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News from the Chair
October was a huge month for science education in our region! We are proud to have served thousands of children and families with Museum without Walls events in a single month. Starting with the Fall for Fairfax festival, then the aviation festival in Warrenton, and culminating with an amazing two days at the USA Science and Engineering Expo on the National Mall. We have never seen larger crowds -- parents, grandparents and children in our area are clearly hungry for science enrichment and did not leave the Expo disappointed. In addition to our windmills and generators, there were robots above and below water, rockets, brains, Ben Franklin, and of course, tons of LEGOs, among many exciting hands-on activities. Imagine having a center right here in our neighborhood that could provide this every day of the year!
November will be just as exciting as we fill an entire room with Museum without Walls exhibits at the 10th Annual Enchanted Forest holiday festival, November 20-21 at the Reston Sheraton, and we'll feature a float in the Reston Holiday Parade.
November is also a great time to get plugged into frontline activities to develop the Children's Science Center; whether your speciality is science, education, marketing, finance, events, or friend and fund raising, we want you to be a part of our movement to bring a Children's Science Center "with walls" to Northern Virginia!
Yours,
Nene Spivy
Chair, Board of Directors |
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Who Doesn't Love a Parade?
The Children's Science Center will appear the Reston Holiday Parade
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the RestonTown Center and the 19th annual parade. The parade, to be held on Friday, November 26 at 11:00 a.m. This year's theme is "Defining. Inspriring." What could be more inspiring then an opportunity to build a place in our community at which children can learn, have fun and inspired to develop interest in STEM subjects - science, engineering, technology and mathematics?
The Children's Science Center parade float will be inspiring too. Come out and see our large, "active" volcano and other on-float technology exhibits, all staffed by children.
If anyone would like to volunteer to be a part of our parade float assembly during the middle of November, please contact Board Member Jim Dunn.
An estimated 10,000 people attend the annual parade, which features Macy's style balloons, musical groups, dancers, antique cars, community groups, the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus in a horse-drawn carriage and more from around the region. The parade route will be along Market Street, traveling East to West begining at 11:00 a.m. Later in the day will be the Reston Town Center's annual Christmas tree lighting and other holiday entertainment and festivities. We hope to see you there. |
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Inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival
The Inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival, the country's first national science event, recently descended on the Washington, D.C. area! The festival, sponsored by Lockheed Martin and hosted by the White House, was the ultimate multi-cultural, multi-generational, and multi-disciplinary celebration of science in the United States. The culmination of the festival was a two-day expo on the National Mall that featured over five-hundred science and engineering organizations from all over the country. These exhibitors provided visitors with the opportunity to engage in hands-on fun science activities in order to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. Thanks to a grant from the Department of Energy, this year's expo placed special emphasis on areas such as clean energy, alternative energy, green chemistry, bio-mimicry, sustainability, ecology, and conservation.
The Children's Science Center was there as over 500,000 visitors crowded the nation's capitol over the course of the weekend. In conjunction with the expo's emphasis on alternative energy, The Children's Science Center presented "Energy for Today: Renewable Wind Power," an exhibit that showcases the potential of wind power, wind turbines, and the fundamentals behind this technology, providing children of all ages the opportunity to participate. Visitors to the exhibit engineered their own Lego wind turbines while handheld crank generators demonstrated the physical exertion needed to power the turbine's generator in order to produce enough electricity to illuminate light bulbs. Our visitors (over 2,000 of them at our booth alone!) also had the opportunity to make their own "lung-powered" pinwheels to take home as a souvenir.
The Children's Science Center is incredibly grateful for all of the support and hard work our Museum without Walls volunteers provided for this event! We particularly want to recognize the Junior League of Northern Virginia, Family Magazine, Cornerstone Montessori School, and Tetra Tech Corporation for their support for this exhibit.
For more great images from the Science and Engineering Festival please visit our Facebook page. |
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Museum without Walls Coming to The Enchanted Forest
See our newest exhibit: "Energy for Today: Renewable Wind Power"
Join us in the Children's Science Center Room at the Junior League of Northern Virginia's 10th Annual The Enchanted Forest, Saturday, November 20 from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, November 21 from 10:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m.
The Enchanted Forest is a winter-themed festival designed for the entire family and includes activities such as Breakfast with Santa, Cocoa and Georgetown Cupcake with the Snow Fairy Princess, Kids in the Holiday Kitchen, a professional train display, musical and dance performers, arts and crafts, photos with Santa, a holiday shopping boutique, the 10th Anniversary Diamond Gala, and the "forest" itself filled with merchandise-decorated holiday trees, along with the Children's Science Center Room's interactive activities. General admission tickets are just $10. See www.jlnv.org for more information  .
The 2009 event served more than 1,600 people from across Northern Virginia, showcased two mission-based programs, and raised approximately $50,000 in net proceeds. These funds go to support the Junior League of Northern Virginia's various community programs that work toward preparing children for success in education. The Children's Science Center is a Signature Project of the Junior League of Northern Virginia. As a founding Partner of the Children's Science Center, the Junior League of Northern Virginia supports the mission of the Center through capital contributions and the service of trained volunteers.
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Great Volunteer Opportunity WITH BENEFITS Museum with Walls needs your help!
 Volunteer to lend a hand in the Children's Science Center's Room at the Enchanted Forest and receive two FREE general admission tickets for your service! The following shifts are available:
Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - noon
Saturday, noon - 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - noon
Sunday, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Contact Lori Ann to get more information or to volunteer for a shift. |
What Can I Do?
Spread the word and connect others!
People are always asking what they can do to help the Children's Science Center vision become a reality. The answer is simple; Spread the Word! We challenge you this month to excite at least one person to become a Facebook Fan, sign up for our newsletter. If you are an uber-networker with a passion for this project, take it one step further and consider being one of our Community Ambassadors! So dust off your address book, email contacts or phone numbers and get the word out. Contact us to learn more -- it is an easy way to make a big impact. |
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Lights! Camera! Action!
The Children's Science Center wants to bring our story to life in a video -- do you have the expertise or contacts to help make it possible? Contact us so we can get started on the video that can help change our community! |
Challenge: Rubber Turkey Bone
Just in Time for Thanksgiving Fun!
Is it possible to bend a turkey bone without breaking it? Do this simple experiment and find out.
What You Need:  - A turkey wish bone
- Small glass jar with lid
- Vinegar
What You Do:
- Thoroughly clean the turkey bone to remove all meat and cartilage
- Scrub the bone with soap and water. Rinse all soap off
- Place the bone in the jar and cover with vinegar.
- Remove the bone from the jar after 2 days and rinse.
- Try to bend the bones and see what happens
How This Works: In this experiment, the vinegar reacts with the calcium carbonate in the bones. Calcium Carbonate is CaCO3. The vinegar breaks it apart. The calcium dissolves in the solution and the Carbon Dioxide bubbles to the surface. Without the calcium, the bone is soft and rubbery. This experiment shows how important calcium carbonate is to your bones.
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| The Children's Science Center is an interactive hands-on museum being planned for Northern Virginia. Our mission is to excite children about science, technology, engineering, and math by making these subjects fun and enabling children to learn through play. For more information, visit www.TheChildrensScienceCenter.org. Please direct all inquiries to The Children's Science Center, 485 Spring Park Place Suite 500, Herndon VA 20170.
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