“At the Children’s Museum & Theatre, we studied the tiny eggs of my favorite creature and the tiny babies that hatch from them after three days of incubation.  The babies were too small to hold but we could hold those that were a few days older because they grow fast.  In just ten days, their weight increases 10,000 fold.  If a newborn human grew that fast, their crib would explode on the first day and by the tenth day the baby would weigh as much as six full grown elephants!

David Champlain, a professor at the University of Southern Maine, is coming to the Museum & Theatre with a fascinating little friend!

When it finishes growing, my favorite creature turns into something that looks like a piece of beautifully carved wood.  Three weeks later a beautiful moth emerges.  At the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine, in addition to holding caterpillars, we got to hold pupae and moths too.  The pupae and moths were alive but didn’t move very much because the pupae were undergoing metamorphosis and the moths rest during the day and then wake up to fly in the evening to find nectar in flowers and a mate.  Animals that are awake at night are nocturnal.  Animals that are awake during the day are diurnal.  Animals like my moth that are awake in the evening are said to be crepuscular. If you see a hummingbird feeding on the nectar in flowers at twilight it might actually be a moth because they hover while feeding just like a hummingbird.  The moth uncoils its proboscis, a long drinking straw, and sips nectar from deep-throated flowers.  The drinking straw on my favorite creature is over three inches long!  Charles Darwin described an orchid on the island of Madagascar the throat of whose flower was nearly a foot deep.  Darwin predicted a corresponding moth would be discovered with a foot long proboscis!  The moth was found and when tucked away during flight, its proboscis is coiled around and around more than twenty times.  Insects are amazing!”

David will be back at the Museum & Theatre with his favorite insect on Sunday, September 12 at 1:30pm. Join us to examine, touch, and learn about each life stage of this beautiful moth from its bright green caterpillar phase to winged adulthood.

Making Victorian silhouettes during American Girls Club: Meet Samantha

I distinctly remember the Christmas I got a cranberry-colored velvet dress with a lace collar. I must have been seven or eight, and it’s not that I was particularly into dresses – but I also received a matching dress (right down to the buttons) for my Samantha doll. My mom had a friend hand-make them both and we have this picture of me and Samantha, perched on a rocking chair, earnestly grinning as only eight-year-olds can. I loved my American Girl dolls dearly (later Felicity came along to keep Samantha company) and everything that came with them. I’m not talking so much about their accessories (though those tiny hairbrushes, pencils, hair ribbons and the like definitely got my heart racing) as their stories. An avid reader from the age of three, I couldn’t get enough of Molly’s adventures in WWII America, Felicity’s colonial escapades, and Kirsten’s life as a pioneer. My dad even tape recorded him reading the entire Molly series when he spent five weeks away from me and my mom one summer. Needless to say, American Girls hold a special place in my heart.

Final "Me and my doll" silhouette product!

Fast-forward to today, when I get to lead our American Girls Club meetings with my co-worker, Louisa. I can’t even tell you how incredible it is to talk about women’s suffrage, the Underground Railroad, and environmentalism with groups of young girls who are already empowered to a point that is breathtaking. At the last club meeting, during our introductions, I asked the girls to share one thing that they love about being a girl. One, comfortably shifting around in her mother’s lap, shrugged her shoulders and said, “well, I like being a girl because… because I really just feel so free! Like I feel free to do whatever I want, because I’m a girl!” I smiled and told her that was a perfect reason, and in a blink of an eye thought about how far we’ve come. By learning the stories of Addie and Molly, Samantha and Josefina, we teach our daughters about history – not just of women and girls, but of our country — in a way that deeply means something to them.

Visit our calendar of events for the dates and times of the American Girls Club. The next one is this Sunday, July 11 at 3:30pm. We’ll be learning about Julie and her life in 1970s America!

“The Wizard, the Princess and the Dragon

Once upon a time there was a wizard named Owen. And he had a pet dragon named Magic. Rapunzel married Owen! They lived in a castle in the woods. A big bear came! The bear ate up all their honey. They didn’t have any money to buy any more honey! They were gonna sell chicken eggs. They had three chickens named Lucy, Lunch and

Maybe this is what Owen's dragon looks like!

Dinner. A fox came and ate all the eggs! Owen chased the fox! They couldn’t get it and they were really sad so they decided to sell their house. They decided to use all their money for Rapunzel’s haircut! With Rapunzel’s new haircut and Magic the Dragon, they got a carwash for Magic. They became hobos! They realized Owen could make things with magic. So they made a house of candy! And they made money, pretzels, eggs, and a barbershop. They were all thrilled because they would never be poor or hungry or hobos or have bad haircuts ever again! And they lived happily ever after. The End.”

Come in on Sunday to make up your own tall tale – we’ll be crafting more stories of wizardry at 2pm!

“Once upon a time there was a fox and a turtle. Then two owls appeared and one was a Snowy owl and a Great Horned owl. The two owls were the best of friends. The owls were nice just like the Painted turtles and the red fox. The four animals decided to go on an adventure. Well, the snowy owl was looking for his prey and he mostly likes mice and carrion (the remains of dead animals). Suddenly, the animals heard a noise. It was the Great Horned owl looking for food, like a turtle cause they feed on turtles! Well, the fox and turtle got scared. Then the painted turtle was almost caught! But the fox threw him onto some wood so he wouldn’t get hurt so he could camouflage. The Snowy owl’s name is Snowy. The fox and the turtle were very good friends. They were so happy they escaped from the great horned owl and the Snowy owl. The Great Horned owl and Snowy owl learned a lesson that they don’t catch their prey all the time cause their prey can camouflage like the painted turtle. The End!”

We surprised Phebe with photos from some of the art projects she helped create!

This morning we said goodbye to one of our most dedicated volunteers, Phebe Snow. Phebe has been volunteering with us for 15 years! Every Thursday morning Phebe would come in and prep art projects. You know all those paper shapes and cut-outs you use in Big Messy Art, Imagination Station and Make and Take? Those were all the products of Phebe’s hard work!

We wanted to celebrate her years of outstanding service, so we decided to throw her a little surprise going away party. Phebe will be missed (many of us commented, “I won’t know when it’s Thursday anymore!”) but we are so grateful for her years and years of donated time and service.

We will miss her but we sent her off in style!

Once upon a time there was a turtle named Eloise. He swam along the riverbank. Suddenly, Eloise heard a noise. And it was: ROAR! Eloise didn’t know what to do. He turned around and swam the other way. Pretty soon, Eloise saw something amazing! He saw a peacock! The peacock’s feathers were bright blue. He started swimming the other way! By this point, Eloise was getting very tired. And then he fell asleep while he was swimming. When Eloise opened his eyes, he was in his cozy bed. And then he started swimming again. The End!

Today was a very exciting day. Cause there was gonna be a birthday party! Jasmine the bluebird was turning four years old. And then she was decorating the room with balloons and decorations. She hoped all her friends would come. And then she started hearing knock, knock on the door! And she heard all her friends, they were all singing “Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday to you!” Everyone was so happy to be celebrating Jasmine’s birthday. There was even a huge birthday cake! It had star birthday candles. And then she heard another one go knock knock knock ROAR and it was her friend the bear. The End!

Join us for Tall Tales this summer and enter an adventure of your own making! Check our calendar of events for dates and times.

Inside "Star Lab," our traveling star show!

Collect some blankets or sleeping bags and a pillow or two. You’ll all be happier if you’re comfy and cozy – particularly on chilly nights. If you can, plan on a night with a new moon (the next one is coming up on May 14th). When the moon is full and bright, it can make it harder to see the stars around it. You can bring a thermos of hot chocolate if you like – binoculars also can be fun to get a closer look at different star clusters.

Some cool things to look for:

The Big Dipper: also known as Ursa Major or “Big Bear,” this is a well-known constellation that’s easy to spot. Once you find the Big Dipper, connect the two stars in the front of the scoop with a straight line: the first star you hit is Polaris, or the North Star. That’s the only star in the night sky that never changes its position!

Orion: another one that’s easier to find because of the trademark three-star “belt.” Orion is easiest to see from October through March, but we can still spot him right now. Once you find the belt, locate the two stars in his shoulders and two stars in his feet. His right shoulder (your left, his right!) is a red star, called “Beteljeuse.” The one in his left foot is called “Rigel” and is blue. Ask your child which one is hotter. The answer is Rigel – even though we think of red as being a “hot” color, the blue star is younger and therefore has more gas to burn. A four-year-old visitor once asked me if “that was like a little kid being younger and having a lot more energy to burn than a grownup?” Yeah, it is kinda like that!

Sirius: to the left of Orion’s feet you’ll see a really bright star. This is part of Canis Major, or the Dog constellation. It’s the brightest star that we can see in the whole night sky!

There are hundreds upon hundreds of constellations you can find with your little one. Recommended reading? Stars of the First People, by Dorcas S. Miller, for some riveting Native American myths and constellations. Happy star searching!

Jamie's campers show off their freshly planted seeds at last year's Garden Camp. (We'd show you a picture of Magical Myths or Ready, Set, Play camp... but they haven't happened yet!)

Spring in Maine can be tough. As my umbrella turned inside-out on my walk to work the other day, I wistfully remembered the flip-flop weather bestowed upon us just a week ago. But April showers bring May flowers, and here at the Museum & Theatre, May flowers bring… Summer Camps!

Our Education team is so excited about all the programs we do that we can’t help but plan things months and months in advance. In fact, that’s what gets us through the icy winter months: thoughts of camp — exploring new ideas, projects and activities during the most energetic time of year. Every one of us has some pretty thrilling projects up our sleeves, but I’m just going to talk about mine.

Magical Myths: Fairies, Gnomes and Creatures is a morning camp just for 4 and 5 year olds. Knowing that this is a group with limitless imagination, I decided to create a week-long camp catering to storytelling, costume creation, and lots of time to pretend. I remember spending countless hours as a six-year-old living in a “fox den” with my best buddy, Alex – or maybe building fairy houses in the woods, knowing that when I left, there would be a veritable fairy fiesta in my absence. We’re going to learn about mythological creatures from all over the world – from imagining the perspective of the world from the Zulu abatwa (tiny people who ride on the backs of ants) to watching an ancient Chinese star show featuring the Azure Dragon of the East. We’ll explore our imaginations with masks, wings, wands and just about anything in-between – and even have a chance to try dancing with the Blue Fairy from our summer Theatre production, Pinocchio! I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it.

For preschoolers who can’t keep from wiggling, I’ve created Ready, Set, Play: Rock and Romp! In my time working at the Museum & Theatre, I’ve noticed something about preschoolers: they like to move around. (Have you noticed this?) We’ll learn all kinds of games kids play in other countries – from Japanese Tag to Hide-and-Seek from Saudi Arabia. We’ll also experiment with music making in relation to play – and play in relation to music making! Anyone who has taken up an instrument knows that the fun lies in seeing where the music takes you – and in playing with others. We’ll do all of this and more as we hear from guest musicians, learn songs, and play games all week long.

So, um, is it summer yet?

One more thing! Did you know that we have a special “BOGO” special on camps through May 1st? You can buy one camp at regular price, and get a second (for the same child or a sibling) for half price. You can click here to get all the details, or get in touch with Shana (828-1234 x232 or shana@kitetails.org), who can help you find the best camps for your kids:  www.kitetails.org/camps

Food is one of those things that everyone has in common. In my “Cultural Cuisine” program, I share a simple drink or snack common to another country with museum visitors. Recently this was Moroccan mint tea, with a little added brown sugar. In Morocco, tea is a part of life. It is an offering to houseguests, a cause for an afternoon break, and something that has been consumed there for centuries. I tell our littlest visitors that it’s OK not to like it – it’s just great to give something new and different a try! I can usually get even the most hesitant kids to take a sniff, and eventually a shy little sip. Their eyes widen: “This is good!”

Of course, there are children who don’t always like everything I offer, but this is to be expected. The goal is about exposing them to food (and, therefore, a piece of a culture) that is outside their realm of familiarity. The more comfortable children are with the idea of different cultures’ foods, the more comfortable they become with each others’ cultural differences – and more aware of what we all have in common.

Make a kid-friendly version of Moroccan mint tea at home!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups boiling water
• 1-2 handfuls fresh mint
• 2 Green Teabags
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Pour the boiling water over the mint, green tea, and brown sugar in a heat-proof container (large Pyrex measuring cups or a teapot both work great). Stir until combined. Pour and enjoy!