Holidays in the Park, 2010.
Monday, February 15 is President's Day and the beginning of many kids' winter vacation, and Earth Explorers' Week at the Children's Museum! Celia has created fun activities for each day, including a story. Join us Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. , all included in the price of admission! We will be open this week Monday through Saturday, 10-4 and Sunday noon to 4 then return to our regular schedule (closed Mondays and Tuesdays).
Why did we choose Earth Explorers for a theme? We went "Out on a Limb"! Our newest temporary exhibition, "Out on a Limb, adventures with nature and art," brings the outdoors indoors.. Children can climb into a "treehouse", make a gnome home, send leaves whirling through the air in our Whirlwind Tree, create a symphony of insect and weather sounds in the Forest Jam, and play a nature memory game at the storytelling table. The exhibition was designed and built by the Children's Museum of San Jose, and we will have it until June 10 after which it continues its journey to the Boston Children's Museum.
photo from Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
How did we get such an incredible exhibit? We could not have done this without the support of an anonymous donor who stepped up to pay for the rental. Expenses for an exhibit don't stop there! Steve Corrigan of Mountain View Landscape understood that and contributed generously toward program and marketing materials. Jim Curran of Curran Construction showed up with Tim and Tobey and two forklifts, to unload the 53' truck, then move the empty crates onto a trailer provided by Steve Bakos of Griffin Express, who has donated the storage; and David Shultz of Sonoco sent his incredible and talented guys Henry and Bruce to help install the components, with the great assistance of Edgardo Perez and his student workers from the Farmworkers Union, and our regular - and wonderful - volunteer Norm Boulanger (who also took photos of the process which you will see in a later post). WE LOVE OUR FRIENDS!
And speaking of love, and friends, on Saturday, February 27 we are hosting our annual winter fundraiser, For Love of Nature.. and Our Museum! Join us from 5-8 pm to celebrate this wonderful exhibition and help us raise funds to bring more programs and exhibits to our museum. Meet Rae's critters from Teaching Creatures, build a birdhouse with our friends from Home Depot, make your own rainstick, "finger piano", and picture frame, munch on a hot dog or s'mores, and explore the outdoors, indoors! $10 per person; reservations are suggested. Our thanks to the Holyoke Credit Union for their generous sponsorship of Teaching Creatures! So join us for a night of fun and support your museum!
