“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” That is the message of Springfield-native Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, one of the first books for children to describe the plight of the environment and encourage kids to become Planet Protectors.
Please join the Springfield Museums, home of the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, for a weeklong celebration of CARING A WHOLE AWFUL LOT with Science Superstars and Planet Protectors! This family friendly school vacation week program features hands-on activities including a traditional pottery demonstration, Professor Knows A. Lot science fun, Watershed on Wheels, and other ecological explorations daily April 16th through 20.th Please see below for a full schedule of school vacation week activities.
While you are here visit the one and only museum dedicated to Dr. Seuss, and high-five the Lorax who speaks for the trees! Parking’s free! The Springfield Museums: It’s worth the trip!
Programing is free with museum admission!
April 16-20, 2018 – Science Superstars and Planet Protectors
SPECIAL EVENTS
11 am–3 pm Monday, 4/16 Repair Public: Local community members facilitate a workshop on how and why to fix broken items instead of tossing them into a landfill and buying replacements. Figure out how you can fix broken treasures! We’ll have tools and basic supplies like screws, tape, wire, nuts, needles and thread. Astronomy Hall, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–3 pm Tuesday, 4/17 and Wednesday 4/18 Center for EcoTechnology (CET) helps visitors find practical solutions that save energy: How much energy does it take to light up an incandescent light bulb vs. an LED bulb? Try the Center for EcoTechology’s hand crank to find out. How can worms help our environment? CET will have a display of how to compost, including indoor composting with red wiggler worms, and an ongoing tutorial demonstration on how to create simple home composting systems with free or very inexpensive materials. Astronomy Hall, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–12 pm and 1 pm–2 pm Thursday, 4/19 Traditional Pottery Demonstration: Springfield Science Museum’s own Curator of Anthropology, Ellen Savulis, will demonstration traditional Native American techniques working with clay. Native American Hall, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–3 pm Friday, 4/20 One Million Lights helps improve lives with healthy lighting: One Million Lights’s goal is to distribute 1,000,000 solar lights to replace dangerous and polluting kerosene lamps. Learn how to create light using solar panels and see examples of inexpensive solar lanterns. Native American Hall, Springfield Science Museum
DAILY
11 and 1 Professors Knows A. Lot’s Ala-Kazam Fun, Magic, and Science Show: Join our own Professors Knows A. Lot for a show guaranteed to be entertaining for all ages. Learn about the magic of our planet, how we can protect it, and have fun, amazing times learning with us at the Science Museum. Science Workshop, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–3 pm WOW Express: The Watershed on Wheels Express (WoW Express) is an interactive mobile visitor center for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Tour this exhibit to learn more about the natural resources within the Connecticut River watershed. Enjoy a twilight stroll through the WoW’s 28-foot exhibit trailer, exploring five habitats with over forty-two different species of model plants, animals, and insects hidden in plain view. Inside the Science Museum, you will find five interactive educational kiosks—play the salmon game, compare your hand grip strength to that of an American Eagle’s talons, and learn new facts about the Connecticut River Watershed! Along the way, you will learn ways to protect and enjoy our local natural resources. Outside on the Quadrangle and inside in Mammal Hall, Springfield Science Museum
10 am–12 pm and 2 pm – 4 pm Watershed Table – Learn what a watershed is, how land is shaped by rivers, and what you can do to help keep our waters clean by playing in our watershed table. Lower Level, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–2 pm Meet the Lorax: Meet the creature who speaks for the trees! Get a photo, a hug, or a high-five from one of Dr. Seuss’s most recognizable and beloved characters. SIS Hall, Wood Museum of Springfield History
11 am–3 pm The Lorax Read Along: Long before saving the earth became a global concern, Dr. Seuss, speaking through his character the Lorax, warned against mindless progress and the danger it posed to the earth’s natural beauty.Grab a book and listen along to a CD of the story with your family. SIS Hall, Wood Museum of Springfield History
11 am–3 pm What Kids Can Do to Help the Planet: Learn some easy ways that kids can help protect our environment that you can try at home right away! Take a planetary pledge to keep the Earth healthy! SIS Hall, Wood Museum of Springfield History
11 am–3 pm The Stories of Seeds: Native Americans planted the “Three Sisters” strategically to help support each other. Learn how squash, corn, and beans work together to ensure a strong harvest, and about their importance in Native American culture. Compare ancient seeds to modern ones and learn how crops have changed over hundreds of years. Native American Hall, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–3 pm Live Animal Demo: Get up close to the animals that call the Springfield Science Museum home. Animals may include painted turtles, box turtles, ball python, milk snake, and bearded dragon, and a bonus insect encounter, Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Reptile Wall, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–3 pm Animal Explorations: Check out animal photos, footprints, x-rays, fossils, and other specimens, read some books, and explore all the samples in the drawers of the Investigation Station. Lower Level, Springfield Science Museum
11 am–2 pm Family Science Adventures: Explore the Science Museum and find the Roving Scientist. You never know what kind of demonstrations and hands-on activities they have in store for you! Roaming, Springfield Science Museum
12-4 Art Discovery Center: Trace Chinese characters, try on costumes, play gallery games, peek under lift-up panels on the Wall of Symbols to discover the meaning behind Asian motifs, put on a puppet show, and make an art project. This week’s project: A Collaborative Mandala made from Recycled Materials. 2nd Floor, George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum
Special thanks to MassMutual Foundation, our Season Supporter.