Owl Pellets and Me

As the Director of Marketing, I get to do a lot of fun stuff for the Museum. I represent the Museum at events, write articles for local print publications and talk about upcoming events on TV. It’s the last one “talk about upcoming events on TV” that made me realize what a unique job I have.

Yesterday, I appeared on KARK’s noon show with Melissa Simas. I was there to promote our Science Discoveries camp and other summer camps we have through August. I brought owl pellets as an example of the “fun things” kids would do at our summer camps. After all, the Museum does say it’s a place for “hands-on learning” and what can be more hand’s on than getting up close to an owl pellet!

For those of you who don’t know about owl pellets, here’s the scoop. An owl pellet is “the mass of undigested parts of a bird's food that some bird species occasionally regurgitate.” You can find all kids of stuff in owl pellets like fur, hair and bones. You can also learn a lot from owl pellets like eating habits, health issue, etc.

So, back to me on Channel 4. During the break, I was dissecting the owl pellet and I came across a bone. It was like finding treasure! I was thoroughly excited about the bone. So, when we went live, I shared my excitement with the viewers. While some people probably thought I was a little crazy, I trust that some viewers saw the joy of finding a bone in an owl pellet…

OK, so all that to say, that I do a lot of fun stuff at the Museum. That includes dissecting owl pellets on live TV. Another fun thing I get to do: hang out with the visitors. It’s so cool to see the kids dissecting owl pellets as part of their class and see them get equally excited about finding a bone. See, I knew someone else shared my excitement!

Visit the Museum - Save on Parking

One of the biggest issues I hear from visitors deals with the parking situation in the River Market District. As an employee working in the River Market, I understand. I never have a problem finding a parking place at 8 am, but then again, no one visits the Museum at 8 am (we open at 9 am, Mon-Sat.). So, maybe there is a valid complaint about the lack of FREE parking. But, I have a solution. While I cannot say with absolute certainty that there will be FREE parking when you visit, I can tell you about special discount parking for Museum members and visitors.

Museum members and visitors who visit the Museum can now park at the River Market Parking Garage, located at 2nd and Commerce, at a reduced price. Museum members will be charged only $1.00 for parking up to three hours and visitors only $2.00 for up to three hours in the deck. That’s a great deal! Don’t forget to bring your parking ticket to the museum to get this special rate.

So, there’s no more driving around searching for free parking or running out every hour to feed the meter. Just park in the River Market Parking Garage.

Oh, and pass this information along. There are a lot of people who don’t know about the Museum’s special parking discount. It’s a great deal and I want to spread the word!

More about Room to Grow

In my last blog, I wrote about how much I LOVE Room to Grow. Now, I can prove it! My nephew (along with his family) just moved to the area. He made his first trip to the Museum of Discovery. We had lunch across the street at Flying Fish and then journeyed back to Room to Grow. He will be one soon, so Down on the Farm was a perfect area for him. He loved the textured carpet, mirrors and wooden blocks. He had his first trip down a slide (and how cool is a slide that looks like a carrot), he rode on the eggplant rocker and even made dinner in the log cabin kitchen. At home, he loves to open and close kitchen cabinets. Here, he could do that all day without the worries of getting into something he shouldn’t! His babysitter, aka Grandma, enjoyed the room too. She could relax knowing that he was in a safe place with lots of room to play. The Museum has always been a fabulous place for older kids and adults, but now it is the perfect place for even our youngest visitors!

Room to Grow Is Open!

There are many great things happening at the Museum, but my absolute favorite is Room to Grow. For those of you who don’t know, Room to Grow is a new area designed for children ages 6 and under. Just like the Museum, Room to Grow is hands-on and interactive, but made for our youngest visitors.

Room to Grow is permanent, so it will be around for a while! Kids can use their imagination to and sail the seas on a pirate ship or sell food in a fish market. The Castle Theatre lets kids (and their adult companions) sing karaoke songs like B-I-N-G-O, developing social skills and reading skills. The Lighthouse provides a birds-eye-view of the fun below. Down on the Farm is a special area for ages 4 and under. There are bright, textured carpets and even mirrors on their eye level. Perfect for that age!

The entire room area is painted with bright murals and hidden interactive components. It’s magnificent – a must see for anyone with children 6 and under! Room to Grow is having a grand opening through June, July and August so I hope you can visit.

See pictures from the MOD Squad Room to Grow party at www.flickr.com/photos/museumofdiscovery.

9th Annual Dino Dash & Discovery Fest a Success!

The Museum’s 9th annual Dino Dash & Discovery Fest was a success! We had 885 people register for the 5K and the 1K. That’s over 100 more from the previous years. We had 70 volunteers log almost 220 volunteer hours – and that was just for event day! The Dino Dash committee, led by Susan Estes and the MOD Squad worked for a year to make the event a huge success.

Personally, I love Dino Dash & Discovery Fest. The event takes a lot of hard work and very long hours, but it’s all worth it to see the kids and adults having such a great time. My favorite part is the 1K finish. Kids of all ages tear through the finish line as hordes of volunteers and parents cheer them on. I love giving the runners a medal and dino prize – their smiles are truly priceless.

The other cool part is the way dino dash encourages exercise and makes it a family event. I love hearing that dino dash is a first 5K or 1K for lots of people. I love that the Museum is promoting exercise for the entire family.

As the 2008 Dino Dash coordinator, I had lots of help. There were a ton of wonderful volunteers and Museum staff that went above and beyond. Thanks Steve for keeping the cement trucks at bay, Jeff for helping out on-air and of course Susan for making all the decisions!

And, we’re looking ahead to 2009. It will be the 10th annual Dino Dash & Discovery Fest. The wheels are already turning….

Oh, and if you want to see lots of Dino Dash & Discovery Fest pictures, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/museumofdiscovery