NEWS FROM THE GREAT VALLEY MUSEUM SPRING 2017 MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE; YOSEMITE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT VOL. 39, No. 2 Night on the Savanna - Gala 2017
Couldn’t attend the third annual Gala event? Consider making a donation or becoming a member. With our new North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association partnership, a family membership will give you access to over 880 other museums. This includes The Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock and the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco!
GVM Family Membership: $120
MJC celebrates Earth Day with fair and film People have celebrated Earth Day annually for over 40 years as a way of bringing citizens together to learn about the environment and to teach each other how to be good environmental stewards. Modesto Junior College invites the campus and community to join its annual Earth Day celebration on Thursday, April 22. A fair with activities and displays will be held from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. outside the south entrance to the Science Community Center on West Campus, 2201 Blue Gum Avenue, Modesto. Following the fair, two Earth Day film screenings will feature the documentary “Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” with showings at 4 p.m. and at 6 p.m. in room 115 of the Science Community Center. This event, sponsored by the MJC Civic Engagement Project and Operation Green, will provide ideas of how to recycle, protect the environment, conserve energy and “live green”. Participants include the Great Valley Museum, Tuolumne River Trust, Citizen’s Climate Lobby and Sierra Club. Admission to the fair and film are free and campus parking is available for $2 in student parking lots. For more information or to bring a display or activity to the MJC Earth Day celebration, contact Elizabeth McInnes, professor of biology at [email protected] or 575-6299. Photo: www.abcteach.com
T H E A M A Z I N G W O R L D O F S C I E N C E & N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y Bookworm story telling CONTACT US Modesto Junior College Story hour during the school year is geared to 3-4 year olds. The animal shows West Campus are suitable for children 5 and older. All stories and shows run from Science Community Center 10am - 11am, and are free with admission. 2201 Blue Gum Ave Modesto, CA 95358
Bookworm Story Telling Schedule: 209-575-6196 Apr. 7th Spring Animals & Plants 209-575-6466 fax Apr. 21st Earth-Day Everyday [email protected] May 5th Beautiful Butterflies www.mjc.edu/gvm
May 19th Butterflies/Moths MUSEUM PUBLIC HOURS Sunday Closed Monday Closed Nature shop featured items Tuesday 9am-4pm Fokmanis Puppets Wednesday 9am-4pm Thursday 9am-4pm Folkmanis® believes imagination is the Friday 9am-4pm key to a healthy childhood, Saturday 9am-4pm encouraging play and discovery to develop the skills necessary in life. The Public parking on the MJC company has been making the most campus is $2 Monday - innovative and engaging specialty puppets in the world Friday. Please bring small since 1976, delighting imaginations and winning nearly bills. Parking is free after 5 every industry, child development, and kid-tested award pm on Fridays and all day - many repeatedly. A gift of a puppet encourages on weekends. imaginative, open-ended play, endearing hugs, and snuggly companionship. (www.folkmanis.com) PLANETARIUM The planetarium currently Choose from the majestic American Kestrel to a cuddly has public showings on Black Bear cub and many more. Pick your full-sized puppets or fun-sized finger Saturdays at 11am & 1pm puppets up from the Nature Shop today. and during Science Night at the Museum, which is the Traveling teacher corner 1st Friday of every month.
Tickets available at the The Traveling Teachers have been on the run since GVM Nature Shop or September. We have filled most dates up to and most of May 2017. online. Not recommended GVM Traveling Teachers go to Home School meeting sites, local for children under 4 years of libraries, elementary school cafeterias or other public or private age. Limited to the first 100 facilities to do our presentations. You will find us at Charter School guests. Please arrive 10-15 locations as well as elementary, secondary and high School minutes prior to scheduled locations. The teachers call us in when the curriculum requires a bit more hands- show time as the doors to on and review for their classes. Our classes have also been used as incentives for the Planetarium DO NOT class good behavior and rewards. If your child is having a birthday, why not treat OPEN once the program their class with a program from Great Valley Museum’s Education Resource has begun. Guide. In June GVM traveling teachers head out to local schools to participate in Jump Start programs and summer enrichment programs throughout the valley. Check our web page, Summer Science will be at GVM this summer call for information 209-575-6196, www.mjc.edu/gvm for our main phone line. This 2017 Summer Science class list will be available soon. programs, times and pricing. 2 Directors notes
Our calendars are full! What exactly does that mean? It means we have school groups booked Tuesdays thru Fridays from now through May with museums tours, animal presentations and planetarium shows. Along with our dedicated docents, the museums outreach program also has a busy few months ahead. Our Traveling Teachers are getting little rest as they too have programs scheduled thru May at hundreds of elementary schools all over our central valley. I’m excited to announce that we have a new rotating exhibit coming soon. It is titled “A New Star in the Ancient Human Family.” It is being curated by Denise Godbout-Avant, a retired Modesto Junior College (MJC) and Merced College biology educator/technician and wonderful Great Valley Museum docent. The exhibit will explore the 2014 findings of the Homo naledi fossil bones in South Africa and MJC anthropology professor Dr. Debi Bolter’s role as part of international team that is analyzing the findings. The exhibit will include 3D fossil replicas of skulls, dentition, hands and feet of several species of hominids which will be compared with H. naledi fossil replicas. The exhibit is scheduled to run through fall 2017.
Great Valley Museum Membership Individual ($50) / Senior ($40) Family ($120)
Free museum admission for the card holder All benefits of the Individual/Senior level Free check-out of science suitcases Free museum admission for family up to 6 Free quarterly newsletter 10% discount on one Traveling Teacher Program 10% discount on Nature Shop purchases Member-priced planetarium ticket for Discounted member pricing on GVM family up to 6 classes and events Discounted access to over 880 museums through Member-priced planetarium ticket the NARM program for the card holder
Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Phone: E-mail:
Check payable to the Great Valley Museum, 2201 Blue Gum Ave., Modesto, CA 95358 Credit cards accepted at the museum or online at www.mjc.edu/gvm
3 MAPS
MAPS presents free, informative and engaging community science programs. Fridays 7:30pm, MJC West Campus Sierra Hall 132*
Feb. 24th “ Flight of the Living Dead ” Professor John Hafernik, CSUSF is a TEDx speaker and an expert on honeybees. He has done extensive research with parasitic wasps that turn them into"zombees."
Mar. 17th A Physics Show *At the State Theatre, 1307 J St* Frank Cascarano and David Marasco of Foothill College will present a series of exciting physics demonstrations appropriate for people of all ages. Co-sponsored by the State Theatre.
Apr. 7th Dr. Amrith Gunasekera from the Calif. Dept. of Food and Agriculture will talk about the effects of climate change on agriculture (with a focus on California).
MAPS Committee: Richard Anderson, Bill Anelli, Dan Chase, Terri Curtis, Catherine Greene, Mike Kennedy, Susan Kerr, Elizabeth McInnes, Steve Murov, Chandra Richter
Science colloquiums Spring 2017
MJC West Campus SCC 115 Wednesdays 3:15pm – 4:15pm
March 1st Richard Anderson, MJC Biology Professor Emeritus, “Earth's 6th Extinction... is Actually the 7th”
March 8th Linda Brzezinski, MJC Adjunct Instructor of Chemistry, “The Great American Eclipse of 2017”
March 15th Elizabeth McInnes, MJC Biology Professor, “An Update on Climate Change”
March 22nd Debra Bolter, Ph.D, MJC Anthropology Professor, “What's new with Homo naledi and the Rising Star Cave, South Africa?”
March 29th Sarah E.J. Martin, M.S., CCC-SLP, “Career Opportunities for Speech-Language Pathologist, Another High Demand Allied Health Profession”
April 5th Teri Curtis, MJC Biology Professor, “Success Stories from California’s Channel Islands”
April 12th (Thursday, after Earth Day Celebration) – Earth Day Film – “Before the Flood”
Science Colloquium Committee: Richard Anderson, Dan Chase, Jill Cross, Teri Curtis, Catherine Greene, Denise Godbout-Avant, Deborah Martin, Elizabeth McInnes
4 Gifts/Donations and new GVM members
The Great Valley Museum has a nice way to remember a deceased relative or friend, or to acknowledge a birthday, anniversary or other special occasion. You can make a memorial contribution or recognition gift to the Great Valley Museum in someone’s name. We acknowledge your gift in three ways: with a thank you to you, with a note to the family or honoree saying that you have made a donation and specifying the occasion, and with a listing in Valley Views.
Gifts/Donations New Members The Bennevity H. Dieter & Hanna Alicaia Community Impact Fund Renning Salcedo Patricia Hambric Mitch Gagos Sarah Spearing Martha Carter-Bhatti John Stott Catherine Integral Investment Colleen Norby Wooley Advisors Inc.
Audubon’s 2016 bird of the year
San Francisco, CA – Online voters this month have named one of the most high-profile conservation touchstone species as the 2016 Audubon California Bird of the Year. The Northern Spotted Owl – which has inhabited the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest for thousands of years – received the designation after totaling nearly 25 percent of votes cast during an online poll this fall. The Northern Spotted Owl is dark brown with roundish features and – true to its name –white spots. Its deep hooting call echoes romantically through the dense forests. First impacted by the logging industry, the owl earned “threatened” designation under the Federal Endangered Species Act in 1990. Despite the federal listing, the bird continues to decline rapidly due to habitat loss, encroachment by other species, climate change, wildfire, and other factors. This year, Audubon advocates successfully supported Environmental Protection Information Center in its effort to list the species under the California Endangered Species Act. “Every bird that was nominated this year has an important conservation story,” said Brigid McCormack, executive director of Audubon California. “The Northern Spotted Owl is not only a joy to see, but it’s also a strong symbol for the importance of conservation.” More than 5,400 votes were cast in this year’s Bird of the Year poll, but this may have been our closest contest yet. The Northern Spotted Owl finished with 24.88 percent of the vote, just edging the California Scrub Jay, which got 24.02 percent. The Coastal California Gnatcatcher was a close third at 21.32 percent. “Each of the nominated birds was a focus of our conservation work in 2015,” said McCormack. “Our hope is that the attention this award brings to the Northern Spotted Owl will help raise awareness of the conservation needs of all birds throughout the state.” (ca.audubon.org)
If you would like to save a tree and get the Valley Views Newsletter e-mail notice instead of a mailed hard copy, email: [email protected]. Please provide your name, email address and a statement about preferring an email copy rather than a mailed hard copy.
5 Calendar - Spring 2017 MARCH SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1 2 3 4 Science Bookworm 10am Planetarium
Colloquium 3pm 11am & 1pm Science Night 7pm-10pm Open 9am - 4pm 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Science Planetarium CLOSED CLOSED Colloquium 3pm 11am & 1pm
Open 9am - 4pm 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Science Bookworm 10am CLOSED CLOSED Colloquium 3pm MAPS 7:30pm GALA Open 9am - 4pm 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Science Planetarium CLOSED CLOSED Colloquium 3pm 11am & 1pm
Open 9am - 4pm 26 27 28 29 30 31 Science CLOSED CLOSED Colloquium 3pm
Open 9am - 4pm APRIL SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY
1 Planetarium 11am & 1pm
Open 9am - 4pm 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Science Bookworm 10am Planetarium Colloquium 3pm Science Night 11am & 1pm CLOSED CLOSED 7pm-10pm MAPS 7:30pm Open 9am - 4pm 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Science Planetarium CLOSED CLOSED Colloquium 3pm 11am & 1pm
Open 9am - 4pm 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Bookworm 10am Planetarium CLOSED CLOSED 11am & 1pm
Open 9am - 4pm 23/30 24 25 26 27 28 29 Planetarium CLOSED CLOSED 11am & 1pm
Open 9am - 4pm 10
25 18 11 4 28 21 14 7
FEBRUARY DECEMBER SUNDAY SUNDAY CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
T H EAT H M A Z I N G W ORL D O F S CI EN C E&N A T URA L IH STO R Y
29 22 15 8 1 26 19 12 5
MONDAY MONDAY CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED CLOSED
Calendar Calendar
6 30 23 16 9 2 27 20 13
TUESDAY TUESDAY
24 17 10 3 28 21 14 7 31 WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY JUNE
MAY -
Spring 2017 Spring SummerScience SummerScience
25 18 11 4 29 22 15 8 1
THURSDAY THURSDAY
Open9am Open9am Open9am Open9am Open9am Open9am Open9am Open9am Open9am Open9am
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4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm 4pm
26 19 12 5 30 23 16 9 2
Bookworm10am Science Night Bookworm10am Bookworm10am Science Night Bookworm10am 7pm 7pm
FRIDAY FRIDAY - - 10pm 10pm
27 20 13 6 24 17 10 3
Planetarium Planetarium Planetarium Planetarium Planetarium Planetarium Planetarium Planetarium 11am 1pm& 11am 1pm& 11am 1pm& 11am 1pm& 11am 1pm& 11am 1pm& 11am 1pm& 11am 1pm& SATURDAY SATURDAY
SPRING 2017
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Curtis Teri Curator: [email protected]
Elems W. Stan Curator: Senior fax 6466 - 575 (209)
Leatherman Samuel Technician: Office Museum 6196 - 575 (209)
Flemate Molly Ed: Outreach - Specialist Museum www.mjc.edu/gvm
Chavez Arnold Director: Museum
US WITH CONNECT
Alt Al Dr. Representative: MJC
DeMartini Anne Representative: Board YCCD $2 F: - M Parking
Free w/ID: students MJC
Bhatti - Carter Martha Stetler Joyce $4 55+: Age
Hockenbery Larry Vieira Denise $15 6): to (up Family
Martin Deborah DVM Kahler, Jeff $3 : 12 - 3 Children
McInnes Elizabeth Gohring Roger 5 $ Over: & 12
McAndrews James Secretary: ADMISSION MUSEUM
Fisher Tim Treasurer:
Loomis Diana President: Vice Closed Monday: & Sunday
Karambela Jodi President: 4:00pm - 9:00am Saturday: - Tuesday
DIRECTORS OF BOARD MUSEUM HOURS PUBLIC MUSEUM