By: Beth Post

Tomorrow's Children's Fair marks the end of this year's celebration the Week of the Young Child. Festivities for the young and old alike will be held in Central Park. Between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., Explorit will host a multitude of exciting hands-on activities.

So check out the fun and celebrate the Week of the Young Child! Science and education are an important part of everyone's lives and Explorit's unique experiments and activities will thrill and intrigue people of all ages. Hope to see you downtown!

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Do you ever wonder what's going on beneath your feet? Hundreds of miles beneath your feet? If you want to learn more about the earth, visit Explorit's current exhibition, Going Underground: The Science Beneath Our Feet. Investigate the earth's depths, as well as what you might encounter on the surface.

The earth is made up of several layers. The surface is known as the outer shell, or the crust. There are two parts to the earth's crust: continental crust and oceanic crust. Continental crust can be as thick as 50 miles. Oceanic crust is only about 3 miles thick.

Below the crust is the mantle. The mantle consists of three parts: a transition zone, the upper mantle and the lower mantle. The transition zone is a zone of hot, weak rock that is easily deformed. The upper mantle is partially molten and the lower mantle is mostly solid. The mantle ranges down to approximately 1800 miles.

Then, there is the outer core, a liquid melted iron mixture that moves by convection and produces the earth's magnetic field. It ranges down to about 3200 miles and makes up almost 30 percent of the earth's mass. Lastly, there's the solid inner core, which consists primarily of iron.

To learn more about these layers of the earth and how they interact, come to Explorit and discover what's happening when we're Going Underground: The Science Beneath Our Feet. After all, this column has barely scratched the surface!

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Summer is coming and it's time to register for Explorit's Summer Science Classes! Children from preschool through fifth grade can enjoy hands-on classes filled with activities, experiments, and amazing explorations. For more information, call Explorit at 756-0191. And if you register before May 15, you will automatically be entered in a drawing to win a free Children's Birthday Party at Explorit!

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Explorit would like to thank all of the sponsors and volunteers who made the 14^th Annual Vintage Masters Wine Tasting and Auction a fantastic success! This annual fundraiser for Explorit is a wonderful way to try new wines, sample the food from local restaurants, and support science education in this region. Thanks again for everyone's help and hard work.

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Explorit Science Center is located at 3141 5th Street in East Davis. The current exhibition is Going Underground: The Science Beneath Our Feet. Public hours are Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sunday from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Regular admission is $3; members, teachers, and children under 4 are free. For more information, call Explorit at (530) 756-0191.