Science Sprouts Museum Days

November 20, 2009 - 9am-5pm

Museum Days just for Early Childhood Learners (up to age 6). This day at Discovery Center will be enhanced with Story time at 10am & 1pm and Brain Byte demonstration at 11am and 2pm. This month topic is Native Americans. We encourage groups of early learners to come these days to the Discovery Center. General admission applies unless the group pre-registered.

Discovery Science Club

New for 2009-2010! 10 a.m.-12 p.m. This club is designed for children ages 6-12 and one accompanying parent! Registration cost-$20 per member parent /child duo, $25 per non/member parent/child duo.

Discovery Science Club dates for 2009-2010:

Nov. 14, 2009 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Science of Cooking

Jan. 23, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Amazing Animals

Feb. 13, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Science Magic

March 20, 2010 (10 a.m.-12 p.m.) Topic-Builder’s Workshop

"Hubble's Next Discovery -- You Decide"

In 1609, Galileo Galilei turned his telescope on the night sky for the first time, profoundly changing our view of our place in the universe. In recognition of this, 2009 has been designated the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). IYA is a global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society, while marking the 400th anniversary of the first use of an astronomical telescope.

In celebration of the IYA, you have the opportunity to vote for the next object the Hubble Space Telescope will observe. From now through March 1st, the world can participate in "Hubble's Next Discovery -- You Decide", and vote for an object Hubble has never observed before. In addition, educators can participate in a related classroom activity called the “Hubble Collage Activity.”

For more information about “Hubble’s Next Discovery – You Decide,” visit the Amazing Space Web site.

Outreach from DCS

Discovery Center can bring our interactive educational programs to you. We have fun, educational programs that last one hour. Choose from 20 different topics!

ScienceWorks on the Road is an eight week outreach program. Professional educators come to your classroom with interactive experiments that are aligned to Missouri Grade Level Expectations in Science. In the eighth week the class goes on a field trip to Discovery Center to reinforce what they learned.

For more information about Outreach call 417-862-9910.

Discovery Center also has tax credit programs available to donors who qualify. These NAP credits will benefit programs like ScienceWorks on the Road:

Discovery Center of Springfield (DCS) is excited to announce the award of a new Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credit grant. DCS has been awarded $199,830 in credits which will leverage $399,660 in contributions to support our mission.

NAP tax credits are made available to donors to redirect their state tax dollars to support local projects that improve the quality of life for our community. DCS has been approved for NAP credits consistently over the past 15 years because of our unique position to provide an educational environment that serves to enrich and appeal to all ages and stages of learners at all socio-economic levels. Individual learning styles of children and families are nurtured with the intent to excite and engage on various topics. DCS exhibits and programs naturally encourage visitors and students to experience objects and ideas firsthand, shaping impressions of themselves, each other and the world around them. Please find a brief description of the program these contributions will support beginning on page 2.

The financial benefit to eligible donors is a 50% state tax credit in addition to a federal charitable tax deduction for qualified donations. The philanthropic benefit is the knowledge that your NAP tax donation can affect the lives of children in our community forever. Through NAP tax credits, DCS has been able to offer free programming to students eligible for the Federal Free Lunch Program. Programs such as ScienceWorks on the Road have seen 30% gains in science knowledge from students participating with their schools. Programs like this, as well as facility upgrades and new exhibits DCS has been able to add with NAP tax credits, help create a long-lasting energy and excitement for learning. The community benefit is the opportunity to empower a child to transform their life and our world.

These credits are available until June 30, 2011. Qualified donations can be made by check, credit card, or stock. Minimum donation is $1,000. If you would like more information or a personal tour of the DCS, please call Emily at 862-9910 ext. 700.

Family Learning Day

Visit Discovery Center on Friday November 21st from 10am-4pm for Family Learning Day! Over, Under, Around the Earth. Focus on atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere—also coordinates with geography awareness month. BrainByte at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Special museum activities. Classes-30 minute class at 10 a.m. and 1 P.m for ages pre-k to 8, accompanied by a parent. 60 minute class at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for ages 9 and up, no parent required, younger than 9 MUST attend with parent—content will be geared to advanced learners.

Science Sprout Days

Visit Discovery Center Thursday November 20th from 10am-4pm for Science Sprout Days! Brain Bytes on these days will be geared to early learners. Early childhood groups, MOPS groups, play groups are encouraged to use these days for visiting the museum without fear of encountering older groups of students. Early childhood programs can be added for an additional fee, to enhance the visit. For more information, contact Hayley Budd at 417.862.9910x726

Giant Map of Asia!

The Discovery Center of Springfield and the Missouri Geographic Alliance (MGA), in conjunction with the National Geographic Society (NGS), will play host to one of National Geographic's Giant Traveling Maps . The 30 foot by 40 foot map of Asia, featuring political and physical attributes, will be on display November 11-23, 2008 at the Discovery Center located in downtown Springfield.

National Geographic's Traveling Maps tour the country's schools, bringing hands (and feet)-on geography education to tens of thousands of students each year. Designed to combat geographic illiteracy by igniting students' interest in geography, the maps and accompanying activities incorporate physical movement and games to teach students place name geography, physical geography, and cultural geography, as well as map reading skills.

Missouri Geographic Alliance Coordinator, Amy Strickland-Minor says; “The MGA is excited to be partnering with the Discovery Center and NGS to bring this highly-interactive and fun geographic learning opportunity to teachers and students in Southwest Missouri. By exploring Asia on a 1200 square foot scale, students have the opportunity to physically and mentally engage with a region of growing importance in the world of the 21 st century.”

Plan now to be part of this unique learning opportunity! This map from National Geographic is being brought to DCS in collaboration with the Missouri Geographic Alliance. Limited scholarship funds are available through the MO Geographic Alliance. To book a field trip and find out about program options using the map, contact Hayley Budd at 862-9910x726. For map scholarship info., contact Laurie Duncan at 862-9910x701.

Discovery Center book Club

Come join our book club to celebrate reading and science! Read and Learn along with us in our Explor-atory lab, and win some cool prizes while you are at it!
DCS has a monthly book club for ages 5-12.
Here’s how it works:

• Each month we will have a Book Club theme related to what is going on in the Explor-atory Lab. The theme will be announced on the website and in our lobby.
• We want you to read books that go with our theme and fill out our worksheet to tell us about your book(s).
  
• Come to the Explor-atory Lab and take part in the related lab activities each month.
• Each month that you read a book and complete an activity in the Explor-atory Lab, you will get one punch on your DCS Book Club punch card, which you will receive when you do your first Book Club activity at DCS.
• When you get 3 punches, you can select a prize from the Book Club Prize Box in our gift shop.

Visit our Site for more info!

Discovery Center Is Mobile!

Preschool Programs We are now offering eight new outreach programs designed specifically for preschool-aged children. Each topic is approximately 45 minutes in length, and has been designed with the needs of early learners in mind! Let us bring hands-on experiments to your classroom to help you enrich the science learning experiences of your preschool aged children. We’ll do all the work—you get to watch your young learners as they interact with our materials and explore a variety of science concepts. For the presentation of a single one-hour program, for a maximum of 30 students, the fee is $100. The same program can be repeated for an additional $65 each, with a maximum of 3 consecutive programs at one location during the same morning or afternoon reservation. Programs: Storybook Science: Bats combines hands-on activities with the book Stellaluna by Janell Cannon to explore the unique characteristics of bats. Storybook Science: Dinosaurs invites you to join in a Dinosaurumpus! We will investigate the dinosaurs found in this favorite children’s book by Tony Mitton. Story book science: Insects uses The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle to explore the world of our six legged friends. My Amazing Body introduces bones, muscles, hearts, lungs and healthy habits to early learners. How Does Your Garden Grow? Get your hands dirty as we dissect seeds, explore plants, and learn what it takes to get your garden to grow! It's Raining! It's Pouring! Travel the life of a water droplet on its adventure through the water cycle. Lights Out! Learn about the crazy properties of light while experimenting with mirrors and making rainbows. Goopy, Slimy, Bubbly Stuff is perfect for the beginning chemist. Learn how to mix, measure and make careful observations as we create goopy, slimy and bubbly stuff. Registration: For questions and Inquiries, contact Laurie Duncan , Education Director, at 417-862-9910 ext. 701.