Holiday Happenings: The Giving Tree

Posted by Matt Berman

The holiday season is in full swing at the Virginia Discovery Museum, and there's so much going on! To help you keep track of it all, we're rolling out a five-part blog series called Holiday Happenings, which will detail some of the major things taking place at the museum through January 1.

The Virginia Discovery Museum Giving Tree is located in the museum lobby, near the
entrance. Partner with the museum in giving the gift of creativity and imagination this
holiday season by taking an ornament and committing to donating the supplies listed on it.

The giving season kicked off this past Tuesday as part of the second annual #GivingTuesday, a growing movement to create a national day of giving following the Black Friday to Cyber Monday shopping weekend. Consider giving back to your community this year by investing in Charlottesville's only nonprofit children's museum and help us continue our mission to provide a fun, safe environment for children to explore, create, and grow!

Now that all of the museum's angels through the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program have been claimed, we've adorned the Christmas tree in our lobby with a new giving campaign: the Virginia Discovery Museum Giving Tree. Each ornament on the tree lists supplies the museum needs for its exhibits, educational programs, and special events.

Giving Tree Ornaments

• Dollhouse and/or Dolls (any kind): One of our oldest exhibits -- and a visitor favorite -- needs a makeover! Help us with a major remodeling of our dollhouse.
• Trains: Our Back Gallery train tables, one of our most popular exhibits, could always use new parts and accessories.
• Stuffed Animals (all kinds): We encourage imaginative play, and what better way to facilitate that than keeping various stuffed critters around the museum for our young visitors to befriend?
• Craft Supplies: We try to keep our Open Studio, weekly drop-in programs, and special events stocked full of fun goodies so that our young visitors can make whatever their imaginations allow. Here are the supplies we need:
• Washable Paint
• Washable Ink Pads
• Stamps
• Glue
• Markers
• Face Paints
• Construction Paper
• Ribbon and Lace
• Buttons, Beads, and Sequins
• Glitter
• Children's Books (all kinds): We strive to make the museum an educational and fun place for children and parents alike. A lot of our visitors enjoy reading with their young ones in our Tree House room, and we use books in several of our weekly and monthly programs.

If you, or someone you know, has something they'd like to donate, please take the corresponding ornament from our Giving Tree to hang on your own tree at home as a reminder of your gift. Please return all donations to the museum by January 1. Giving Tree donations are tax-deductible, so be sure to ask for a receipt after dropping off your gift.

Thank you for partnering with us in giving the gift of creativity and imagination this holiday season! Happy holidays!

Matt Berman is the Exhibits and Marketing Manager at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Reach him at exhibits@vadm.org or marketing@vadm.org.

A Little Holiday Cheer from Groupon

Posted by Matt Berman

A young visitor takes a break from her craft in our Open Studio, which has all the materials
your little one needs to create an adorable holiday greeting card for friends and family.

Have you heard? No, not the jingling of silver bells, the roasting of chestnuts on an open fire, or the "Ho! Ho! Ho!" of some jolly old elf; I'm talking about the Virginia Discovery Museum offer on Groupon!

That's right: Now you can travel back to the past in our 18th-century log cabin, observe the encased cutaway hive of a real bee colony, serve up tasty treats in our pint-sized Panera restaurant, and more ... all for an incredible value!

There are two money-saving admission packages to choose from: 

• Buy four individual one-day passes for $12 (a $24 value)
  This is the perfect option for a family day outing! Come early, take a break to enjoy lunch and shopping on the Downtown Mall, then stop back by the museum for some more play time to wrap things up -- admission is good all day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.! 

• Buy 10 individual one-day passes for $30 (a $60 value)
  The more, the merrier! Plan a play-date and bring your friends with you, or just take advantage of an extra visit or two for you and your family.

Already have a membership with the museum? Pass along the holiday cheer! This is a wonderful opportunity for first-time visitors to learn about the museum, and both deals make great holiday gift ideas for the friends and family members in your life with young children.

The offers will only be around for a limited time, so don't miss out! Follow this link to learn more or to purchase: gr.pn/1jc87TN

Matt Berman is the Exhibits and Marketing Manager at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Reach him at exhibits@vadm.org or marketing@vadm.org.

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Where's the Planner? For those who might be wondering about the new weekly Planner feature, it will return tomorrow morning with everything you need to know about what's happening at the museum this week.

Season's Sweetness

Posted by Matt Berman


Check out our Holiday Houses display in the Virginia Discovery Museum lobby,
complete with gummy bear Santa, marshmallow snowman, and sugar cone
evergreens. Kudos to Kaitlin Clear, VDM education manager, for the sweet design.

I don't recall any particular memory growing up of decorating a gingerbread house, which is odd to me because decorating a gingerbread house seems like such a quintessential Christmas-y activity. In fact, it's a holiday tradition that can be traced back for centuries.

I can only imagine my childhood lack of confectionary construction experience stemmed from my parents' unfounded fear that I'd turn into some kind of sugar-obsessed Hansel and Gretel clone if presented with a candy-coated winter wonderland. Well, maybe that fear wasn't completely unfounded; just this past Tuesday, I was banned from the kitchen during prep for the Virginia Discovery Museum's upcoming Holiday Houses event because I kept snacking on all the building materials. And I'm currently 27.

What can I say? My resolve is no match for M&M's and gummy bears.

With the first two of the museum's four Holiday Houses sessions set to start next week, there's still time to reserve your spot for this event, so come celebrate the sweetness of the season with us! Each child who registers with an accompanying adult gets their own pre-assembled graham-cracker house to decorate with a variety of goodies, including peppermints, Skittles, Life Savers Gummies, marshmallows, Dots, Hershey's Kisses, and more.

This event is for children 4 and older, with an adult.

• Sessions:
• Saturday, Dec. 7 at 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 14 at 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m.
• Cost:
• Members: $8 per person, children and adults
• Non-members: $10 per person, children and adults

Space is limited, so register in person at the museum or call (434) 977-1025. If you have any questions, call or email Kaitlin Clear, VDM education manager, at education@vadm.org.

Matt Berman is the Exhibits and Marketing Manager at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Reach him at exhibits@vadm.org or marketing@vadm.org.

Planner: Holiday Happenings

I'd like to introduce you to a new weekly feature we're trying out here at Destination: Discovery called the "Planner." Starting today and continuing on Sundays after that, the Planner will provide a detailed rundown of what's happening at the museum each week and offer a quick preview of any special events taking place that month. If you forget to check the blog on Sunday, though, don't worry -- I'll also provide a link to the Planner from our Facebook page and our Twitter account that morning.

 

Closed Wednesday and Thursday

With the holiday season about to get into full swing, this particular edition of the Planner isn't going to be nearly as stuffed as your Thanksgiving turkey. The museum will be closed all day Wednesday and Thursday, so that means no Toddler Time, Tidal Wave Thursdays, or Science Club this week.

Open Friday and Saturday

We'll be open again Friday at 10 a.m., so after you're finished bagging all those Black Friday deals, stop by the museum for a chance to play and unwind from the shopping shenanigans.

Our 50 Nifty United States drop-in program will be back from its two-week hiatus and will hit the road for Massachusetts, where Dr. James Naismith created the game of basketball in 1891. Visitors will get a chance to show off their shooting skills on our miniature court as they learn how points are scored. The drop-in, which is geared toward children 4 and older, meets at 4 p.m. in the program room and is free with admission.

Can't make it Friday? After a week of friends, family, and holiday cheer, it's understandable you need a break, so get out of the house on Saturday, come to the downtown mall, and use the afternoon to relax and recover at the museum. And the best part is that you don't have to worry about cleaning up another mess; that's on us!

Looking Ahead

As we get ready to turn the corner into December, here are a couple upcoming events to keep in mind:

Holiday Houses
With a little over a week left until the first session, registration is in full-swing for this annual event. Come celebrate the sweetness of the season by decorating your very own graham-cracker house with an assortment of goodies to create a candy-coated winter wonderland! The event is for children 4 and older, with an adult.

• When: Saturday, Dec. 7 & 14
• Time: 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. each day
• Cost: $8 per person (members); $10 per person (non-members)

Space is limited, so register today by calling (434) 977-1025. If you have any questions, call or email education@vadm.org.

Santa Pancake Breakfast
You'll flip for these delicious pancakes, which will be catered by a special guest chef! Plus, Santa is making a special trip from the North Pole with Rudolph in order to attend the event as he works on checking his list ahead of the holidays. Each family will enjoy their own table, as well as a private meeting with the jolly old elf!

• When: Sunday, Dec. 15
• Time: 10 a.m. seating
• Cost: $10 per person (members); $12 per person (non-members)

Space is limited, so register today by calling (434) 977-1025. If you have any questions, call or email education@vadm.org.

Matt Berman is the Exhibits and Marketing Manager at the Virginia Discovery Museum. Reach him at exhibits@vadm.org or marketing@vadm.org.