Thanksgiving Point
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THANKSGIVING POINT Where Families Come Together FALL 2017 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 3 comes to Thanksgiving Point Letter from the TO MAKE A DONATION President and CEO ThanksgivingPoint.org/give The metamorphosis of life is all around us. As a new school year approaches it TO SCHEDULE AN EVENT starts anew for students in our community. It provides a wonderful chance for 801.768.4947 people of all ages to start fresh with a clean slate. TICKET SALES 801.768.4900 Thanksgiving Point has gone through quite the metamorphosis over the years Toll Free 888.672.6040 too. For those who lived in the Lehi area in the mid-1990’s you’d never have MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION imagined what the area would look like in 2017. It’s a staggering metamorphosis! 801.768.7478 [email protected] Our transformation will continue as we are set to break ground on the ThanksgivingPoint.org/membership Butterfly Biosphere on Monday, September 11. This new venue will be in the EDUCATION former Emporium building and surrounding areas in Water Tower Plaza. The 801.768.4971 metamorphosis of a butterfly will be one of the most compelling aspects of this GENERAL INQUIRIES new experience. Guests will be able to learn about the full lifecycle of these 801.768.2300 amazing insects, from chrysalis to flight, in this 35,000-square foot life science discovery center. PUBLISHER If you’ve visited Thanksgiving Point over the years, and have experienced Thanksgiving Point 3003 N. Thanksgiving Way this metamorphosis for yourself, you know that we’re never short on family Lehi, Utah 84043 entertainment and education. Our hope is that your family benefits from all 801.768.2300 our venues and events. Providing transformative family learning is our top EXECUTIVE EDITOR priority. It is anticipated that the construction of the Butterfly Biosphere will last Josh Berndt about a year. Please stay tuned to our homepage for updates and how you can participate in bringing this new interactive experience to life. ONLINE EDITOR Emily Duffy Thank you for your continued support of Thanksgiving Point and being such an ART DIRECTOR integral part of our metamorphosis. Jeremy Andrus CONTRIBUTORS Warmly, Josh Berndt Laurie Bowen Austin Brown Mike L Washburn Ashley Clouse Kamille Combs Jodie Fisher Dave Francis Lorie Millward Laura St. Onge SOCIAL MEDIA @thankspoint WEBSITE ThanksgivingPoint.org What’s Inside: Thanksgiving Point Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit farm, garden, and museum complex HAY THERE! DO IT YOURSELF TALL TALES CHANGES Scarecrow Festival returns New Maker program Same tradition, new Groundbreaking for that draws upon the natural world to cultivate to Ashton Gardens opportunities coming location as the Timpanogos Thanksgiving Point’s newest transformative family learning. Pg 5 this Fall Storytelling Festival comes experience happens on Pg 6 to Ashton Gardens September 11 Pg 8-9 Pg 12-14 Increasing accessibility at Thanksgiving Point for the AUTISM COMMUNITY Ashley Clouse, Value Added Programs Coordinator Thanksgiving Point is working with parents of children with Laurie Bowen, M.Ed., BCBA, Associate Director of Community Outreach autism, as well as various autism-centered organizations at the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism, Utah Valley University including the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism at Utah Valley University and Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center of Thanksgiving Point has always strived to be a valuable resource Learning. As a result, we have gained valuable insight about for community members. Through our venues, exhibits, classes, what information families with autistic members need to feel and events we provide unique experiences where families can confident in visiting our venues, classes, and events, and what play and explore together. We are devoted to ensuring everyone services we can provide to help them while they are visiting. can experience all that Thanksgiving Point has to offer and are currently collaborating with a variety of groups to help best meet Thanksgiving Point is in the process of building an accessibility that goal. page for Thanksgiving Point’s homepage, ThanksgivingPoint.org, and working with experts to provide our internal team members Thanksgiving Point educators have partnered with the autism with essential trainings. We are also working with professionals community. Utah has the third highest rate of autism in the from the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism to create social nation. Autism is sometimes described as an invisible disability, stories, which are information tools that help individuals with because there are no physical indicators of its difficulty. Autism autism improve their understanding of our venues and explain can impact a person socially, behaviorally, struggles with appropriate social skills and behaviors (Rosenblatt, Carbone, communication, and through sensory systems. Basically, autism & Scherer, 2013). We hope to continue building and growing is a different way to experience life, and may require unique types partnerships and investing in community members, by providing of support, especially in public settings. It is also important to them with the tools and support to have safe, successful and remember that no two individuals with autism are the same. enjoyable visits to Thanksgiving Point. Sources: Rosenblatt, A. I., Carbone, P. S., & Scherer, W. (2013). Autism spectrum disorders: what every parent needs to know. Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics. ThanksgivingPoint.org 3 Why Your Thanksgiving Point Membership Jodie Fisher, Director of Membership Matters Make sure to keep your Thanksgiving Point membership card on you when you travel as well. If you’re more than 90 miles away from Thanksgiving Point and your residence, you’re eligible for free general admission to more than 350 As a Thanksgiving Point member, you already know that museums and science centers worldwide thanks to our your membership comes with a ton of benefits like unlimited partnership with the ASTC Travel Passport Program admission to our four, award-winning venues (Museum of (astc.org/membership/passport-program-guidelines). Ancient Life, Museum of Natural Curiosity, Farm Country, and This also applies to the American Horticultural Society’s Ashton Gardens). You can even bring guests with you for half off reciprocal admission program, which allows free admission regular admission prices. But did you know your membership to nearly 300 gardens across North America and the Cayman provides you with nearly a dozen benefits overall? Some lesser- Islands. Visit ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/rap/ known benefits might surprise you so make sure you’re utilizing find/statebystate for a list of participating gardens your membership to its fullest! and museums. For starters, you can see movies on the Mammoth Screen in In addition to the many perks a Thanksgiving Point membership the Museum of Ancient Life at a discount, including our newest provides, being (and staying) a member is about to get even National Geographic film, “Space Next 3-D,” an immersive easier. In response to your feedback, and to help further interplanetary experience. And for thrill seekers, members streamline our membership renewal process, beginning enjoy discounts on the high ropes course at the Museum of October 1, we will begin offering a membership auto-renewal Natural Curiosity. See the museum from above as you are program. This program will allow uninterrupted membership harnessed over 40-feet in the air while traveling through several service and avoid the hassle of manually entering credit fun ropes course challenge areas. It’s a true bird’s eye view of card information online each year. You’ll receive a notice in the museum that few get to see. But this is just a sampling of the advance of your renewal date to give you the chance to upgrade discounts attached to your membership. your membership level, upgrade your contact information or cancel participation. Otherwise, your membership will renew Budding green thumbs and chefs can partake in gardening automatically so you can continue to enjoy all the benefits of and cooking classes at a reduced rate, and members always membership with Thanksgiving Point without interruption. get the early scoop to register for our many camps, classes, and programs. What’s more, your membership gives you the Who knew there was so much to a Thanksgiving Point inside track on special offers and discounts to events like the membership? Free admission, discounts, ease of use – all at annual Tulip Festival, Luminaria, and Labor Day Luau, just to your fingertips. At the same time, the greatest member perk of name a few. Keep an eye out for your monthly members-only all might be your ability to help shape today’s problem solvers email to make sure you’re getting the best deal to these highly into tomorrow’s makers through transformative family learning. anticipated events. Thank you for your support. To learn more about your member benefits, contact the Membership Office at (801) 768-7478 or visit ThanksgivingPoint.org/join-give/membership. 4 Thanksgiving Point Gazette Fall 2017 SCARECROWThe FESTIVAL at Thanksgiving Point Austin Brown, Director of Signature Experiences The use of scarecrows dates back hundreds of years. Farmers all over the world use scarecrows to scare away birds from eating in their fields. In the 1990s festivals were created to have people create their own scarecrows. In the US, the Scarecrow Fest in St. Charles, Illinois is the longest running festival of the scarecrow variety as it pushes into its 30th year while the Atlanta Botanical Gardens also host a pretty impressive scarecrow festival. Closer to home, a new family tradition that you shouldn’t be scared of is the 3rd annual Scarecrow Festival at the Ashton Gardens. Each year our festival has grown into a can’t miss event of the fall. With over 15,000 guests coming to see all the scarecrows, it is something your family will enjoy, guaranteed! You and your family (or business or youth group, etc.) can be a part of this festival by making a scarecrow to display for the duration of the festival.