- Details
- Monday, 25 June 2018
- Written by DR. SHANESSA FENNER
Children can drop as many as two reading levels during the summer months. Even though school is out, there is plenty to do to keep young minds engaged. One option is to read at least 30 minutes each day. Another is to explore learning opportunities in other places.
Fascinate-U Children’s Museum has hands-on, child-friendly exhibits that will keep kids’ active minds busy and let young imaginations run wild during these hot summer days.
“We are open every day except Monday and all of our exhibits are hands-on, so when you come to visit, the children get to play and pretend to be a grown-up,” said Susan Daniels, executive director of Fascinate-U. “We have a grocery store, costume stage, a news desk, a doctor’s office, school room, army fort, post office, farm, voting booth and restaurant exhibit.” Daniels added that the children get to pretend to be employees through role-playing, manipulation and interacting with each other.
The museum also hosts several programs and events, including partnering with other child-centered summer camps in the community. “We do offer programs for visiting groups, and some of those summer camps come to us and we do science programs with the children,” said Daniels. “It is mainly slime and weird pets.”
As part of its regular programming, the museum has recurring events for families that can’t get to the museum during the week. “The second Saturday of each month we have a craft activity between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” said Daniels. “On the third Saturday of each month, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., we have a science activity.”
Daniels added that these events are free for participants with a paid membership. A family membership is $50 and includes admission for the whole family for the entire year.
“We invite the family to come out and join us for some interactive fun and engagement,” said Daniels. During 4th Friday events, the museum offers free crafts for children each month.
Another way Fascinate-U reaches out to the community is through partnerships with other community organizations like the Cumberland County Public Library and Information Center for story times. The museum also hosts summer camps and is available to host birthday parties.
Admission fee is $4 for children and $3 for adults. Admission is free Wednesdays from 1-7 p.m., and donations are accepted. For more information, call 910-829-9171 or visit www.fascinate-u.com.
- Details
- Tuesday, 19 June 2018
- Written by MATTHEW SKIPPER
This summer, two library systems, Fort Bragg’s Throckmorton Library and Cumberland County Public Libraries, will host summer reading programs. The programs are designed to encourage reading among all ages through activities, events and prizes.
The goal of these programs is to combat a phenomenon known as the “summer slide,” or summer learning loss. Summer slide is the tendency of students in the summer to lose some of the knowledge and academic skills they learned during the school year. Research shows, on average, students lose a month’s worth of school-learning over summer vacation, with declines in math and reading. The loss grows more substantial as student age increases. Reading is shown to help counteract the effects of the summer slide, and libraries hope to encourage readership through their summer reading programs.
Fort Bragg’s summer reading program, held by Throckmorton Library, runs from June to July. Though it has already begun, anyone can sign up throughout the six weeks of the program.
The program has an event each Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The activities include the “Children’s Song Hour” on June 20 to help children learn letters, syllables, words and sentences through music. The June 27 program is titled “The Parisian Juggler – Paris.” Another event is “Living in a Vacuum, the Liquid Nitrogen Show: Space” on July 11. This event will show science in action through experiments involving vacuum chambers and liquid nitrogen. July 18 is themed “Saddle Up ‘N’ Read with the Amazing Teacher, Steve Somers: Cowboys.” The program concludes on July 25 with “The Rockstar Magic of Chris and Neal.”
All Throckmorton Library summer reading events are free and open to all ages. The summer reading program is sponsored by Fort Bragg Federal Credit Union, Triangle Rock Club, Pioneer Services and USAA.
Cumberland County Public Library’s summer reading program began June 1 and ends August 15. Readers of all ages are encouraged to join, with the library hosting visitors such as Pete the Cat and Clifford the Big Red Dog. There will also be crafts and experiments focusing on science, technology, engineering and math. Readers who progress through the program will earn prizes. Teens and adults who participate may win gift cards. The gifts are provided by the Friends of the Library, and there is a limit of one prize per person.
For more information on Fort Bragg’s summer reading program, and to register as a reader, visit: https://bragg.armymwr.com/promos/2018-summer-readingprogram.com
For more information on Cumberland County Public Library summer reading program, and to register as a reader, visit: http://ccplbulletins.blogspot.com/2018/05/summer-readingprograms-because.html.
