Kid*Vention

 Kid*Vention was so much fun! We had about 1200 visitors learning from 32 community and university organizations about all different types of science. Thank you to all of our exhibitors and visitors, as well as Panera, who provided lunch for our exhibitors, the City of Charlottesville for their help with using the Key Recreation Center, Les Sinclair from Lite Rock Z95.1 for publicity and music at the event, Barnes & Noble, who donated our raffle prizes, and all of our wonderful volunteers from the Junior League of Charlottesville, Alpha Phi Omega and VDM's own Bob and Cynthia. We also want to thank our sponsors, Blue Ridge Internet Works and Kiddie Academy. Last but not least, thank you to Susan Parmar, the photographer who captured these wonderful images. These are just a few of my favorites- check out our Facebook album for a larger selection!

Picking her brain at the Neuroscience table.

Checking Roxy's heartbeat with Monticello Animal Hospital.

We love the bees!

Everyone's learning about science.

Everyone got to take home a magnifying glass from WHTJ.

Can you outrun a robot built by AHS's MESA program?

Balloon rockets!

The American Society for Engineering Education introduced us to electromagnets. These ones play music!

He has just finished extracting the DNA from a strawberry with LEAD!

Check out that skull that ICF brought to share.

KID*VENTION!!

We're getting so excited! It's almost time for Kid*Vention, VDM's free family science festival!

Join us for Kid*Vention, our annual celebration of everything science, on February 23 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Once again, the event will be at the Key Recreation Center near the Pavilion on the East end of the Downtown Mall. Kid*Vention is a free community event at which children and their families can learn and play at a variety of stations run by VDM’s friends in the Charlottesville community. Over thirty community groups will be there to share their expertise about everything from astronomy to zoology. Come see their favorite parts of science made accessible to you through demonstrations, craft activities, and interactive games. Perfect for kids up to the age of 10, but all ages are welcome. Kid*Vention will feature stations on meteorology, the human body, the environment, chemistry, and more!

Come on out for a day of free science fun!

Books and Floors

What do books and floors have in common? Besides "oo," they are both projects that the staff is working on here at the museum!

Books!

This Saturday, you can support the Virginia Discovery Museum by shopping at Barnes & Noble in Charlottesville, Virginia. In an effort to raise money for the museum, VDM is working together with Barnes & Noble Booksellers by hosting a Bookfair at the Barracks Road Shopping Center store. On January 12th, Barnes & Noble will donate a percentage of every sale made with a special Bookfair voucher. The vouchers can be picked up at the museum or from VDM's table at the store on Saturday. If you don't have a voucher, you can also simply mention VDM to the cashier. This is a great chance to use any holiday gift cards that are still around! Amy and Peter will also be at Barnes & Noble hosting fun crafts and story time events. Be sure to stop by the store for your favorite books, a craft, and support VDM!

If you can't make it to the store on Saturday, visit bn.com/bookfairs and use Bookfair ID Number 10988475 when you check out, between January 12th and 17th.

Floors! 
This past September, VDM saw its largest and most complicated renovation yet! The museum unveiled a brand new Back Gallery filled with many interactive and fun-filled exhibits, including "Little C'ville," a Virginia-centric hallway, and many new, fun touches in the Front Gallery. After witnessing such a wonderful outpouring of excitement and support in reaction to these changes, the VDM staff is starting work on their next big project: new floors!

The museum has now begun the project to replace the Back Gallery floors, which have not been updated in 12 years. Aiming to renovate the floors in February, the VDM staff has already started researching various eco-friendly and child-safe materials for these floors. We are excited to see all the different materials and colors that are not only environmentally conscious, but also will best highlight the fantastic new exhibits in the Back Gallery. We are also looking at all the fun educational components of these materials to teach kids about recyclables and possibly design.

Thanks to a generous donor, VDM has raised half the funds needed to accomplish our goal. If you are interested in helping to replace the Back Gallery floors, pleas contact us at executivedirector@vadm.org. Help us create a safe, eco-friendly, and educational environment for our visitors.

Who are they? Young Readers Special Guests

Young Readers is one of our drop in programs and it is run by special guests. These volunteers give their time and talents to share stories with our guests. We love them and wanted you to get a chance to get to know them better, so we sent them all an interview!

Our first guest in December is Carole Gajdosik. Carole is new to Virginia, having grown up in New York City before moving upstate where she lived for more than 30 years. She has a Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education, which she put to use teaching and eventually owning a private pre-school called The Sunshine School. Through her teaching, she became interested in children's literature, especially telling stories through using a flannel board. She says, "I very much enjoy seeing children become engaged in the wonderful fairy tales that have been entertaining children for generations." Her favorite story is Snow White and she also enjoys books about World War II Europe, British novels, and mysteries. She has fond memories of her grandmother reading to her from Grimm's Fairy Tales and she still enjoys love stories with happy endings!
Carole's next visit will be December 1 at 1:00.


Our second Young Readers guest is Trish Reed. Here's what she has to share.

I am Trish Reed, the Ready To Learn Coordinator for WHTJ, Charlottesville's Local Hometown PBS.  I taught kindergarten for thirty-three years in Richmond City and Chesterfield County.  During that time, the best part of the day was story time!  It was always fun to share an adventure, to laugh with funny characters, and to learn from a story.  Among of my favorite memories are reading a few chapters of a book each day and having the children plead to keep reading...even when it was time to go home!!  Some of my favorite chapter books to read to young children are Charlotte's Web, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Boxcar Children.  My favorite picture book is The Little Engine That Could. 

Trish's next visit will be December 13th at 10:30. 

Last but certainly not least, new this month, we are welcoming award-winning storyteller Anthony Burcher.  Anthony learned to appreciate storytelling form his father, who was a mechanic in York County, Virginia. Anthony says, "All his customers would get their car fixed, pay my dad and hear a story." Those are still his favorite stories, though he reads anything and everything he finds interesting. Anthony says that he likes telling stories to children because "children still love their imaginations and are much better at putting themselves into a story." He now lives at Makemie Wood Camp and Conference Center near Williamsburg, Virginia, where he enjoys spending time with his children, who aren't children anymore. He has two new books out, 101 Games that Teach Storytelling Skills  and A Very Virginia Christmas, a collection of stories that he contributed to. Find out more about Anthony at www.anthonyburcher.com.

 Anthony will be here on December 20th at 10:30

Meet the Firefighters

 In our new Little Cville, we often have firefighters about town. Here's a young firefighter buying stamps at the post office.

This weekend, we are lucky enough to have a professional firefighter coming to visit! As a part of Fire Prevention Week, representatives from the Charlottesville Fire Department will be at VDM sharing information about fire safety. They will even bring a fire engine, as long as it isn't busy on a call! So, stop by the Museum this Saturday at 10:30 to Meet the Firefighter.

Keep an eye out for our new Meet Me on Main Street programs this fall. This program will give visitors a chance to meet different members of our community, like firefighters!

Are You Ready For KIDVENTION?

KID*VENTION 2010 - DISCOVER NATURE!
FREE EVENT!
Saturday, March 27 from 10am-2pm Key Recreation Center, 800 E Market Street
(Near the Virginia Discovery Museum and the Charlottesville Pavilion)

You won’t want to miss this year’s Kid*Vention! We’re Discovering Nature, and Charlottesville’s best and brightest are putting together an exciting set of games and activities for you. Join us for this incredible FREE event! Bring your whole family downtown to the Key Recreation Center on Saturday, March 27 from 10am-2pm and get ready for a day of hands-on activities, door prizes, special guests and a few surprises. Thank you to our sponsors for helping to make all of this possible: Charlottesville Parks & Recreation, WVPT, and Lite Rock Z95.1!

Discover Nature this March 27th with Kid*Vention, where you can start your own garden by getting seeds ready for planting, learn about plants and insects and get to draw and paint from observation, see bees in an observation hive, enjoy tree-related games and quizzes, and more!

Meet our incredible exhibitors:
Albemarle/Charlottesville 4H Program
Blandy Experimental Farm
Central Virginia Beekeepers Association
Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards
Charlottesville Astronomical Society
Ivy Creek Foundation
Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center
People’s Alliance for Clean Energy
RetailRelay.Com
Rivanna Master Naturalists
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
University of Virginia’s Environmental Science Organization
UVA Sustainability
Worm Crusader
WVPT (also a Sponsor)
…and the Virginia Discovery Museum.

Don’t forget!
Kid*Vention 2010: Discover Nature
Saturday, March 27 from 10am-2pm
At the Key Recreation Center, 800 E Market Street near the Virginia Discovery Museum and the Charlottesville Pavilion

Admission is FREE, so tell your friends!

Sponsors: Charlottesville Parks & Recreation, WVPT, Lite Rock Z95.1