Virginia Discovery Museum Announces New Executive Director

The Virginia Discovery Museum Board of Directors is pleased to announce its new executive director will be Amy Wicks-Horn of Charlottesville.

Wicks-Horn, a native of Franklin, North Carolina, has served as director of annual giving for the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital since 2007, and prior to that was assistant director of annual giving at the University of Virginia since 2004.

A magna cum laude graduate of the University of Virginia, Wicks-Horn also holds a master’s in public administration from the University of Washington. She formerly served as executive director of an education-based non-profit for children in Seattle.

"I am thrilled to join the incredible team at the Virginia Discovery Museum," said Wicks-Horn. "I look forward to working with our staff, board, and the community to fulfill the Museum’s mission to ‘bring young children and their families together to engage minds, excite imaginations, and explore the world around them.’ I am very excited to get started! "

"This was an extremely competitive search," said Elizabeth Chew, Board Chair and member of the search committee comprised of current and former Board members. "We were very impressed with the applicant pool, which came to us from all across the United States. Amy had the experience and high level of energy that we were looking for, and we believe she will be an outstanding leader for the organization."

Wicks-Horn replaces the retiring Peppy Linden, who over a 20-year period has grown the Virginia Discovery Museum from infancy into a Downtown Mall landmark and education destination for thousands of area children and families. Since relocating to the Downtown Mall in 1990, the Virginia Discovery Museum has welcomed over 885,000 visitors and become an anchor and economic driver for the Mall’s East End.

Wicks-Horn will begin work on January 3, 2011.

An Instrument Petting Zoo

New Art Show in the Program Room!

For the next month, the Program Room of the Virginia Discovery Museum will be hosting the solo exhibition of local artist, Jesse Wells. Her show, which consists of pen, gouache, and gesso on paper, highlights the “dynamics between individuals and the moments of ambivalence through which they understand the world.” Wells presents figures interacting with each other or standing alone, but all are on a “quest to navigate each other, in search of what is good.”

In this show, her work centers on the interaction between young adolescents and the innocent way in which they view the world around them. She also focuses on their, perhaps naïve, relationships with each other. As said by Wells, she “teases out the moments of naïve and dangerous exploration – actions that come from an innocent place that might still bring about irrevocable knowledge.” Come down to the museum to view this new and original show. If you wish to purchase any works, please ask a staff member or email the artist at jesskawells@gmail.com.

Give the Gift of Discovery!

This holiday season, why not give your loved ones the gift of experiences? The Virginia Discovery Museum is proud to offer a wide variety of gift ideas that you can choose from: a holiday wreath, gift certificates, and memberships. These gifts will not only enrich your family experiences, but also benefit the museum as well.

Our balsam fir wreaths are hand-made, fragrant, long-lasting, and decorated with a tartan bow, berries, and pine cones. The wreaths make wonderful gifts for friends, family, co-workers, clients, or yourself. They will be shipped from Maine to any address within the continental U.S. We’ve kept to the 2009 prices: 1 to 9 wreaths are $40.75 each; 10 or more wreaths are $38.50 each. The VDM member discount is $38.50 per wreath. These prices include processing and shipping and $10 per wreath is tax-deductible. The final order deadline is November 19, so hurry to place your order today.

The Virginia Discovery Museum offers a range of gift certificate options that you can purchase for your loved ones. You can buy daily admission tickets for new visitors to the museum or treat your friends to a Date Night Drop-off on Friday nights. We also offer gift certificates for special programs such as Hollywood Theatre Lab Classes, Summer Camps, and StarLab Planetarium Shows. If you wish to find a more creative option, you can buy a certificate that offers group visits, birthday parties, or registration for our annual Discovery Dash in the spring. If there is something that we have not thought of, do not hesitate to ask. We encourage new ideas and want to help make this holiday season a joyous one!

A membership to the Virginia Discovery Museum provides fun all year long for the whole family. In addition to unlimited admission to VDM for a full year, membership allows free reciprocal admission to hundreds of other museums around the country. Members will also have birthday party privileges, discounts on all classes and camps, and 3-month gift membership purchase privileges. Members will also receive our bi-monthly newsletter of events in advance.

All of these gifts are available starting now, so do not wait to pick one up. If you have any questions about our holiday gifts ideas, please call 434-977-1025 or check out our website at http://www.vadm.org/. Have a wonderful start to your holiday season!

Hope Harris and the Cousins Jamboree!

Speak! Global Tour of Homes

Speak!

Kids in conjunction with Virginia Gingerbread Christmas presents:
Global Tour of Homes
Saturday, November 6 from 3-5pm

$10 per child*
Pre-registration Required
(2 hr. validated parking in the Water St. Garage next door)
*Proceeds donated to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Central Blue Ridge

Have you ever wondered how children live in Japan, China, Italy, Russia and France? What do there houses look like and how are they different from ours? Find out at this interactive cultural workshop for children at Speak! Teachers representing several different countries around the world will lead kids ages 4-10 on a Global tour of home life and architecture that will involve images, stories and creative activities sure to inspire many to create a Gingerbread House with a distinctive international theme! Snack time, too!

The Glass Building

313 2nd Street S.E., Suite 109

Charlottesville, VA 22902

434-245-TALK

http://www.speaklanguagecenter.com/

Make the 2010 Virginia Film Festival a Family Affair!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Celebrate the magic of movies with an all-day array of family events and activities on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville. Events include:

- Screenings of feature family films at The Paramount - free admission!

- The spotlight's on ...You! - walk the red carpet and pose for flashbulb-popping paparrazzi!

- Back lot experience including green screen technology and 3-D imaging

- Premieres of films by aspiring youth filmmakers from acclaimed Light house Studio and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground along with our own Youn Filmmakers Academy

- Free admission to the Virginia Discovery Museum from 1-3pm with VFF stub

- Performances by Academical Village People, Barycentric Theology Fire Spinners, Virginia Dance Team, and more from 10am to 3pm on our Central Place stage

- Bounce-n-Play, face painting, balloon craft, and healthy food samplings

Beauty and the Beast: Saturday at 10:30am at The Paramount

This classic Disney is a timeless tale of romance, intelligence, feminism, and morality. the over arching theme of "don't judge a book by its cover" is intertwined with a magical tale of beasts, castles, dungeons, and witches. Children will be entranced from beginning to end! Following the film, Paige O'Hara (the original voice of Belle) will perform along with the Albemarle High School Patriot Singers. Paige will also sign autographs. It is a must see event!

Louder than a Bomb: Saturday at 1:15pm at The Paramount

This uplifting and inspiring documentary charts the progress of four competing poetry groups within the Chicago Louder than a Bomb Teen Poetry Challenge. Each group faces adversity and embraces creativity as the competition unfolds. The personalities of each poet are celebrated as the documentary highlights the exciting diversity of such a competition. It has been called"an affecting and superbly paced celebration of American youth at their creative best," and is an obvious crowd pleaser. following the film, a panel of poetry enthusiasts and slam poets will discuss the film.

Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

University of Virginia and the College of Arts and Sciences

The Virginia Film Festival

434-982-5560

www.virginiafilmfestival.org