“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” 

~Sirius Black in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Although “inferior” is not the word I’d personally choose to describe any kind of animal (insects, for example, are vastly more abundant and arguably more powerful than humans), this is one of my favorite quotes from a very quotable series of books. What Sirus is trying to say is that a good man will treat those who are voiceless, targeted, or lacking some sort of power, with just as much kindness and respect as he treats somebody he hopes will help him. “Voiceless” is often the word used to describe pets and very young children just learning to communicate with words. I’m much more likely to trust a woman who’s kind to earthworms, hamsters, or puppies than one who will brush aside or even hurt a creature that’s smaller or slower than she is. This doesn’t mean I don’t swat mosquitoes… that’s self-defense, after all. It does mean that I pay a lot of attention to how people, both kids and adults, treat the animals in their lives.

Animals have messages to send us, and our awesome community partners can help you learn how to decode them. We are so lucky to have regular visitors from the Animal Refuge League (ARL) and the Animal Welfare Society (AWS). Their programs are a great way to introduce young child to furry (or sometimes scaly!) pets. The ARL and AWS have moved their visits to earlier in the month to coincide with Be Kind to Animals Week, but usually they visit on the third Thursday and Saturday of each month, respectively (check out our calendar for upcoming visits from ARL and AWS). Our ongoing schedule includes regular programs featuring Maine’s own David Sparks, who helps many families relocate skunks, bats, flying squirrels or other creatures who take up residence in their homes. During vacation weeks and occasionally throughout the year, David comes for a Sparks Ark Special Show – your ticket ($2 for members) guarantees a seat and helps cover the cost of this awesome show. Be Kind to Animals Week will feature David’s other program, Animal Friends with David Sparks, which allows for an up-close and personal visit with a single animal. (Last time we met two adorable baby pygymy goats!). 

A big thank you goes out to Kathleen Fobear of the Animal Refuge League of Westbrook for joining us for extra visits during this special week! Join us for How to Hear Your Pet “Talk” on Thursday with the Animal Refuge League and Saturday with the Animal Welfare Society. Or you can help make toys for pets at the Animal Refuge League’s shelter (and meet a real, live pet too!) on Tuesday during Animal Fun. During Be Kind to Animals Week you’re also invited to bring in a picture or photo of your pet or a wild animal you love, and attach it to a thank you letter you can write while you’re here! We’ll choose some of these letters to get post in the Vet Clinic exhibit. On Friday and Saturday you can make a sweet sticky bird feeder to take home and hang up to attract wild animal friends a treat. And don’t forget to sign up for Animal Yoga with Jamie if you’re here Tuesday morning! 

Visit the Calendar of Events for a complete list of our Be Kind to Animals Week programming.

For more information about our partners and presenters, visit them on the web:

American Humane Association

Animal Welfare Society

Animal Refuge League

Sparks Ark

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Here are just a few of the other things we learned from Matt during his visit:

• A baby moose can weigh 35 pounds when it is born.

• A moose can live up to 25 years.

• A male moose loses his antlers every year, then squirrels, mice, and other small mammals chew on them to get minerals.

Thank you, Matt, for sharing your skills and knowledge!

This “Random Oscillating Magnetic Pendulum” is similar to the experiment Hannah leads during Cool Science.

Pendulums and magnetism are both classic physics topics many kids will study in school as they get older.  Besides being fun to play with, swinging things and magnets provide the hands-on experiences that are at the heart of truly grasping these concepts in physics.   Perhaps more importantly, the magnet portion of this program is an opportunity for inquiry-based guidance, which means that when I lead the program, I’ll give kids toys to play with (the magnets), and ask questions to encourage them to learn from their experiences.  We might make piles of things the magnets can pick up, and things the magnets can’t pick up.  For this sort of sorting, I might ask “What’s the same about the things in these two piles?  What is different?” This past weekend, a young boy told me that magnets can’t pick up other magnets, only metal: magnets repel other magnets.  He then proved his own statement wrong by using a magnet to pick up an object he identified as another magnet.  These moments of proving oneself wrong are what being a scientist is all about.

Plus, the complex, chaotic movement of the magnetic pendulum swinging near other magnets is bizarre enough to evoke curiosity and wonder no matter how old you are: that’s why it qualifies as cool science!

Join us this month for Cool Science: Pendulum Play on Friday, July 16 at 3:30pm and Sunday, July 17 at 11:30am and 3pm.

Paper airplane making is a great example of a project that allows kids to test their predictions using simple materials. There’s no right way to make a paper plane: each one flies differently.

Here’s an example of a prediction: “If I rip one of the wings, I bet the plane will spin in circles when I throw it.” Testing this prediction is so easy: all you do is toss the paper plane and see what happens. The most exciting discoveries happen when the plane doesn’t do what you predicted. For example, one boy who joined the Casco Bay High students for the workshop was trying to make a plane that flew very straight and far, and ended up with one that flipped upside-down almost every time he threw it. We hadn’t even imagined a plane that could flip upside down!

Encourage your children to keep trying new designs, and who knows what they’ll discover …

Campers in "Slimy, Squishy, Slick, and Slippery" will spend lots of time visiting creatures in our Tidepool Touch Tank.

This August we will be offering two science camps for kids ages 4 to 5.  I’m having so much fun planning “Slimy, Squishy, Slick, and Slippery,” which is a week of experiencing textures.  Every day, we’ll make a new type of clay or slime from scratch using simple ingredients, making and then testing predictions about the textures we’ll create.  Throughout the week, we’ll also meet, touch, and study some real, live animals with wet, slippery skins.  This includes studying earthworms, and visiting the residents of the Tidepool Touch Tank.

Two weeks later is “Amazing Animal Journeys,” also for ages 4 to 5, where we’ll learn about a different migratory animal each day, acting out its yearly travels.  Three of these animals will be the hummingbird, the humpback whale, and the fascinating American eel!  Each child will also have a chance to do a week-long project creating his or her own animal puppet, adding pieces to it each day as we learn about different adaptations that help creatures migrate.

Both camps are designed to encourage campers to use their imaginations and to engage in the process of science in a fun, playful way.  I think these week-long half day camps could provide a great way to transition back into the school year!  Also, don’t forget that if you sign up for two camps by May 1^st, you’ll get one for half price. Click here for more information and to register for any of our 11 amazing summer camps.

March is a wonderful time to begin making records of the outdoor adventures you and your child go on together by starting a nature journal.  Even in one minute outdoors, you can uncover hidden treasures: clues that spring is on its way.  The clue could be an early tulip or a squishy mud puddle, or a certain smell in the air, or it might be a surprise! Invite your child to draw what you found together, and then tell you his or her observations to record.  Paste all these pictures and notes into a blank book to keep a record of spring’s arrival.

Below are some notes from my neighborhood:

A key:

• Red, (Teardrop-Shaped) = heart
• Pink (Long and Wavy) = lung
• Purple (Elongated) = kidney
• Orange (Blob) = liver
• Yellow (Shaped like a Filled in number 8 ) = stomach

Peeking at Istar from the second floor Book Nook

Another idea for getting the most out of What about Whales?: play a migration game using the painted sandwich boards in the center of the exhibit.  Ask your child to wear the “see like a whale” goggles and try walking towards the big glass doors at the back of the first floor while you try to interrupt his or her journey by acting out the many hazards (described on the small red signs) that a humpback whale encounters while traveling to the warm Caribbean for the winter.

The summer months humpback whales spend in the Gulf of Maine are a time to fill up on mackerel and plankton and build up their fat stores.  Then, during the winter breeding season, humpbacks eat much less.  Imagine if a couple months of the year, you ate all you could, and then just had a couple of small snacks each day for the rest of the year!  Unlike whales, people need regular meals all year round.

After your game, talk about ways people help protect whales.  Here’s an example: in areas including Boston Harbor and the Bay of Fundy, shipping lanes have been changed to avoid the places where whales are most commonly spotted, reducing the likelihood of collisions between whales and boats.

* Note: to the left of the exhibit entrance, kids who don a whale costume and step in front of the camera projector will see themselves on video with humpback whales in the ocean.  This setup uses the same technology used to place weather forecasters in front of a digital map on TV!