Fall 2016 News about events and exhibits at Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, IL INSIDE: 2Information 35th Birthday New Website 3Special Events #DiscoverTheSpirits 4Tot Spot Classes Home School & 5Family Classes SAVE THE DATE Summer interns to Sip, Sample & Support! 6a huge help! Discover the Spirits is returning Friday, October 21 from 7:30 to 10:30 pm for spirit tasting, orchestrated by Artale Accessibility Wine, with tasty tidbit samplings from Five Forks, Greenfire, Pinnon’s, Thunder Bay, improvements Chick-fil-A, and Sweet Dreams Bakery. Join the spooky fun by dancing to the sounds of Mornings of Fun Frank Calvagna & Vince Chiarello and Carl Cole. The science experiments will amaze you, the intuitive Messy Mondays reader will enlighten you, and our caricature artist will delight you! We welcome all big kids 21 and older to join us for our signature fundraiser. Trip Advisor Tickets are $50/person. Casual business attire is recommended. Certificate of Excellence Register today on our newly designed website to make sure you don’t miss out on this one of a kind event! We’re sure you will have a spooktacular time! For questions or further information, email [email protected]. Grants & Gifts Premier Sponsor Executive Sponsor Partner Sponsors 7 Advanced Machine/Hennig Rock Valley Credit Union Thank you YES Reinhart Boerner Van Duren Williams McCarthy volunteers Join the fun! Associate Sponsors Spirits Sponsors Rockford Bank & Trust First Benefits Group Bill & Audra Capriola Holmstrom Kennedy CoyleKiley Insurance Kids ID and safety event 8 In-Kind Sponsors Record attendance 1 INFORMATION: Help Discovery Hours Center celebrate Monday – Sunday: our 35th birthday! 10 am – 5 pm Fall 2016 marks the 35th anniversary of Admission Discovery Center Museum. We need Adult/Child: $8 your help to celebrate! Please send Children age 1 and us your photos or short videos of your younger and Members: FREE! family enjoying Discovery Center. In addi- tion, we’d love to collect your stories about your Membership kids or grandkids enjoying the museum, how we CLIMB SuperPass: may have influenced your child’s love of science or $135/year; $250/2 years career path or how generations of your family are enjoying the Family SuperPass: $125/year; $250/2 years museum. You can either email your photos, video and/or stories Family Membership: to [email protected] or post them to $85/year; $160/2 years our Facebook page and hashtag #TraditionofDiscovery. We may Grandparent Membership: even ask you to take part in video testimonials! $85/year; $160/2 years We are on track to serve our 5 millionth visitor later this fall! We Individual Membership: hope it will be you! $55/year; $100/2 years We’ve come a long way in 35 years, and we look forward to the Group Rates next 35. We look forward to seeing your photos and videos, as Discounted group rates are available well as reading your stories! for tours, classes, museum rentals, and birthday parties. Reservations required. Discovery Center introduces Contact Us redesigned website Phone: (815) 963-6769 Discovery Center recently launched a complete redesign of Website: www.discoverycentermuseum.org our website at DiscoveryCenterMuseum.org. This new design features new and enhanced content, more photos, improved Staff navigation, and a simple, fresh look. We think the best feature Sarah Wolf ......................... Executive Director for our members and Lisa Coen ...............................Office Manager visitors is the ability (for Kyler Hartje .....................Exhibits Technician/ the first time) to register Planetarium Technician for classes, purchase Michele Larson .......................... Assistant Gift Shop Manager memberships and make Cheryl Maggio..............................Accountant online donations! Finally, Joyce Mazzola .................Gift Shop Manager the redesign is fully Sara McKevitt ............. Development Director responsive, allowing you Hillary Parks.............Guest Services Manager to easily view it whether Bruce Quast ......................... Exhibits Director you are on your Mike Rathbun ................... Associate Director mobile device, Meghan Richards ........ Education Specialist/ Scout Coordinator tablet or computer. Jenny Rossol ........ Early Childhood Educator Let us know how you like it! Maggie Ruggerio ..........Education Specialist Corinne Sosso .............Director of Education Sue Stevens ....................Volunteer & Special Projects Coordinator Discovery Center Museum Ann Marie Walker ........... Marketing Director has birthday parties down to a science! Jessica Williams ............Education Specialist Our fun-filled, hassle-free parties begin at just $125 for Non-Members and $113 for Members and include invitations, Our Mission cupcakes, punch, exploration time in the Museum and more! Create opportunities for joyful learning and Special activity and pizza parties are available for additional fees. discovery through hands-on experiences in Call us at 815.963.6769 to reserve your child’s party the sciences and arts. or for additional information. 2 Fall 2016 discoverycentermuseum.org Fall 2016 Special Events All activities included with museum admission, unless otherwise noted Maker Mania Smashing Pumpkins Saturday, September 10; 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Sunday, November 6; 1:00–4:00 p.m. Join us for a fun day of invention, Watch Newton’s laws of motion construction and innovation! Use real take on new perspective and tools and real materials to create turn your decaying jack-o-lantern amazing projects in our Make It into exciting science! Your porch Workshop! Make a musical instru- décor can become a pumpkin ment, design a boat projectile using our giant trebu- that floats, or learn chet, or surrender it for target practice as part of the to solder! In addi- enormous citadel of squash! Construct a mini-catapult tion, Raspberry of your own, create a craft, fashion a bird feeder, design Pi’s, Cubelets, and autumn artwork, and celebrate the harvest Bee-Bots will be charged with a smashing good time. When the up for coding ed-ventures and launching ends, pumpkin pieces are robotic fun. Assemble our circuit kits collected and fed to local livestock or get engaged with your favorite block- – everybody wins! building materials including Legos, Citi Blocks and Imagination Playground! Science Cornucopia Friday and Saturday, November Worldwide Day of Play 25-26; 11:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Saturday, September 24; 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. We’re turning turkey-day left- Turn off the television and put down your devices! overs into zany science fun! Come to the museum for a day of activities including Experiment with cranberry chem- a hula hoop contest, jumping rope, bean bag toss and istry, engage in hopscotch. Also, pedal your way around our big wheel fruitcake physics, track and make a cup and ball game to take home. and find out what happens to whipped cream Happy Birthday when it’s dropped into liquid Discovery Center! nitrogen! Roll out some Sunday, October 2; 1:00 – 3:50 p.m. gingerbread play dough, Discovery Center is turning 35! We’re make an arithmetical orna- enjoying cupcakes, scooping ice cream, and ment, and bring the family revving up for fun! Come forward with stories to kick off the holiday season and photos, and plot your family on the with extraordinary demos and inter-generational graph of glee. Fashion a birthday festive arts and crafts. hat, construct a noise maker, and join in the celebra- tion as we exploit science to extinguish 35 candles Holiday Hoopla instantaneously! December 26–30; 11:30–3:30 p.m. $3.50 admission all day; 35 year-olds are free! Discovery Center’s lunchroom transforms into holiday headquarters as we merge hands-on arts and crafts Spooky Science with amazing math and science. Vote for your favorite Friday, October 28; 6:00–9:00 p.m. Christmas cookie, snip a snowflake, Bring your Trick-or-Treat bag and create delightful designs, and get ready to grab gobs of goodies discover hidden shapes. in our exhibit spaces as you concoct glowing slime and make Countdown creepy crafts! Fill in a bingo card to Fun! as you garner science facts and Saturday, December 31; feats from expired engineers and 12:30–4:30 p.m. deceased scientists. Explore the Park in the dark, pick up a prize from Alfred Design a party hat, Nobel, enjoy the not-quite-right chemistry create a noise maker, of Dorothy Hodgkin, and practice science tricks that look and get showered like magic! Grown-up ghouls, mid-sized monsters, and with confetti as we little goblins will have an enchanting experience in this find out where in the non-scary Halloween festival of fun! Come in costume! world it’s midnight each hour and countdown to $4 Members; $9 Public fun! Ring in the New Year all afternoon with this ener- getic blend of math, physics, fun, and art. 3 Skele-tons of Fun Cost: $12 Public / $10 Members (per child, per class) Take a closer look at skel- Preregistration required; payment must accompany etons as we discover what registration. Registration begins August 29 for members and gives our bodies shape and August 31 for non-members. Please call 815-963-6769 or strength. Learn which exer- visit our website to register at discoverycentermuseum.org/ cises and tasty food choices education/education-overview help our bones to grow In our classes for 2-year-olds, children must be accompanied healthy and strong. by an adult. We require that siblings (including babies) Sessions for 3- to 6-year-olds: not be in attendance. Your child needs your undivided Session 1 Mon., Oct 24; 9:30–10:30am attention. Session 2 Tues., Oct 25 11:00–Noon Adults are not required to attend classes for 3 to Session 3 Wed., Oct 26; 9:30–10:30am 6-year-olds but are welcome to come in to Session 4 Wed., Oct 26; 11:00–Noon observe the class. Session 5 Wed., Oct 26; 1:00–2:00pm Cancellation Policy: refunds (less 10%) are It’s Appletime! Session 6 Thurs., Oct 27; 9:30–10:30am available for classes when cancelled Pick up some apple facts in Sessions for 2-year-olds: at least 10 days in advance.