Happy New Year! After a fantastic December, CMEE was delighted to ring in 2011 last week with over 400 people attending our annual New Year's Eve "Ball Drop." With so many of you visiting CMEE during the holiday break and throughout the year, CMEE had its highest attendance ever in 2010.

I'm grateful to CMEE's visitor services and programming staff including Amy, Cathy, Christine, Daphne, Doug, Katherine, Kristen and Susan who welcomed tens of thousands of visitors to the Museum in 2010. To help you get to know them better, we profiled Amy in last month's newsletter and this month you can learn more about Doug.

In addition to welcoming visitors, we welcome your feedback! Christine received an especially thought-provoking comment from a preschool age boy who visited last month. When she asked if he enjoyed himself at the Museum, he responded by saying "CMEE isn't a museum, it is place to play and have fun." When Christine relayed this story to me, I wondered why he felt strongly that a museum wasn't a place for fun and play. After all, promoting learning through play is central to the Museum's mission.

Like the Natural History Museum, I believe museums should help identify the important questions in their community and collaborate with other organizations to address them.

At CMEE, we're eager to hear from you about whether the term "museum" accurately reflects what we do. If CMEE isn't a museum, what is it?

Thank you for your input on our question last month about what role technology should play at CMEE. The overwhelming responses recommended that CMEE feature low-tech opportunities for play. This response from a CMEE member was typical: "Kids are bombarded by technology everywhere:  school, home, even libraries.  I think free play and purely imaginative play are critically important to brain and social development, and there are, sadly, very few places in which children can play and interact without the intrusion of technology. They will have the rest of their lives to become technologically savvy.  Let's let them have a place like CMEE where they can be free from it in their early years."

A Bridgehampton native of Costa Rican descent, Doug attended Mercy High School and is now working towards his masters in Criminal Justice all while helping out at CMEE. He is bilingual, which is another wonderful plus for his interactions with CMEE visitors.  

When asked what drew him to CMEE, Doug says, "I love anything involving children, you learn so much from them and never know what to expect! I also love adding my own creative touches to the Museum -- maybe switching the big mats around to keep things interesting, or helping out in the classroom. Children make you think about things and prepare you for the future."

Doug also works closely with Program Coordinator, Amy Slack, helping with classes and workshops, or travelling on the Hamptons Tumblebus to 'deliver' a birthday party. He also leads CMEE's new "Lego Club" on Saturday mornings, and recently assembled over seventy gingerbread houses (no small task!) for a holiday workshop. And who could forget his appearance at our Halloween Bash, costumed head-to-toe as "Gumby" - greeting visitors at the door and passing out treats.

Says Doug "How about Gumby! This was definitely a stand out day for me at CMEE - I love him! And, whoever put the Charlie Brown video in the big chair? Love that!"

 

Visit www.cmee.org or call Christine (631-537-8250)

to see how we can help you create a CMEE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!

Over 80 gingerbread houses were frosted, gum-dropped, candy-caned and otherwise decorated at CMEE at a December Get Creative workshop, prompting the addition of two extra sessions. Clearly, this annual event is still a favorite among families - and little architects!

A record number of revellers - 409 to be exact! - gathered at CMEE's New Year's Eve "Ball Drop" to count down to 2011 from the Museum's "Times Square" where a sparkling ball dropped (literally!) at the stroke of noon.