I hope you enjoyed this classic Christmas story! My family and I like to read this story on Christmas Eve before we go to bed. Does your family every read this story?

Since Christmas is only 22 days away I thought this month's activity should be writing out our Christmas List to make sure Santa gets them in time! You can write your own letter or use this Santa approved downloadable template!

I have great news! Our museum mailbox takes letters directly to Santa! Just don't forget your return address. Santa may know EXACTLY where you are on Christmas Eve, but he needs help using the post office!  

This fun story really made me want some ice cream that I could share with my friends! For today's STEM activity we are going to make ice cream!

For today's STEM activity we are going to build train wheels!

The train wheels connected at the top of the cup worked better! Train wheels are bigger on the inside, so if a train shifts to the left or right the diameter (how big the wheel is) can change. The axle connecting the wheels spin the wheels at the same speed, but the distance each wheel travels can change. Having train wheels bigger in the middle helps to keep the train on the track and everyone on the train safe!

I hope you enjoyed Star in the Jar by Sam Hay and Sarah Massini! 
​Today's STEM activity is making our own Shooting Stars!

I really liked how Bruce tried to get the geese to fly by using a slingshot. So for today's STEM activity we are making spoon slingshots!

I hope you enjoyed Who Will I Be? by Abby Huntsman with pictures by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff. What kind of helper do you want to be? Do you want to help kids learn, help animals get better, help take care of people, or help people find their new favorite book? There are lots of ways to be a helper!

This month's craft is making helper puppets!

You Will Need:

• toliet paper tube
• printed coloring page
• crayons/markers/colored pencils
• tape or glue
• scissors

This week's theme is vision and illusions! The four activities to go along with it are Bird in a Cage, Hole in your Hand, Rotating Cube, and Creating Sun-catchers.  

All activities can be found in the Children's Gallery from 8/18 to 8/22. 

The first activity is Bird in a Cage which is an example of an optical illusion! This fun activity involves a string and a paper bird. Come see if you can get your bird in the cage!

The second activity is called Hole in your Hand, where you roll up a piece of paper and create a hole in your hand! This safe and cool activity is another example of an optical illusion. 

Rotating Cube is the third activity! This awesome activity allows you to construct a 3D cube and watch it move around, using visionary science!

And, in honor of our last week of Summer STEM, we have a fourth activity called Creating Sun-catchers! We will be painting on carousel related images and once they dry, we'll watch them catch the sunlight in the open windows.

We hope you will join us for the last week of summer STEM and come experience visionary tricks with us! ​

Our STEM theme this week is Amusement Rides!

​The three activities this week are Pendulum Swing, Wheel and Axle Car Ride, Cotton Ball Slingshot Ride.

​All activities can be located in the Children's Gallery from 8/11 to 8/15. 

The first activity, Pendulum Swing, is playing around with a pendulum! This fun activity teaches balance, equilibrium, gravity, and momentum, which are all major parts in operating a carousel. 

The second activity is Wheel and Axle Car Ride, where you can decorate and construct your own car, just like the ones in Kiddie Land! This activity also shows you how a wheel and axle works, which is a very important part of operating a carrousel.  

The third activity is called Cotton Ball Slingshot Ride, where you get to launch cotton balls as high up into the air as you can! 

We hope to see you this week to have fun with us and learn about Amusement Rides and how they relate to carrousels and STEM!