Going Green at the MOD

Going Green....are you doing it?

The term "going green" is very popular right now. From recycling at home to using environmentally friendly materials to build a corporate headquarters, everyone is "going green." Learn more about preserving our earth and how you can help at GO GREEN, a special event at the Museum of Discovery that runs April 29-May 2.

We will have many events going on, and many things to do in the Discovery Court. Your kids will:

- See examples of building materials used in the construction of the award-winning Clinton Presidential Center
- Explore under the hood of a pickup truck from Chesapeake Energy that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG) and learn how you can convert your own vehicle to CNG
- Examine eating utensils and cups made from potato starch used by Boulevard Bread
- Discover how to apply sustainable techniques to gardening and animal care,
- Taste organically grown vegetables.

We all can join in the going green movement, and this is a great way to teach our kids some practical ways to do it! Join us April 29-May 2 while we GO GREEN at the Museum!

A big thank you to our sponsors, GO GREEN is sponsored by Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Kroger and FTN Associates.

Buggin' You!

We're enjoying BUGFEST at the Museum of Discovery. Sing along.

BugFest - Sponsored by Central Termite and The Bug Man

Did you know that insects are found in nearly all environments on the planet and play a crucial role in human lives? Come to BugFest 2009 - sponsored by Central Termite and The Bug Man - coming up April 22-25 at the Museum and discover more facts about our creepy crawly friends!!

Exhibits throughout the Museum will highlight insects' habitats, behavior and life cycles. Educators will teach about the important relationship of insects, plants and humans as they answer all your creepy-crawly questions and share facts about some of the world's most interesting bugs.

My personal favorite? We have a very special race, where visitors can cheer on their favorite cockroach at "The Great Hissing Cockroach Races," held in the Discovery Court. Over 3,500 species of cockroaches exist worldwide and they are capable of living over a month without food. Learn more about cockroaches, beetles, bees and more. Sounds like fun!

Plan on attending BugFest 2009, sponsored by Central Termite and The Bug Man. We'd love to hear your comments if you did make it!

NanoDays

Did you make it to the 2nd Annual NanoDays 2009? We would love to hear your feedback, and even better, submit a picture to us of your time at the Museum.

Do you know what 'nano' means? Ask a kid you know--he or she might have been part of the several school groups that visited April 1-3. Students participated in activities and demonstrations about nano science, including measuring the size of their hand and their height in nanometers!(Things at the nano scale are very tiny--one billionth of a meter, or in other words, 60 carbon atoms across!) Students also learned that things at the nano scale behave differently than larger amounts of the same material.


On Saturday April 4, many visitors to the Museum learned about nano technology by participating in several activities such as measuring their hand or height in nanometers,helping to create a giant carbon nanotube balloon sculpture in the Discovery Court,


watching water bead up and roll off of plants such as lotus and cabbage (why? because nano-sized bumps on the leaves make the water bead up and roll off--called "The Lotus Effect")

Pictures from Dino Dash Kickoff

We had a great time at Robinson Elementary on Thursday April 2 to kickoff registration for Dino Dash 2009. Check out photos taken by Bryan Thornhill HERE

2009 Dino Dash Kickoff at Robinson Elementary

2009 Dino Dash Presented by Verizon Wireless!

We are excited about our 10th annual 5K/1K to support educational programs at the Museum of Discovery. We had fun at Robinson Elementary, celebrating their win as the largest Dino Dash 1K school team for the past 5 years! Check out this fun video by Mike Cooney of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.