The Giving Pow Wow: A Tradition Worth Starting, Stephanie Buckley

Editor's note: MOD Voices is proud to welcome Stephanie Buckley as guest blogger this week! We hope this post will encourage you to attend our "TRIBAL TRAILS" event, November 11-13, 2010. Details are available below Ms. Buckley's post.

Hello, I am The Park Wife and I am a tradition junkie. (Let me hear you say "Hello Park Wife"). I was raised in Mississippi with many wonderful Southern holiday traditions and have added a few as I married and started my own family. However, I found out that there is such thing as tradition overload.

 I live on an Arkansas State Park, love the simplicity of my life, and am trying to keep the holidays from getting out of hand, so I have chosen the traditions that speak to our family and have thrown out the rest.

 A couple of years ago, I started a tradition with our two little buckaroos that is wonderful for character training, a history lesson (we are homeschoolers), and it helps to de-clutter before the holidays. Now that is a win-win tradition that fits our life perfectly, it is THE GIVING POW WOW.

In Native American culture, true wealth comes from sharing with others instead of amassing material wealth. The gesture of giving illustrates selflessness while it strengthens the community bond. The gesture is more important than the value of the gift. Now, that is something I want our boys to understand and embrace.

This year we invited some other families to join in on the fun of our Giving Pow Wow. All the kids cleaned out their closets of toys that were still in good shape and brought them to our volunteer fire station/community library wearing full Native American regalia.

We sat in a circle around the treasures we would donate to a local charity and the festivities began. The children were given a history of pow wows and of the tribes from our area, that fulfilled history class for the day. Also, several of the children shared what they know about the Native American culture from sign language to the meaning of face paint colors. We then all held hands and prayed for the recipients of our gifts, that their lives would somehow be better from our act of generosity.

Plan your Giving Pow Wow today and give your children a shared past that they can pass on to future generations, a tradition that embodies the qualities of the person you hope them to be.

Stephanie Buckley, The Park Wife, lives on one of Arkansas's beautiful state parks with her husband and two boys. She is a homeschool mom who provides opportunities for her boys to learn through exploring and discovering the world around them. Stephanie is a farmer and farmers' market manager and she is passionate about wanting everyone to meet their farmers and to know where their food came from. She also started Arkansas Women Bloggers earlier this year to provide a gathering place to make friends with other Arkansas women bloggers, share stories and experiences, and be inspired! 


Tribal Trails
Thursday through Saturday, November 11-13, 2010.
Showtimes:  
Thursday and Friday, November 11 and 12: 10:00am, noon and 2:00 p.m. on
Saturday November 13 11:30 a.m., 1:00 and 3:00 p.m.

The Pahsetopah family will share Native American heritage, including the technology of ancient cultures, through storytelling and dance.

Admission to Tribal Trails is FREE to the general public with museum admission. Group rates are available; for group reservations, contact Beth Nelsen at bnelsen@amod.org or 501-396-7061.

Growing up MOD, Kyran Pittman

Editor's Note: We are thrilled to welcome author Kyran Pittman to the MOD VOICES series!

Shocking true confession: I did not always love Little Rock. In fact, if you had told me back in 1996, the year I arrived here, that I would be still living in Little Rock in 2010, I would have replied with something entirely unsuitable for a family-oriented website.


A visit to the Museum of Discovery recently had me thinking what a long way we've both come since then, this town and I. The development of the River Market district got underway shortly after I moved here, transforming what was once a weekend ghost town into a thriving downtown. And I had three kids, which radically shifted my idea of a good time. We've kind of grown up together.


I've come to think of Little Rock as a "big small town," and that's what makes it so terrific for kids. It's small and homey enough that we bump into friends and neighbors nearly everywhere we go. And it's is big enough to have a surprisingly decent array of family-friendly attractions. The MOD is one of the best of them, and it's been fun to watch it expand and grow as fast as my own children have. I passed the former toddler room by the main entrance with a smile, remembering the days I'd sit there, rocking an infant to sleep while my two-year-old played, so grateful to escape the laundry and while away an afternoon in a bright cheery space. It's hard to believe those were the same two children who are now perfectly capable of roaming the museum on their own, while their youngest brother and I peruse the exhibits at a first grader's pace. The MOD is great at accommodating different ages and stages, and it maintains a good mix of new exhibits and familiar favorites. And this germ-phobe mom really appreciates that the exhibits are kept CLEAN (and in good working order), not always the case in a "hands-on" museum. Or in my own home, for that matter. So, kudos, MOD. I'm glad we've both hung around.


Kyran Pittman is a mother of three boys, and a writer of magazine articles, blogs and a book. Her online journal is http://www.notestoself.us/. Her book, Planting Dandelions: Field Notes from a Semi-Domesticated Life will be published by Riverhead next spring.

Construction Cam Coming Soon!

If you haven't heard, the Msueum of Discovery will start construction on our NEW entry this December! 

(Don't worry, we're not closing, so keep coming to visit!)

We'd like to thank Michael Kennedy and ADVANCED CABLING SYSTEMS for donating a construction camera, from which you'll be able to see the changes as they happen!  The camera will launch December 1, after our special event at 10:00 a.m.  You're invited to join us to see what all the fuss is about.

Questions?  Contact Katie McManners at kmcmanners@amod.org.



Advanced Cabling Systems



Professor Bob talks quantum stuff

Just a taste of Professor Bob Friedhoffer and his magic/science show...

don't be alarmed by the cameraperson tripping toward the end. :-)

Bob has performed all over the country and you can see him at the Museum of Discovery.

What this video doesn't show is HOW he did the magic trick

(but he does explain in the show).

Saturday October 30 showtimes are 11:30, 1:00, and 3:00

Governor Mike Beebe at Uncorked

Thanks, Governor Mike Beebe, for joining us at UNCORKED: MAD SCIENTIST MASH on October 21, 2010.  The Governor and all the guests enjoyed wine & beer samplings courtesy of Glazers, and the Governor brave enough to participate in the "bug petting zoo" which is available Saturdays and Sundays as part of Harry's Big Adventure: My Bug World exhibit.

Uncorked photos!

WOW The Uncorked: MAD SCIENTIST MASH was a great night!  Thanks to Doris Krain who took these amazingly fun photos.  Help us to identify these people!

Blowing "smoke" after eating treats frozen using liquid nitrogen...

Museum of Discovery Board Member Laura Shue (R) enjoys her frozen treats!

Museum staffers Susan (l) and Eli (r) are perennial favorites.

Our own MAD SCIENTIST David Westbrook ignites gas bubbles

My first visit to the Museum of Discovery, Eden Huffstickler

Editor's note: MOD Voices is proud to welcome budding writer Eden Huffstickler. :-)
Now that I know how much fun birthdays are, I can’t wait for my next one! Mommy and Daddy helped me celebrate my first birthday by taking me to the Museum of Discovery. We all had so much fun! The first thing I saw when we walked inside was a big green dragon sitting on top of a castle door. There was a button on the door, and when I pushed it, the dragon came to life! She opened her eyes and talked to me and Mommy.

Inside the room with the castle door was all kinds of fun stuff. Mommy said it was called the “Room to Grow” and it was for little kids just like me. The first thing I found to play with was a bunch of letters that stuck to the wall. Daddy said they were magnets, and he even helped me spell my name!

Next, Daddy put me in a pit filled with pretend dirt and toy trucks. But I SO wasn’t dressed for that! I just wanted out!

After that we walked over to a giant train track with lots of little trains that I got to move along the track. I had a lot of fun with that, but not quite as much as Daddy!

There were so many other fun things for me to play with and explore, too! I got to climb a rock wall, get in a boat, go down a slide and visit a farm! I loved the farm a lot. Me and Mommy read a lot of books with farm animals in them, and I got to see a big cow just like the ones in our books. I just couldn’t stop looking at it!

When we left the “Room to Grow,” we visited the rest of the Museum. Mommy said I’ll really love the rest of the Museum when I am a little bit older, but for now the “Room to Grow” is just my size! And I can’t wait to go back!

= = = = = = = = = = = =

Eden is the one-year-old daughter of Tyler and Kelcie Huffstickler. When she’s not blogging, she’s watching Diego or playing with her dog, Barnaby. She had a little help on this post from her mommy, who works for Little Rock Family magazine and blogs about their family at http://www.thentherewerethree.me/

Trick or Treat for your BRAIN! - Professor Bob's Brain Stew: October 28-30

What’s the difference between science and magic?

Professor Bob

On October 28-30, you can ask an expert! The Museum of Discovery welcomes Professor Bob’s Brain Stew and Other Cool Concoctions, an exciting and educational demonstration of “scientific magic.” Showtimes are available HERE

Professor Bob's show is perfect for people who already love science, but it’s also a good way to spread that love to those who may not (yet) show an interest in science. Professor Bob will amaze with his interactive magic ‘tricks’ which are really science experiments in disguise. Professor Bob will also show you how to perform your own “magic” at home!


Professor Bob believes that an understanding of science and technology is beneficial for the youth of today and society as a whole. As we advance in our understanding of the world around us and learn how to manipulate it, we gain new insights and abilities that were once thought impossible.

When we learn at an early age that science can be fun, we can actively participate in areas that have come to define us as an advanced civilization. Plus, a basic love of science can inspire students to pursue exciting careers--maybe they'll even become the next Professor Bob!

Schools, universities, and museums have all written letters of recommendation for Professor Bob’s program, praising his ability to tailor every presentation for the needs and attention span of the audience, and for his passion for science and kid-friendly sense of humor. In short, Professor Bob gets kids to learn without even realizing it, and that’s the real magic!

So come on down to the Museum of Discovery October 28-30; we’ve got something really cool to show you.

Learn more about Professor Bob on his website!

"Dude, it's cool!" Susan Toone, Part 5: Mad Museum Mash

Editor's Note: MOD Voices guest blogger Susan Toone continues with a look at "other cool stuff" in the Museum of Discovery

Fascinating though Kind of Creepy:

An eyeball is filled with fluid called vitreous humour, which gives it its shape. So are people who lack senses of humor short on this stuff?

The average brain weighs three pounds and is 80% water. I don’t know what to make of that, except I’m wondering if I can improve my IQ by drinking lots of water like I’m supposed to.

Old-fashioned dentists thought that tobacco rubbed on teeth prevented toothache. And you don’t EVEN want to see their tools. But you do want to see the giant set of teeth, although to my great disappointment, they don’t clatter. I never tire of clattering teeth, just as I never tire of hearing someone ask “Will you call me a cab?” and I say, “Okay, you’re a cab!”

We saw a reproduction of Spanish armor – a chain mail poncho-type things that some poor guy drowned in. He was apparently trying to climb out of his canoe and fell back into the water. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get back up!” This is a preventable tragedy happening too often at medieval fairs when the actors try to “keep it real.”

Thanks to a camera that senses heat, I know what I look like to a snake – my whole head looks tasty except for my glasses. Worse, I know what my children look like. This might explain why a mother cobra sometimes builds a nest for their young, only to leave them to prevent her from eating them. Because they look pretty creepy. As Warren Zevon sings, “it ain’t that pretty at all."

A skull with a big hole drilled in the top was part of a display on how mental illness was treated in the past, the thought being that drilling such a hole would let demons escape. What kind of clowns at a medical convention, upon being presented with this idea by Dr. Harold “Mad Sadist” Malevolent, would say “Yeah, I like that idea. I think my mother-in-law has some demons in her head.” And trust me on this, the screenwriter who wrote Silence of the Lambs obviously visited the exhibit – remember Hannibal’s Lector’s mask? Not made up.

****************

 Just Plain Cool

 You can:

 • Put on a show in a small TV studio! My youngest daughter, bossy by nature, looked right at home there as a producer, barking directions at her friend who announced the weather. Then they changed the settings, and she announced the news underwater. Without holding her breath or her eyeballs bursting.

 • Build a working circuit! I could not do this, due to my limited scientific ability, but I know you can. Electricity scares me. For example, my husband and I received an espresso maker as a wedding present 23 years ago, and I got tired of hiding after I turned it on for fear of it exploding. I gave it away.



 • Watch forces of nature without being scared out of your wits. You can watch a tornado gather force into the dreaded funnel shape and skip lightly over the surface. I never really understood how it gathered force, or how the hurricane worked either. For the hurricane to work, you press on a big, circular wet thing and steam shoots out in the shape of a mushroom cloud – it is very cool. For the best example of both seeing a mushroom cloud up close and personal and how crazy our world leaders can be, see Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

My youngest daughter remarked that after the hurricane ran out of steam, “it “kind of looked like the smoke the Hookah-smoking caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland blew out as he spoke to you.”

Susan Toone lives with her husband, two teenagers and two dogs in Little Rock. The husband and dogs are great; the teenagers are driving her crazy. She works at Acxiom and has a blog.


Editor's Note: This concludes our mini-blog series by Susan Toone. Thanks Susan!

"Dude, it's cool!" Susan Toone, Part 4: Night of the Living Dead Stuff

Editor's Note: MOD Voices guest blogger Susan Toone continues. Today we learn about bedbugs. For more buggy facts visit the Museum of Discovery's current exhibit, Harry's Big Adventure


Night of the Living Dead Stuff

Bedbugs, thought to be eradicated in the dark ages of the 1950s (the same decade as when the landscape started sprouting hotels for all those travelers going west who grew weary of sleeping in their covered wagons), are now back with a vengeance. Even chic New Yorkers are fleeing their posh apartments and sleeping in the streets because the hotels are full of screaming tourists demanding new rooms, “and hold the bedbugs!”

Talk about gross. Here’s how the repugnant little bugger operates: he first zaps you with TWO hollow feeding tubes. Into the first tube, he injects his saliva into directly into your skin. This blocks the sensation while he sucks your blood out of the other tube and feasts on you. It’s a bit like a wine tasting: if the first bedbug smacks his lips with enthusiasm, the others join in.

I’ve never been fond of cockroaches, but since I found they are natural predators of bedbugs, I’m going to start treating them like family. Your other two options for avoiding these nefarious but tiny monsters:

 • NEVER travel.

 • NEVER allow anyone who has traveled – anywhere - to stay with you. That’s what hotels are for.

Susan Toone lives with her husband, two teenagers and two dogs in Little Rock. The husband and dogs are great; the teenagers are driving her crazy. She works at Acxiom and has a blog.

Editor's Note: Susan Toone finished her blog mini-series with other Museum awesomeness.