Dear Friends,

Happy spring! As you'll read below, CMEE has plenty going on this season! I'm delighted that two groups in the community took me up on my offer in last month's E-News to partner with the Museum. In a few weeks, we'll be hosting the Sag Harbor Elementary School's Bingo Night as well as a "Respite Night" with the Flying Point Foundation for Autism where parents can have an evening out while their children play at CMEE.   

Earlier this week, CMEE staff meet with Michael Derrig and his team from Landscape Details. They are in the early stages of developing an outdoor playscape plan that will help CMEE encourage children to play outdoors. Our colleagues from the Group for the East End, Peconic Land Trust, and South Fork Natural History Museum point out that despite living in a rural area, many children in our community suffer from "nature deficit disorder," a term coined by Richard Louv in his book, Last Child in the Woods. The reason children are spending less time outdoors, according to the documentary film Where do the Children Play?, is due to unwarranted fears of "stranger danger" and the increased use of digital media.

What should CMEE do? The Association of Children's Museums is encouraging its members to help find ways for children to learn with nature. To promote environmental education this season, CMEE is thrilled to present a gardening program, "Roots and Shoots" on Wednesday mornings starting next month, as well as the second annual Peconic Family Fun Day on May 7. Please read below for more information.

Not only has there been a diminishing connection between children and nature, the child development experts in Where do the Children Play? warn that the time children spend in any kind of self-directed play is disappearing and it needs to be preserved. As a museum, CMEE is committed to the preservation of play, which I believe is just as important as the preservation of a collection is to an art museum. I'm curious if you think play is disappearing. If you disagree, I welcome your feedback.

There are plenty of ways to construct, pretend, or get active this month at the Museum, including our Pizza and Pajama Night tomorrow, our Mad Hatter Tea Party on April 16, and Waffle Day on April 24. This month's E-Newsletter describes many ways for adults to play benefitting CMEE, too! I hope to see you soon at the Museum.

Sincerely,

 Stephen Long

Executive Director

Birdhouses...Bunnies...Cupcakes...

Flowerpots...Spring Break!

Cycle away to support upgrades to

the Museum's exhibits!

Saturday, April 2 from 4-5pm

B East Fitness Studio

199 Main Street, Amagansett

(631) 267-0900

www.eastfit.com

You're Invited!

What:

A Very Important Date: CMEE's 4th Annual

"Mad Hatter Tea Party"

When:

Saturday, April 16 10:30am - 12pm

(and, of course, don't be late!)

Where:

All around CMEE - inside & out (weather permitting!)

Hosted by: 

 Henry...

It's not every day that Henry the Rabbit steps out of his hutch to host a special event...but CMEE's annual "Mad Hatter Tea Party" has all the ingredients for fun that make this one of the Museum's most anticipated annual events! It's mad fun all around...

Come join Henry (just don't call him the March Hare) and celebrate the start of Spring (and Spring Break) at last!Saturday, April 16 from 10:30am to 12pm.

Held throughout the Museum and outside as well (weather cooperating), the festivities include decorating hats in a "Mad Hatter Hat Workshop" (go wild!); spring-themed art activities, and an egg hunt at 11am sharp in CMEE's back yard for fun surprises. Guests can enjoy complimentary treats and lemonade plus the pre-requisite 'tea'. 

New this year....A cake worthy of wonderland! Alice would go mad for a piece - and so will you! Thank you to local cake baker/decorator Diane Roncone owner of Zany Kakes  for donating a three-tiered topsy-turvy cake!  Imagine: A layer for Alice (think blue stripes!), one for the Queen of Hearts (red hearts and roses...) and of course, somewhere in the wild mix, to 'top it all off: a crazy tier for the Mad Hatter! -- lopsided, delicious fun!

There is no cost for Members; Non-Members: $17, which includes Museum admission.

No advance registration necessary, but visitors are encouraged to arrive between 10:30 and 11am for this popular annual event.

Run don't walk to this!....

Kids in Sports classes have a popular following year round throughout Manhattan, Greenwich and Northport, LI., and are now heading to Bridgehampton for a first ever Hamptons week long camp at CMEE!

This celebrated drop-off camp is geared for 3-5 year olds and will run from 9am-12pm and includes a snack and juice. Little athletes can play baseball, football, soccer, capture the flag and participate in relay races and parachute games with fellow friends and great Kids in Sports coaches. 

For fee information or to register, visit: www.kisync.com or call: 212-744-4900.

The Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton will provide the sensational setting and course for CMEE's annual golf outing on Tuesday, May 10 - a mere ten weeks away! Begin the day with breakfast at 8:30am and a Shotgun start at 10am. Following your round, enjoy lunch and cocktails overlooking Peconic Bay. It's a wonderful way to support CMEE!

For more information or to sign up, please visit CMEE's website at www.cmee.org/golf-for-cmee

Special Offer for CMEE Sebonack Outing Participants!

Play two days in a row!  Tune up your golf game on Monday, May 9 by playing the Olde Vine Golf Club in Riverhead, which was specially designed to blend the East End's rich environmental qualities with a challenging course layout. Flexible tee times are available.

Following the round, stay overnight at the chic, boutique Hotel Indigo. The cost for the round of golf and overnight stay is $150and is fully tax deductible. To register, please call the Hotel Indigo at 631.369.2200 or email rob@eastendhotels.com.

A weekend without waffles is, well....not as delicious a weekend!

Now at CMEE, on the last Sunday of every month, you can cook and enjoy your own fresh waffles at "Waffle Day @ CMEE" - a deliciously popular new cooking program that has families heading to the Museum for breakfast!

Sunday, April 24 at 10am  

   
 Children will have fun mixing the batter and adding the mix to their own Belgian waffle-makers (in fun circus shapes!) and within minutes, top off with syrup or whipped cream, and enjoy a yummy breakfast they've made themselves.

A treat for the whole family!

Group for the East End, Peconic Land Trust, Cornell Cooperative Extension, South Fork Natural History Museum (SoFo) are once again collaborating with CMEE on Peconic Family Fun Day on May 7. Taking place for free at CMEE from 10am to Noon, Peconic Family Fun Day will entertain and educate families with children ages 5 to 10 about water management, agricultural sustainability, recycling, and environmental stewardship.

Families can enjoy a carnival of activities, including games, a live touch tank, arts & crafts stations, a seed planting station, a groundwater model and taste testing, music, and more.

This year, SoFo will lead free nature walks, designed especially for familiesto teach children about the plants, insects and animals that call the field behind SoFo home.

CMEE is thrilled to be working with our partner organizations again this year to connect children with nature in a fun, accessible way and teach them about the importance of our estuaries and ecosystems. 

The festivities will run from 10am until noon, rain or shine. There is no cost and reservations are not necessary. Free admission to CMEE is included during this event.

Ruby Jackson of the Pollock Krasner House and Study Center led a special workshop at CMEE in March --- creativity was clearly in the air - and on the floor! Thank you, Ruby, for a fun-and-learning filled workshop... 

 Above photographs courtesy of The Southampton Press/Kyril Bromley

Pretend Play at 'work' at CMEE...

 BIG KIDS PLAYING AT CMEE!

Greetings!

Can you spot me in the photo below? Look hard! Yes, that's me in the corner, enjoying the view as my friend, Doug does some spring cleaning in  the CMEE garden last month!  Just wait until you see what will be growing here this summer! So sign up early for the "Roots & Shoots" Gardening Class...we'll both be there! (And, as always, I'm more than happy to be your 'taste tester'...)

Yours truly,

Henry

A 5K Walk/Run to raise funds for a scholarship fund in honor of Sag Harbor resident, Kathryn "Katy" Collins Stewart, who died of cancer at age 12 in December, will be held on April 9 at 8:30am. Check in begins at 7am in Sag Harbor, at West Water Street and Long Island Avenue.

The Race will benefit Katy's Courage Memorial Scholarship Fund and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (The Max Cure Fund).

The CMEE family hopes there will be a wonderful turn-out and show of support at this benefit race, to pay tribute to such a beloved member of our community, and that funds raised in Katy's honor will help make a difference to fight this disease.

For more information about Katy visit CaringBridge.org, which details Katy's journey. For more information about Katy's Courage 5K, contact Andrea at 631.682.5379.

To register for the race please visit: https://www.islandrunning.net/register