Hoof Beat: Word from the Detroit Children's Museum

2010-11-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

This week at the Detroit Children's Museum we are continuing our celebration of Native American Heritage Month. We have several new displays with Native American Regalia that are beautifully decorated with feathers and porcupine quills. This Saturday, Nov. 20, we will be having a special Corn Husk Doll making activity (while supplies last), our Sky Tellers planetarium show, plus our special Native American exhibits.

Registration is now open for our first annual Gingerbread House Contest. Go to www.detroitsciencecenter.org for more details on rules, registration and prizes.

Julie's Journal - From the Director's Desk

2010-11-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

Our Oct. 30 Spooky Science event was a wonderful success! We had over 200 visitors for our special activities including pumpkin bowling, bat activities, giveaways and more. The Candy Corn Contest winner guessed there were 500 pieces in the jar. The actual count was 556. Great job!

This month is our salute to Native American Heritage Month. We will have special planetarium shows highlighting stories from native Americans about the constellations in the night sky called "Sky Tellers." These will be shown Tuesday - Friday at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and on Saturdays at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. In addition, we have several Native America exhibits for you to explore as well as arts & crafts activities throughout the month. Plus we have some new arrivals on our hands-on activities including the Marble Inclined Plane and the Weather Map.

We hope to see you soon. Mention this update when you visit to receive a free Detroit Children's Museum pin.

Curator's Corner by Don Bogart

2010-10-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

The museum is already decorated for Halloween—pumpkins galore! It is a very festive environment. But there’s even more fun on the way…

Exhibit updates

We just opened a new display on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It is a display of figurines from Mexico celebrating that special holiday.

We will also be bringing up more Native American artifacts soon, to celebrate Native American Heritage month in November.

Where’s Earl (the squirrel)?

Also, we have a taxidermied black squirrel that likes to “migrate” around the museum. He is usually very hard to find for both staff and patrons alike. He usually “goes out for a walk” at least once a week, making him hard to keep a finger on. Look for him next time you visit!

Going Batty at the Children's Museum!

2010-10-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

We’re going batty for Halloween at the Detroit Children’s Museum!

Join us this Saturday for Spooky Science. We have extended our hours for this event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and all activities are free with admission.

Learn about bats and see an actual bat skeleton. Play a game of pumpkin bowling. Go on a bug hunt. Guess how many candy corns fit into a jar. We will also have a costume contest, our fall night skies planetarium show and so much more.

Julie's Journal - From the Director's Desk

2010-10-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

Fall has arrived at the Detroit Children’s Museum!

Who is Johnny Appleseed?
Why does it get dark so early in the evening?
What is a gourd?
Is a pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable?

You can find out all these answers plus a whole lot more at the DCM. Join us this weekend for hands-on activities for all ages. Make your own Johnny Appleseed hat, see our new Fall skies planetarium show and much more.

While you're thinking about pumpkins and seeds, a fun (and yummy) Halloween activity besides carving pumpkins is cooking the seeds! Try this recipe!

Baked Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat oven to 350°F. Separate the pumpkin seeds from the fibers. Wash, drain, and dry the seeds on paper towels. Coat 11/2 cups seeds with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Toss the seeds with salt (or omit salt and toss seeds with any of the suggested seasonings below), and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Deviled Pumpkin Seeds

Add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper.

Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Seeds

Add 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice.

Cheesy Seeds

Add 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning.

Popcorn Month, Teacher Day and Birthday Parties

2010-10-08T08:18:00.000-07:00

Shout it from the rooftops!

The Detroit Children’s Museum is open to the public and to all school/organization groups.

Our hours:

Tuesday-Friday 9am-4pm

Saturday 10am-4pm

Saturdays are Special at the Children’s Museum and this Saturday we have twice the fun! Celebrate National Popcorn Popping Month at the DCM with 3, 2, 1 POP! where you can learn about the history of popcorn. Learn more about National Popcorn Month here including really great recipes, popcorn trivia and more!

POPCORN FACTOID: Most popcorn comes in two basic shapes when it's popped: snowflake and mushroom. Snowflake is used in movie theaters and ballparks because it looks and pops bigger. Mushroom is used for candy confections because it doesn't crumble.

Saturday also features our first Teacher’s Appreciation Day. All educators (with valid ID) will receive free admission to the Children’s Museum. We will have information packets, free drawing for a class field trip to the DCM and much more. Tell the teachers in your life about this wonderful opportunity.

Our new BIRTHDAY PARTIES have been very popular! We have special parties just for the youngsters in your life. Check out our website to see what all the excitement is about or call our reservations department for information at (313) 577-8400 option 5.

Hispanic Games Day and other upcoming events

2010-09-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Join us at the Detroit Children’s Museum on Oct. 2 for our Hispanic Games Day!

Learn how to play some traditional Hispanic games, explore our exhibits including some dedicated to the Hispanic/Latino culture, enjoy an art activity and more. We hope to see you there!

Other upcoming events include:

Oct. 9, all day

Teacher Appreciation Day – Free teacher admission with ID; no reservations required

3,2,1 Pop! – Learn about the beginning of one of our most beloved foods: popcorn!

Oct. 16, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Teacher Professional Development Day -- Pre-registration required for this course on Earth Science Basics and graduate credits are available. More information including cost, registration information available here.

Hispanic Heritage Day Activities

2010-09-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Celebrate National Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month with us at the Detroit Children’s Museum on Sept. 25. We have a wide variety of special activities for all ages.

Hispanic/Latino Heritage Exhibits are located throughout the museum. Look for the cases showcases artifacts from jewelry to sombreros. (Main gallery)
Storybooks-read your child a story representing this proud culture (Preschool area)
Explore the hands-on toys and musical instruments of this culture. (Science Area)
Explore the fall night sky; learn about the Harvest moon and other constellations in our night sky planetarium show.
Art workshop on Mexican Huichol Yarn Painting* (front lobby, 10:30 to noon and 1-2pm)

* The yarn painting workshop has limited space. We will try and accommodate all participants on a first come, first served basis. Recommended for children age 4 and up.

We hope to see you there!

National Hispanic/Latino Month festivities

2010-09-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

The weather’s getting cooler and what better place to play than at the Detroit Children’s Museum?

This week we are celebrating National Hispanic/Latino Month. We have several new exhibits celebrating this proud culture. Check out our Mayan artifacts, sombreros and other treasures.

The theme of this coming Saturdays are Special on Second is Hispanic/Latino Heritage Day. Please join us on the final Saturday of September for hands-on fun, stories, arts, crafts, and more.

Julie

Curator's Corner by Don Bogart

2010-09-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy creating exhibits that will bring people back to see more! With our extensive collection, we will be continuously changing out the display cases. We are also committed to creating more hands-on exhibits that will engage children who learn as they play.

I just filled two new display cases with Latin American historical pieces. We have a collection of funeral sculptures from the Mayan Civilization that are over 3,000 years old. I have more new display cases, which I will be filling soon also, probably with more Latin American artifacts for Latin American Heritage Month.

Our new Native American exhibit just opened with a buffalo hide from the Battle of Little Big Horn. It is arguably the most culturally significant piece we have in our collection. It is beautiful to behold, decorated by the Native Americans of the West. There is a chief's head dress from the north west coast tribes also featured in this display case.

We also opened an Egypt exhibit case with a Tom Cat mummy that is over 2,500 years old and complete with x-rays. There are also a few pieces of tomb art that date from that time period.

We have also opened our new Vet Lab, the general store called the Silverbolt Grocery Store, and our Silverbolt Mine, where kids can dig for treasures and get a prize if they find a "gold" piece. We have a new Magnet Table for kids to enjoy the power of magnetism "it draws them every time."

That is just some of the new eye-opening items on display at the museum. As you can see, we are excited about the happenings around here.

If that doesn't sell you, admission is very affordable and parking is free! How can you beat a family of 4 for $12?

Don Bogart is the Curator for the Detroit Children's Museum. Don also has experience in building exhibits and is always anxious to receive any gifts-in-kind to add to our collection. You can contact Don at dbogart@sciencedetroit.org.

New exhibits and fun events at the DCM

2010-09-08T12:08:00.000-07:00

We are closed this week as we build an even better Children's Museum, but I wanted to tell you what's in store for you when we re-open on September 13. We are adding two new exhibits this week: Zookeepers Place and Silverbolt Grocery Store. These special permanent exhibits will allow our young visitors to explore the world through the different jobs found in zoos or grocery stores.

Zookeepers Place-Visitors will be able to take on the role of a zookeeper and feed the animals or as a veterinarian and make the animals feel better by looking at x-rays, bandaging up any boo-boos on the animals or just hugging the stuffing out of them. Children will learn the zoo is a place where all kinds of wild animals are kept and taken care of.

Silverbolt Grocery Store-Join the fun in this interactive grocery store. Kids will be able to shop for food, be a cashier, bag it up, and even restock it again.

We are looking forward to starting this new school year. Check out the website for our latest Saturdays are Special at the DCM as well as our HomeSchool Days.

A quick look at the rest of the month:
Sept. 14 Homeschool Days /Everyday Math

Sept. 18 Fall Back into School / The Cat in the Hat is back for storytime at 11am, 1pm and 3pm and a fun way to learn math with Papa Luigi’s Pizza Predicament

Sept. 25 We have a special National Hispanic/Latino exhibit as well as Popcorn Popping Fun.

Join us for these great events!

See you there.

Julie

DCM is listening to your feedback!

2010-08-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share some quotes from some of the on-site surveys that we've been collecting:

“I love this place”

“I like the magnet walls.”

“Make it bigger!”

“I’m so glad that Detroit actually has a children’s museum again. I’ve been to children’s museums all over the country. This is really nice.”

“Need more hands-on”

“This was a great experience. We will be back soon!”

“Need more dinosaurs.”

“More art activities”

Well, we have about 100 more surveys and more suggestions. We are currently working on adjusting and adding to the DCM. In September we will have two new exhibit areas and special themed Saturdays. Look for more details on our website. If you have any feedback of your own, please contact me via email at jjohnson@sciencedetroit.org.

The rest of this month we will be celebrating the Dog Days of Summer. Come down and join us for some “doggy” good fun.

Julie

What Do Dogs and Cars Have in Common?

2010-08-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Detroit Children's Museum, where we'll be celebrating both all week long!

Join us Aug. 16-21 for these special events:

Aug. 16-21: It's the Dog Days of Summer and we'll be highlighting the Dog Stars, doggy crafts and a special workshop on Saturday, Aug. 21, on learning to draw a cartoon dog.

Aug. 19-21: It's Future Cruisin' over at the Detroit Science Center and here at the Children's Museum we'll be doing Classic Car Match Up, Crafty Cars and Truck Rally activities.

We hope to see you there!

Meet the newest DCM staff member!

2010-08-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

Meet Sheldon.

Sheldon is our newest staff member--an adult Russian Tortoise. He came to us from the Every Animal Rescue League. We are very happy that he is now a part of our team. He loves to look at you from his tank. When no one is looking, he takes walks with our staff just to make sure that everything is where it should be. Come down and say hello--I'm sure he'll be happy to meet you!

We have also added a new hands-on exhibit called "Silverbold Gold & Silver Mine." Try your hand at finding gold or silver nuggets from our kid-friendly mine. Kids receive a special prize for finding the nuggets. Just present them to the front desk staff to redeem your nuggets for a prize.
We hope to see you soon!

Thanks,
Julie

Julie's Journal 7/26/10

2010-07-26T09:33:00.001-07:00

July 24, 2010 was one of our busiest days. We had over 670 visitors explore our museum and join us for our first Family Fun Day sponsored by PNC Foundation Grow Up Great Initiative. Our visitors received free admission, planetarium shows, train rides, art activities and much more. We had some wonderful volunteers from PNC Bank, who graciously helped all our guests make their own world or baseball figure. This day was a non-stop excitement filled day. One of the stations was Baseball speed throwing. This station allowed our guests to throw a baseball and have their speed timed. One of our young visitors through the ball at 66 mph. Well Done! In addition we had several drawings for fun things like Tiger’s baseball tickets, Puppet Art Theater tickets and DCM t-shirts and mug. Congratulations to our winners!!! O. Oluwole, M. Smith, and N. Ferreira. We are looking forward to seeing all of our visitors again soon. Join us next month for the “Dog Days of Summer” Aug. 1-31.

Thanks,

Julie

First Steps at the Detroit Children's Museum

2010-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Julie Johnson shares a story about a great moment at the Children's Museum:

"Thursday, July 23 marked another first for the Detroit Children’s Museum. One of our youngest visitors was here with her family. She was very excited about all the kites, animals and preschool area. In fact, she was so excited that she let go of her Mom’s hand and took her first steps on her own. It was just a few at first and by the time she left she was up to 10 at a time. We are very honored that she choose our museum to launch her walking debut."

PNC FAMILY FUN DAYS AT THE DETROIT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OFFER FREE MUSEUM ADMISSION

2010-07-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

New Joint Membership Program Includes Both the Detroit Children's Museum and the Detroit Science Center!

2010-07-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

There's never been a better time to discover the wonders of science and hands on exploration in Detroit! The Detroit Children's Museum and the Detroit Science Center are now covered under one membership! A Family level membership gets two adults and all children in the household under 18 into both museums for one year for only $70! More information and other membership levels and benefits here. You can purchase your membership online via PayPal here. Have any questions? Contact the Membership Department at 313.577.8400, ext. 433, or by e-mail membership@sciencedetroit.org.

Children's Musuem Grand Re-opening Celebration Schedule!

2010-06-24T07:05:00.001-07:00

This is going to be SO MUCH FUN! See you there!

Grand Re-Opening Celebration is coming up soon! Don't miss!

2010-06-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Julie's Journal 6/6/2010

2010-06-07T07:43:00.001-07:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her tenth post:

These past 2 weeks have flown by. We have created some new spaces, added some hands-on activities throughout the museum, added more artifacts, and completed the classroom spaces for groups. This week we are getting ready to hang our kites, flags and the pterodactyl from the DSC. We have revitalized some of the old dioramas that have been with the museum for over 50 years. We are eager to show them off.

My staff at the DCM are awesome. They have been working very hard to organize, finalize and create spaces that all of our visitors should find fun and interesting. We are looking forward to our Grand Opening celebration on June 26 & 27. We hope to see you there. Please spread the word.

Julie Johnson

Julie's Journal 5/24/2010

2010-05-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her ninth post:

Wow! What a wonderful weekend with our visitors at the DCM. We had 164 visitors this past Saturday. We eagerly read the surveys and are trying to incorporate some of the suggestions you made. We are busy improving and expanding the exhibits this week. We can't wait to share the latest changes and updates when we open at the end of June.

The past 2 months have flown by as we prepare to open the Children's Museum. We have worked on so many different things from behind-the-scenes chaos of computers, phones, and security systems, to hiring staff and making sure the building is clean, safe, and inviting. We have also been busy removing artifacts that had been in the cases since last summer, searching the collection to bring out pieces that may bring memories of years ago, reinstalling Silverbolt, moving cases, working with teachers on the lending collection for their multicultural days to adding donated displays and so much more. None of this would be possible without the help of the entire DCM staff and a little help from our friends at the Science Center. They are awesome!

We are working feverishly to finalize the remaining areas of the Children's Museum that were not quite finished at this last open house. We can't wait to show off all of the wonderful artifacts, hands-on activities, new planetarium shows and programs. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to visit the DCM at our Open Houses this spring. We hope to see all of you this summer.

Dinosaurs Rule! A post by guest blogger Kelly Fulford

2010-05-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Our staff might love the Science Center, but so do their kids! Our very own Kelly Fulford, VP of Sales & Marketing, took her son Hayden to the Detroit Children's Museum open house this past Saturday. She shares that experience with you here, along with some great pictures of her dino-lovin' son:

In the land of the five-year-old boy, the dinosaur is king. And so my son Hayden and I set off to the Detroit Children’s Museum community open house last Saturday in search of the prehistoric creatures that never fail to captivate and delight.

Upon entering, the first exhibit we encountered was an Andrewsarchus skull. Cool, but not a dinosaur. Next we stopped to look at the model houses (“Look mom, they’re eating pizza!”), ancient masks and Civil War relics. Also cool…but still not a dinosaur.

Finally we turned the corner and found the one object that was a “must see” on this trip – a model of Triceratops, or a “three horn” for all you parents who have suffered through that series of dinosaur movies that must not be named. We also found some nice displays with dinosaur pictures, and the leg bones of a dinosaur and a mammoth.

Amazingly all dinos were forgotten once Hayden caught sight of Champ the Tiger. While Champ is a “no touch” exhibit, there was a nearby display of animal pelts that the kids could feel, including skunk fur (“yuck!”), and an educational board that showed us which animals have fur, feathers, skin or scales. The animal theme continued as Hayden joined a group of other kids building a zoo using blocks and toy animals. And in the puppet theater, Hayden got to be an elephant, one of his favorites.

All animals aside, we also got to look at crystals and rocks under a magnifying glass. Hayden insisted that the red rock must be from a volcano, of which there was a model nearby. We also looked at books together and checked out the computer stations. After an hour-and-a-half, we never did make it to the art area, but we have to save something for next time, right?

And there definitely will be a next time, because in the next few weeks leading up to its June 26 grand re-opening, the Detroit Children’s Museum will be bringing out more artifacts, creating more hands-on activities and guess what? Adding more dinosaurs! And every few months, they’ll bring out more new things for us to see from their collection of over 100,000 artifacts.

So while we started out in search of dinosaurs, we found so much more…and we can’t wait to see what’s next.

-- Kelly Fulford

Hayden’s Mom and VP of Sales & Marketing for the Detroit Science Center

Detroit Children's Museum Grand Re-Opening Celebration is June 26-27! Save the Date!

2010-05-21T13:47:00.001-07:00

More info coming soon!!

How far is the Children's Museum from the Detroit Science Center?

2010-05-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Not very far at all! Here's a handy map to show you (click to enlarge):

Julie's Journal 5/4/10

2010-05-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

Julie's Journal 4/26/2010

2010-04-26T15:17:00.001-07:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her seventh post:

Hello all,

A huge thank you to all the visitors that came to the Detroit Children's Museum on April 24. We had a wonderful day with planetarium shows of the Night Sky, seltzer rocket demonstrations, solar system bracelets, exhibit exploration and hands-on fun. It was great to see over 100 visitors at the museum.

This week we are getting ready to make major changes to the exhibits on display. We will be removing some of the current exhibits for ones that haven't been on display for quite a while. We will also be rearranging the current areas to incorporate as much of the floor space for our visitors enjoyment as possible.

We are looking forward to our next Open House on Saturday May 22. Hope to see you there.

Julie Johnson

This Saturday: Preview the Detroit Children's Museum before it reopens!

2010-04-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

This Astronomy Day (Saturday April 24, 2010) celebrate with a trip to the Detroit Children's Museum! A free open house complete with planetarium shows will take place from 11am to 3pm! Details below:

Julie's Journal 4/19/2010

2010-04-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her sixth post:

"Hello all. Wow! There are so many changes occurring at the DCM. Silverbolt is back in front of the building and is all spruced up. He looks great. I would like to thank all of our visitors for stopping by on March 21 for our first Open House. We had over 100 people stop by to take a sneak peak. Our next Open House is this weekend Saturday April 24 from 11-3. We will have our planetarium open with a night sky show. We will also have two hands-on activities specifically for space science Seltzer Rockets and Solar Bead Bracelets. Of course our exhibits will be there along with our regular hands-on activities. We are looking forward to sharing this with you. Hope to see you there!

Over the past week or so we have been busy inventorying all of the artifacts and equipment, getting behind the scenes operations up and running and getting all of our programs ready for the summer and fall. This is an exciting time for our staff as we try to incorporate all the ideas we have. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see. Let us know. We'd love to hear them. Thanks for all of your support."

Julie Johnson

Silverbolt is back!!

2010-04-07T08:17:00.000-07:00

The iconic, giant silver horse that is synonymous with the Detroit Children's Museum is back! He was removed from the front of the building for some repairs, but now Silverbolt is where he belongs! Stop by and visit with him - and send pictures! We'll post them here!

Julie's Journal 3/29/2010

2010-03-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her fifth post:

Another week has flown by and we are in the process of doing inventory on all 100,000 artifacts, furniture, and supplies. My team is awesome and we are 1/3rd of the way complete. Thanks to the extra hands from the DSC presentation staff we are well on our way. We also started our planetarium sky projector today. The moon and moon phases were great. The stars moved and we even have a laser pointer working. Today was a GOOD day! We have received several calls from teachers requesting lending collection items to be used in their classrooms. We are gathering the materials and are looking forward to working with all of them.

As a special note: we are taking a high resolution photo of our Japanese doll "Miss Akita" for a photography show in Ohio. We are very excited that she will be highlighted with many other dolls from around the world.

Talk with all of you soon.

Julie

Julie's Journal 3/23/2010

2010-03-23T08:01:00.000-07:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her fourth post:

Hello everyone! We had a fantastic turn out at our first Open House on March 21 at the Children’s Museum. We have received some wonderful feedback and enjoyed meeting all of you. We are busy expanding, moving and changing our exhibits so that there will be more to see and do at the DCM. Our next Open House is schedule on April 24 for Astronomy Day! We will have our planetarium showing “Spring Skies” along with Seltzer Rockets, solar bead bracelets and more. Please join us for a fun-filled day.

Julie's Journal 3/11/2010

2010-03-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her third post:

Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful spring weather preview. All of my team is hard at work getting the Children’s Museum programming, open houses and Grand Opening plans finalized. I have been over there checking things out and trying to figure out what needs to be done before our first open house. There is furniture to be moved, cases to be cleaned, exhibits to be up-dated and much more. Our theme for this first open house is “Welcome Back”. You will get to see some of the old favorites like “Champ” the Tiger, the puppets and play at the hands-on tables. We are eager to meet all of you next week on March 21 at our first open house from 11am-3pm. This will be the first time the Children’s Museum will be open to the public since last August. I hope to see you there.

Julie's Journal 2/22/2010

2010-02-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here is her second post:

Welcome!

This past week has been very exciting. I have been planning our 3 open houses for the the Detroit Children's Museum and our Grand Opening. I have several groups signed up for entertainment for the Grand Opening in June and we are on our way getting organized for our summer programs for families and children. I am in the process of recruiting volunteers for the DCM. If you are interested in volunteering and are over the age of 16 please go to the Detroit Science Center website and check out our volunteer programs.

Our Open Houses will be March 21, April 24, and May 22 from 11am-3pm. You will receive free admission to the Children's Museum and be able to explore our exhibits, speak to staff about changes, and see our plans for our new exhibits. We are looking forward to seeing you this spring.

BTW-Some of you have asked if "Silverbolt" the horse is still at DCM. Yes, he will be back once we open.

Have a great week everyone.

Julie's Journal 2/11/2010

2010-02-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

Julie Johnson is the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum under its new association with the Detroit Science Center. Julie will be blogging her thoughts as she works toward the reopening of this Detroit institution! Here's her first entry:

Hello all,
It is with great pleasure that I am writing to you about re-opening the Detroit Children's Museum. I am Julie Johnson, the new Director of the Detroit Children's Museum. For that last few weeks I have been working with a wonderful team at DPS as we complete the process of transitioning the Children's Museum building from DPS to the Detroit Science Center.

I was in the building yesterday eager to get started on this journey. I have many plans and hopes for the building, the exhibits and most of all the students and their families of Detroit. There are so many wonderful artifacts, hands-on activities and programs that we are preparing for this summer. Of course, there are many wonderful favorites that you will still be able to experience including the planetarium and many of the favorite exhibits and hands-on activities. I can't wait to share them with you in up-coming blog entries.

We will be holding 3 open house days in the coming months with the first one in March. I hope that some of you will stop by and see where we are and our plans for the future. We are scheduling our Grand Re-opening for this summer. We are making plans for a huge celebration with many local artists and groups. I hope to see you there. Please check the Detroit Science Center website and this blog for more details as we progress.