June 18, 2010

WorkAbility Student Reflects on Experience at Explorit
By Vanessa Kaywood

My name is Vanessa Kaywood and I am a junior at Davis Senior High School. I worked at Explorit through a program called WorkAbility, a program where students at Davis Senior High School can get work experience.

I started in the middle of January and worked through the end of May. I had a blast working at Explorit. During my time at Explorit I met a lot of nice people, and I got a lot of opportunities that others don't get to have. I got to hold the ball python constrictor snake, some hissing cockroaches, and a large reptile that they call Blizzard. I even got a sneak peek at Explorit's new reptiles, the bearded dragons-and got to see them eat.

I also got the opportunity to help out as a Birthday Party assistant, which I found to be fun and awesome to watch the kids use their imagination and make creative work. I also enjoyed watching the demonstrations at the parties with the kids and learning new things with them.

My favorite things about my time at Explorit have to be working public hours, assisting with Birthday Parties-and most of all, the busiest day at Explorit: Free Admission Tuesday. Every third Tuesday of each month is free admission to come in, have a blast, meet a lots of new friendly people, explore, experiment, watch things fly, look at skin with the microscope on the television screen, play with water and sand, and build in The Challenge Center (my favorite) where your imagination can take control and you can make whatever you want no matter the size. The sky is the limit to what you choose to make.

On another note, I also learned a lot of stuff I never knew about, like human fingerprints. Did you know that each individual's prints are persistent over time (meaning they never change)? Scientists established that fingerprints don't vary from childhood to adulthood (and even after death). Even after hundreds of samples, scientists realized that size is the only change in our fingerprints over time. This is just one thing that I wanted to share, but I have a lot of memories and other cool stuff to share with people.

Explorit is one of the places that you will remember fun, learning a lot, and maybe even meeting your best friend. It's a place to just be adventurous and experiment without your parents limiting your fun time.

-Vanessa Kaywood, 17 years old

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Explorit news and events:

o Sunday, June 20: Father's Day is a day honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. It is celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 52 of the world's countries and on other days elsewhere. To celebrate Father's Day, Explorit will provide free admission to dads at 2801 2nd Street from 11am-5pm.

o Summer Science Camps still have a few spaces available (visit http://www.explorit.org/programs/summer-camp ). Please call Explorit Monday-Friday between 9:00am-4:30pm to see if there is a space for your child, ages 4-11 years old.

o Explorit Science Center has received $10,000 from Kaiser Permanente to support both their Health in Your World and Science in Your World school programs. Kaiser is a very strong supporter of science education throughout the region, and sponsorships such as this allow elementary school students and their parents to have fun with science together.

o Tuesdays continue to be a popular day to bring toddlers to visit Explorit's exhibitions from 10:00am until naptime. Stay tuned for information about the Discovery Room's newest area, with activities designed specifically for toddlers. This space is sponsored by Ikea, West Sacramento and will debut July 13.

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Explorit Science Center, at 2801 Second St., has two exhibitions on display: "Move It! Science in Action" and "Take Matter Into Your Own Hands." Admission is $4 general, free for teachers, and ages 3 and under. The museum is open to school groups by reservation and to the general public 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and 11 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. For more information call (530) 756-0191 or visit http://www.explorit.org.