Children’s Museum Launches Saturday Series on Feb. 9

02/04/2013 

Children’s educational programs on the Chinese New Year, dancing, active play and trains will be highlighted during the Spring 2013 Children’s Museum season that begins on Saturday, Feb. 9.

The Children’s Museum offers interactive, hands-on educational experiences in a environment where Cortland community parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, college students, youth and young children can be inspired to play and learn together.

Presented by faculty and students in SUNY Cortland’s Childhood/Early Childhood Education Department, the programs run on selected Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., unless otherwise noted, and are open to community families and their children. With the exception of the Week of the Young Child Kidsville event, all programs will take place at the Child Care Center on the ground floor of the Education Building, located on Prospect Terrace. Admission is free but donations are gladly accepted.

On Feb. 9, associate professor Lin Lin, with a colleague and students, will host a Chinese New Year celebration as the first event in 2013, the year of the snake. Participants will learn to make origami fish, listen to stories related to Spring Festival celebrations and make and taste dumplings. THIS EVENT WAS CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER AND WILL NOT BE RESCHEDULED.

The Cortland Dance Company will get kids moving, shaking, and singing along in an interactive day of physical activity and creativity on Feb. 23. Children will have the opportunity to create musical instruments of their very own and use them as they move their bodies to the music.

On March 2, Lecturer Judith Schillo will offer “Paint, Paint, Paint.” Participants will explore the different painting styles of famous illustrators of children’s books. They will play with paint to create their own masterpieces. Children and adults can make and take samples of their favorite styles.

Several presenters will involve everyone in games that are both fun and healthy on March 23. Professor Diane Craft and Craig Smith, authors of the book Active Play, will lead parents and preschoolers in physical activities using inexpensive equipment that can be enjoyed at home. Megan Rice, a teaching candidate in the graduate childhood education program, will present games from the “Healthy Highways Program.”

All aboard for train adventures on April 13. Associate Professor and Early Childhood Coordinator Emilie Kudela will present fun train facts and activities. Children will decorate their own boxcar and take it on a pretend trip around the center.

On April 20, instructor Christine Widdall will host an interactive activity at the Cortland County Office Building Gymnasium, 60 Central Ave., as part of Kidsville, Cortland’s free children’s fair, which celebrates the National Week of the Young Child. With the help of her students she will share iPad technology with grandparents, parents and children of all ages. Participants can experiment with iPads and explore a variety of different applications for all age levels.

Assistant Professor Orvil White will build Hoop Glider Straw Rockets and Plate Gliders with April 27 participants, who will then fly them across the room. These are safe for children of all ages.

For more information, contact Kudela at (607) 753-5525 or by e-mail to childrensmuseum@cortland.edu or visit www.cortland.edu/childrens-museum/