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Children's Science Center
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Formerly Children's Museum of Northern Virginia
July 2008 |
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Greetings!
You probably haven't heard from us in a while, but rest assured that we have been working extremely hard to bring to you and your children a world-class, interactive, fun and educational offering here in Northern Virginia as quickly as possible.
We have taken on a science focus and changed our name to reflect that, but we will still have all the traditional, hands-on exhibits you want from a children's museum. Our vision has expanded to include a mission to inspire children to explore science, math and technology in the hopes of helping to grow the next generation of scientists our country desperately needs.
We hope you will take a few moments to read on and learn about all the progress we have made since our last newsletter.
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A Look Toward The Future
The new Children's Science Center has taken great strides in the past year to create a much-needed resource for children and family members in Northern Virginia and the metropolitan Washington, DC area. In 2007, the Board of Directors voted to make the facility a science-focused children's museum and established partnerships with the University of Maryland and the Maryland Science Center. Since then, the focus has been to spark children's interest in science through a variety of interactive exhibits and engaging programs that stimulate creativity, encourage exploration of math and science, and promote active learning.
We have nicknamed this year "The Big Reveal" as the newly renamed Children's Science Center will unveil its new logo and Web site, its first Executive Director, approximately 20,000 square feet of new temporary museum space in Reston, and its first capital campaign to raise funds for the building that will house the permanent center and its interactive exhibits. In an era when industry experts warn that the U.S. education system is failing to provide the math and science skills necessary for kids to compete in the 21st century workforce, the Children's Science Center is committed to growing future scientists and engineers to ensure the continued prosperity of the high-tech industry not only in the Washington, D.C. area but the entire nation.
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Help Us Grow
It's never too soon to make a donation to Children's Science Center. Your gift of any size will have its biggest impact now as we work hard to grow into the resource our families want and deserve.
In addition to financial support, you can help us make a connection to the corporate and foundation donors who will fuel our upcoming capital campaign. You can even donate online.
For more information, contact Office Manager Justine Wagner at info@cmnova.org.
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Kids' Science Corner
Consider This Fun Summer Activity For Your Children
Apply a generous amount of shaving cream onto a plate.
Have your kids place 1 drop of food coloring at a time, one color at a time, onto the shaving cream and mix thoroughly with their hands.
Then have them drop and mix in another drop of color to create a new color.
Press a piece of paper firmly onto the shaving cream mixture then wipe off the excess shaving cream.
Explain how colors combine to create new colors and discuss how different hues can be achieved using more or fewer drops of food coloring. |
We Need Volunteers!
Volunteering your time is another way you can help Children's Science Center. In addition to general volunteers, we are looking for a volunteer to to keep our books, preferably someone with a CPA background. If you are interested in these or other volunteer positions, please contact Justine Wagner at info@cmnova.org
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Our New Partners
Children's Science Center is demonstrating its ongoing commitment to being a museum uniquely "for kids by kids" by partnering with the University of Maryland's Human-Computer Interaction Lab and the Maryland Science Center.
The HCIL, renowned for a diverse array of innovations designed to enrich users' experiences with technology, has deep expertise working with children to shape and assess technology. Its achievements range from creating the International Children's Digital Library and the Classroom of the Future to extensive research into the use of children as design partners.
Dr. Allison Druin, director of the HCIL, is a leading expert on how children use technology and firmly believes children should be included in the creation of new technology for kids. Dr. Druin also will be serving as chair of our Educational Advisory Board.
Another new partner is the Maryland Science Center, a leading science-focused museum striving to cultivate an interest in science through interactive exhibits and educational experiences. We are collaborating with MSC on the design and development of two new exhibits using the HCIL's unique child-centered design methods.
Children's Science Center is thrilled to be working with both organizations. These partnerships expand our ability to create an exciting environment for children and their families, which will help stimulate interest in math and science. |
| Coming Soon
We are in the process of revamping our online presence, which is scheduled to launch on Sept. 1. Stay tuned for news and updates about our new Web site!
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Our Museum Without Walls
Recent Community Events
Reston Festival
Children's Science Center was on hand to help celebrate Reston's 44th anniversary at the annual Reston Festival on July 12 and 13 at the Reston Town Center. Attractions at the weekend festival included family-friendly activities, rides, games and arts and crafts, as well as the center's entertaining interactive science activities at our booth.
Strides for Success 
Children's Science Center was proud to participate with our partner, Junior League of Northern Virginia, at their annual Strides for Success event. Junior League of Northern Virginia has been our partner since 2006, when they named us as their signature project. This race is one of JLNV's largest annual fundraisers and was a huge success. We were happy to kick off the race and to share one of our museum without walls exhibits with the children who came out for the event.
Herndon Festival About 100,000 visitors were expected for this year's annual festival in historic downtown Herndon. Shown from left to right, Children's Science Center board members Kimberly Beach and Charlie Monts and FAMILY Magazine Ambassador Amy Evans are creating shaving cream art that illustrates how colors are absorbed when paper is pressed onto the shaving cream. ( See Kids' Science Corner to try this experiment at home!)
Viva! Vienna!
Hundreds of residents turned out for the May 24-26 festival, where the Children's Science Center exhibit featured a hands-on construction activity using plastic PVC pipes and joints designed to encourage creativity and spark the kids' imaginations.
Celebrate Fairfax!
The weekend of June 6-8 was hot, but Children's Science Center was at Celebrate Fairfax! to spread the word that science is cool with our unique Electric Butterfly exhibit, which demonstrated electromagnetic forces using paper butterflies and ring magnets.
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Spotlight: Justine Wagner
Office Manager
 Recently, Justine Wagner joined the Children's Science Center team as office manager. Prior to joining the center, Justine was a teacher at a day school in Warrenton and a paraprofessional for Stafford County Public Schools working with special education children in a middle school. Justine has always enjoyed volunteering with youth activities in her church and outreach events in the community.
Justine is responsible for general administration for the museum, including responding to inquiries from volunteers and the public, keeping multiple databases up to date, creating fact sheets about the museum for presentations, and researching information on other children's museums. We hope you will feel free to contact Justine at info@cmnova.org with any ideas or questions you may have.
Welcome, Justine! | |
Honoring Your Commitment A Message from Brenda Hyde,
Chairman of the Board of Directors
 I want to share with you an experience I had at the Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards ceremony on April 24, where fellow board member Charlie Monts and I were honored. Our longtime friend and former board member Joe Richey also received special recognition for his dedication to improving the community of Reston.
The highlight of the ceremony for me was keynote speaker Dr. Alan Merten, president of George Mason University, who discussed the differences between commitment and involvement. As Dr. Merten noted, "Take breakfast for an example. The chicken is involved, the pig is committed."
I want to thank each of you for your commitment to Children's Science Center. Without you, there would be no dream and we would not be charging ahead to provide an interactive museum for children in the region.
Regards,
Brenda Hyde
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