Archive Index ... Column Index
By: Suzette Smiley
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Exercise is good for you! It strengthens your muscles, improves your heart and lungs, and can help you maintain a positive outlook on life. Exercise calls upon strength, power, flexibility, and endurance. Explorit's current exhibit "Body Basics: Taking Better Care" is a great place for children to personally test all four of these attributes.
Skeletal muscles give us strength and power. Measure your brute strength by squeezing a scale and take the vertical leap challenge to discover your power. Basketball stars are famous for their power leaps. Flexibility and endurance reflect our fitness levels. Stretch those hamstrings and find out how far you can reach over your toes. Then see how many sit-ups you can do in 2 minutes to test your endurance.
"Body Basics: Taking Better Care" is open to the public Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday from 1 to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Explorit is located at 3141 Fifth St. in East Davis.
Admission is $3. Explorit members, teachers, and children under 4 are always admitted free.
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This Saturday's "Meet the Scientist" program features Douglas Gross MD, a pediatrician and professor of anatomy at the UC Davis Medical School. Dr. Gross will be talking at 2 p.m. about how the body works in health and disease during his presentation titled "Body Basics." Visitors will get a rare opportunity to examine specimens of healthy and diseased human hearts, lungs, and brains. They will also get a chance to listen to their heartbeat and to test their breathing.
"Meet the Scientist" programs are suitable for all ages and usually include demonstrations or hands-on activities during the half hour presentations.
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Explorit's Spring Vacation Classes, scheduled for the week of April 1 - 5, are just around the corner.
This year, thanks to a generous Explorit staff person, five vacation class scholarships are available for children from families that need financial assistance. Explorit classes are a wonderful opportunity for elementary age students to have fun exploring a special area in science. For more information on this opportunity, call Suzanne Ullensvang at 756-0191.
A number of classes still have room for a few students and several extra sessions have been scheduled for particularly popular classes.
Tuesday, April 2, children in grades K-2 can learn "All About Rocks" from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday morning, April 3, aspiring botanists and artists in grades K-1 can "Design a Flower and a Vegetable" from 8:30 to 10 a.m. In the afternoon, fourth through sixth graders can investigate the unforgettable patterns, dimensions, and symmetry of M.C. Escher's art in "Escher Explorations" from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Thursday, April 4, features "Animal Talk" from 11-12:30 for lively first through third graders. From 1:30 to 3:30, a special "Reptile Workshop" will be offered to kids in grades 4 - 6. Take this class to gain an insider's view of Explorit reptile care.
Friday afternoon, April 5, forensically inclined fourth through sixth graders can discover the hidden colors in inks, Kool-Aid, and food coloring in "Color Capers with Chromatography" from 1 - 2:30 p.m. A little later from 3 - 4:30 p.m., "Clean Up with Chemistry" is offered to eco-friendly first through third graders.
For further information and class descriptions, or to register for these classes, drop by or call Explorit at 756-0191. Payments can be made by check or over the phone with Visa or Mastercard.
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Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity with one and the ancient Polynesians worshipped the gods with them. What are they? Kites! Flying wonderfully high in the sky, kites lift the spirits and touch the imagination. They come in all colors, sizes, and designs too.
Here in Davis, Explorit and the Davis Art Center are holding the "Wind Works Kite Festival," a kite making competition and festival on Saturday, May 18 at Davis Art Center. Participants can choose to have their kites judged in either of two categories: technical merit, based on flight characteristics, or artistic merit, based solely on aesthetics.
Don't worry. There are no size or material restrictions, the entry is free, and collaborations are encouraged. Two special workshops will be held to help participants with their designs: Sunday, April 14 from 2-4 at the Davis Art Center and Sunday, April 28 from 1-4 at Explorit Science Center. Age groups include kids (12 and under), teens (13-19), and adults (20 and up).
For more information on how to enter the competition call the Explorit at 756-0191 or Davis Art Center at 756-4100. Remember the sky is the limit in this competition!
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The next World Explorer's Club meeting will take place on Saturday, April 6 at 11 a.m. at Explorit. Participants should call ahead to reserve materials for this club meeting.