2011 Texas Book Festival

20 10 2011

Now that’s it’s getting colder, we can think of nothing finer than snuggling up with a blanket and reading our favorite books. And with that in mind…

The 2011 Texas Book Festival is here! Bringing authors and readers together for literacy, ideas, and imagination, this is a free public even that happens every year at the State Capitol here in Austin. This is the 15th annual Texas Book Festival and it will be taking place Saturday and Sunday, October 22-23.

To kick-off this exciting festival, here at ACM we’ll be hosting an event Friday October 21st from 3:30-5:30 where you can meet Doreen Cronin author of  M.O.M. and Eileen Christelow author of Five Little Monkeys Reading in Bed.

Happy reading!





Costume Contest!

19 10 2011

Calling all dinosaurs in training! Are you the fiercest t. rex? How ’bout the most colorful triceratops? Then come into ACM and let us hear you roar!

This month, the Museum is hosting a Dino Costume Contest. If you think you’re the best-looking dino in town, then come in with your homemade costumes and you may win a membership here at The Austin Children’s Museum. In order to win as the most creative creature, you must follow these guidelines:

  • Make your dino-suit at home (must be homemade)
  • Wear it on your visit to the Museum
  • Take a photo wearing your costume with your fiercest dino-face in the Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice exhibit
  • Upload your photo to the ACM Facebook Album
  • Invite your friends and family to “like” your photo
  • The winner of the most popular photo will receive an ACM membership
  • Second and third place prizes will also be awarded

We’ve included instructions to make your very own costume, watch the slideshow below and follow the link to the costume instructions.

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Have fun creating!

Read the rest of this entry »





I-Spy…

13 10 2011

with my little eye… A FUN CRAFT!

Have you ever been bored on a road trip? Then you’ve probably played the I-Spy game. I-Spy is a guessing game, sometimes played in cars, where the fun is in the observation. There are many variations of the game, and right now at ACM, our newest favorite is the I-Spy Bottle. This fun craft is extremely easy to make and the possibilities of I-Spy combinations are endless!

Here’s the first one we made using random objects, an old water bottle, and plain white rice:

Some tips for making the bottle:

  • Gather items that you know will fit through the opening of the bottle
  • Use a funnel or make a paper one, so the filler (the rice) doesn’t spill
  • Try to add the filler and the objects in increments so the objects don’t all lump together
  • You can hot glue gun the top of the bottle if you want to avoid the contents spilling out in the excitement of I-Spying

You can make all sorts of themes with your I-Spy Bottles, use shells for an ocean theme, or creepy objects for a Halloween one. You can even vary the types of fillers you use: rice, pasta, beans, birdseed, lentils, beads, sand… it all works.

If you want to add another fun step in your I-Spy Bottle creation, try dyeing the filler you use, Momtastic has a great tutorial for coloring rice (it works on beans, pasta, and lentils too!) maybe you could make a rainbow themed bottle?

We even made a Dino-Spy Bottle in honor of our exhibit Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice! Check it out:

We used assorted beans to represent soil. It looks like the tiny triceratops is being excavated from the rocky remains!

Tell us how your bottles turned out, what theme did you choose?





Dino-Bite!

10 10 2011

Dinosaur Diets...

Some dinosaurs were carnivores (meat-eaters) but most were herbivores (plant-eaters).

About 65% of the dinosaurs were plant eaters and 35% percent were meat-eaters. We know this because there are way more fossils found of herbivores than carnivores. For example, over a hundred Protoceratops fossils have been discovered, but only about a dozen T. Rex fossils have been found.

Within the dinosaur food chain it may have taken hundreds of acres of plants to feed a small group of Triceratops, but these Triceratops could supply a single T. rex with enough food to survive over its lifetime!

If you want to make your own herbivorous Triceratops and carnivorous T-Rex at home, you can demonstrate the dino-diet yourself, just download these neat activities: Dino-Bite Triceratops and Dino-Bite Tyrannosaurus Rex (all you need is a clothespin, glue, and something to color with!) Check out how ours turned out:

Share your clothespin creatures with us and let us know how your Dino’s Bite!





Celebrate Chemistry Week with Lava…

6 10 2011

…in a cup! 

Did you know that volcanoes are just a bunch of lava?

Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. Volcanoes form after the eruption of molten lava cools and leaves a raised platform, after repeated eruptions the volcano gets bigger and bigger. We find lava and volcanoes endlessly interesting here at ACM, we even have a featured volcano in our current exhibit Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice.

So what’s happening in this experiment? First of all, the oil floats on top of the water because it is lighter (less dense) than the water. Since the salt is heavier (or more dense) than oil, it sinks down into the water and takes some oil with it, but then the salt dissolves and the oil heads back to the top.

The lava in the cup is demonstrating something you might learn in chemistry class: density. Density refers to mass per unit volume of an object. Most objects have a fixed density, however temperature sometimes can affect this. For example, as lava cools it becomes harder and more dense, neat huh?

If you like this experiment, then you should check out the Museum on Sunday, October 9th, where you can get your hands on your own chemistry activities in honor of National Chemistry Week!





The Mysterious Scavenger Hunt

15 09 2011

The mystery of the scavenger hunt has never been solved…

No one knows for certain where, when and why the fun and mysterious game was created, but the term scavenging has been around since the creation of the English language. To scavenge is to search or inspect and that’s exactly what you do during a scavenger hunt. During the game you search for clues, sometimes using riddles, to get to your next destination where another clue is hiding. When you get to the last clue it leads you to a hidden prize!

Try out this fun scavenger hunt activity at home! At Home Scavenger Hunt

Or come in to The Austin Children’s Museum during half-off admission week September 15th-23rd and try our photo scavenger hunt! Print it here:  Photo Scavenger Hunt or pick it up when you come in.

Scavenge away!





Gravity Well

12 09 2011

Watch the coin orbit!

The Gravity Well here at The Austin Children’s Museum teaches us about energy. When the coin drops lower into the well some of its gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. As the coin drops down it has higher velocity. Also, the coin goes around in smaller circles the lower it gets. So you can see how the coin completes orbits much faster near the center of the well, just like a planet would orbiting around the sun!

Make your own gravity well:

What you need:

  • large piece of paper
  • pencil
  • ruler
  • scissors
  • various balls
  • tape
  • paper tube

Experiment with balls or marbles of all shapes and sizes and send us your results. Do the heavier ones travel faster? What about the smaller ones?

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Send us your pics of your homemade gravity wells!





Why Do Golf Balls Have Dimples?

9 09 2011

To Break Wind!

Golf Ball from kainet on flickr

As funny as it seems, golf balls really do have dimples in order to break the wind. How Stuff Works explains the reasoning:

In the early days of golf, smooth-surfaced balls were used until golfers discovered that old, bumpy balls traveled longer distances. The science of aerodynamics helps explain the dimpled phenomenon. The dimples reduce the drag on a golf ball by redirecting more air pressure behind the golf ball rather than in front of it. The higher levels of pressure behind the golf balls force them to go far distances.

The dimples maximize the distance golf balls travel. Dimpled balls travel up to four times farther than smooth-surfaced golf balls!

The dimples change the levels of pressure by bringing the main air stream very close to the surface of the golf ball. The dimples (or “turbulators”) increase the turbulence in the layer of air next to the surface of the ball. This high-speed air stream near the ball increases the amount of pressure behind the ball, forcing the ball to travel farther.

Here at The Austin Children’s Museum we show the aerodynamics of golf balls in our Ready, Set, Roll exhibit. Come check it out before it leaves on September 18th, golf balls have never had so much fun!





Celebrate Family!: Make a Family Tree

7 09 2011

It’s just starting to cool off, and we all know summer is coming to an end. Heading back to school means less time with the family. So let’s celebrate family one last time before we get back into the daily grind

Here at The Austin Children’s Museum we celebrate family and demonstrate its importance in our exhibit En Mi Familia. En Mi Familia centers around the children’s book of the same name, written and illustrated by Carmen Lomas Garza. Check out the exhibit online: En Mi Familia and the book which inspired the exhibit

En Mi Familia teaches us to love our roots. And what better way to prepare us for our upcoming adventures in school than to remember our roots with our very own family tree!

To make your own at home, print out this cool activity: Family Tree

  • Fill in your family’s name at the bottom and the names of your brothers and sisters next to the empty leaves
  • Use ink to fingerprint your spot and have your family get involved by inking their own leaves too
  • Don’t have ink? Try using a washable marker: color directly onto your finger, then voila! instant ink
  • Use crayons, pencils or markers to color in the rest of the activity to add some fun
  • Hang in a spot you can see everyday, so you remember the importance of your roots

Be sure to visit The Austin Children’s Museum before En Mi Familia leaves September 18th, and send us your finished family trees!





Book Drive!

7 04 2011
Here at ACM, we’re having a book drive during the month of April! We’re hoping to expand our collection of early childhood books, which are used in our Baby Bloomers and Cub Club programs. We talked with Vy, who is our Education Program Intern and one of our staff members running the book drive, to find out more.

What types of books is the Museum looking for?
Vy: Children’s books for ages 0-3; visitors are more than welcome to share their child’s favorite books that they are willing to donate.

What qualities make a book great for ages 0 – 3?
Vy: Books that are colorful, have simple rhymes, and beautiful illustrations!

Why is it important to read to babies and toddlers?
Vy: Books give children a chance to learn about this amazing world. You find yourself talking with children about many topics that don’t usually come up in daily conversation. This adds to their knowledge and improves their vocabulary. They also learn about how to read. These pre-reading skills include everything from how to hold a book, which ways to turn the pages, even the direction that print is read. Reading to children gives them a chance to listen to rhythm and rhyme of words. This will help children learn phonics, which is the connection between letters and sounds. All of these skills will help the children in your care become successful readers. It’s never too soon to begin reading. Some people think that since babies won’t understand all the words, you shouldn’t read to them. But babies love books. Babies develop eye muscles by looking at pictures and learn many words from books.

There are several ways you can get involved:
  1. Bring 1 new or 3 gently used books in exchange for free admission to Cub Club or Baby Bloomers!
  2. Donate books for ages 0-3. We would especially love books from our wish list!
  3. Give spare change, and we’ll buy books. Several businesses have agreed to collect money on our behalf. So far, Texas State Optical, New Mandarin Chinese restaurant, and Chicoine Chiropractor (all three on S. Congress & E. Oltorf) have collection cans for the book drive. We’ll also have one here at the front of the Museum!

Vy’s favorite books to read at Storytime are The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. What is your favorite book?





Let the Good Times Roll: Marble Maze

1 02 2011

Ready, Set Roll!, the Museum’s new featured exhibit just opened. Come learn about friction, gravity and energy. You can have fun learning about how objects roll on your own… make this awesome marble maze at home!

Create a marble maze on the inside of a shoebox lid, so the sides will keep the marble from rolling onto the floor. Mark one corner the start and label a hole in the opposite corner finish. In between the start and the finish cut more holes that you want to avoid. Also, use Popsicle sticks, bottle caps, and other recycled goods to create obstacles.

Pick up your maze and shift it to guide the marble to the end. What did you use to make your maze? Leave a comment and let us know.





A Special Haiku for You

23 12 2010

The Notion of Motion exhibit will leave the Museum on Jan.23,  so make plans to visit when you still can. Artists and scientists work together at the Exploratorium in San Francisco to create exhibits, like Notion of Motion, that are both visually pleasing and educational.  Employees at the Exploratorium also combine art with science by writing Haiku’s on their blog. I was inspired to write my own Haiku about the Notion of Motion exhibits. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry where the first line has five syllables,  the second line has seven, and the final line also has five.

Turn table rotates

Spin a top and watch it swirl

Then fall down and slide

Pendulum strings swing

Different speeds form new patterns

Be patient and watch

Write your own Haiku and share it in the comment section!





Gingerbread fun at the Museum and at Home

19 11 2010

Register for one of the Museum’s gingerbread house workshops today! The workshops will be held from Dec 3.-Dec 19.  It cost $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers per house. Three people can work on one gingerbread house and admission to the Museum is included. We hope you enjoy making a tasty creation in our kitchen and exploring the exciting exhibits.

Get into the spirit by making gingerbread man decorations! I used a strip of butcher paper, but you can cut a strip out of a paper grocery bag. Draw an outline of a gingerbread man. Fold the paper over back and forth and cut along the outline. Be careful not to cut the hands along the edge, so all the men will be connected. Decorate your gingerbread men with yawn, so it looks like icing.





Weigh in on this Balancing Act

15 11 2010

Challenge a family member to see who can balance a yard stick on one finger for the longest amount of time, using science to your advantage.

First, remember to look at the top of the stick while balancing. This way you will know as soon as the stick starts to fall and have more time to react.

Secondly, add weight to the top of the stick. When the weight is farther from the center, it has more inertia and is more likely to stay at rest. In this example your finger is the center.

 

We had fun exploring different ways to add weight to the stick, using clay.

Do you have anymore tips on how to balance a yard stick on your finger? Leave a comment so we can experiment with your idea.

Also, there is a Notion of Motion exhibit that illustrates this same principle using wheels. What wheel do you think will start rolling the fastest? The one with the hole in the middle, placing the weight on the outside, or the disk with evenly distributed weight? Try it out!





Can You Top This?

8 11 2010

Have you ever thought about what makes a top spin for so long? Experiment making your own top using paper plates, pencils, paper clips, pennies, and whatever else you can find.

One things we found while experimenting is that it is better to keep the top short and close to the ground. Also, it is important for it to by symmetrical, or the same on all sides. What did you notice when you tried to make your own top? Leave a comment so other readers can try it.

 

We experimented with our tops on the turntable. Bring up your own top and give it a spin!

 








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