By: Selena Littrell

Dinner at the Dump, a festive night of food and entertainment, is less than one week away. This annual fund-raiser organized by the Davis Enterprise and Davis Waste Removal will be held Thursday, September 12 from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Davis Waste Removal recycling center on East 2nd Street. Proceeds from this year's event, will benefit Explorit Science Center and make possible the purchase of a portable building.

Dinner at the Dump features an all-you can eat extravaganza from local restaraunts, great live music and prizes including 2 round-trip tickets from Sacramento to Disneyland.

Last year's Dinner at the Dump raised $16,700 for the Yolo Family Service Agency. Explorit hopes that a comparable amount, along with the $7,000 already raised for the Evelyn Buddenhagen Space Fund, will allow the Center to purchase a portable classroom and increase public space.

More space will allow Explorit to extend its current, successful services, such as vacation classes and the "Meet the Scientist" program. New programs, such as after school student programs and parent/teacher workshops, may also be offered.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for children under 12. Tickets are only available at the door. For more information, call Explorit at 756-0191.

-----------------------

Explorit Science Center thanks Davis Waste Removal for its recent grant to create an outdoor exhibit on recycling. "The Cycles of Recycling" will be a permanent installation with a variety of activities and experiments related to composting and recycling.

As part of Davis Waste Removal's grant, Explorit will finally receive three sturdy, new picnic tables made of recycled plastic. Picnic tables have long been needed for visiting families and groups and will be a welcome addition to the outdoor space.

----------------------

It takes chemistry to solve the mystery of the stolen lunch. At Explorit's "Summer Science Sampler" exhibition, visitors use paper chromatography to investigate the ink used on written notes.

The "black" in black ink pens may be very different from one pen to another. Each black pen has a unique color composition which can be separated with a solvent. Scientists use several chromatography techniques to analyze chemical composition.

To solve Explorit's mystery, the ink used on the ransom note written by the lunch thief can be separated with paper chromatography. When separated, the black ink leaves a trail of colors. Match the color patterns to solve the mystery and catch the crook.

Your favorite activities and experiments are at Explorit Science Center's "Summer Science Sampler" exhibition which runs through September 29.

Public hours are 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 5th Street in East Davis.

Regular admission is $3. Members, teachers and children under 4 are free. For more information, call Explorit at 756-0191 or visit Explorit's Web site at http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/GO/EXPLORIT/.

The September issue of Explorit's Davis Astronomy Club newletter, written by club leader Dennis Smith, is now on-line at Explorit's Web site.

--------------------

Explorit welcomes Talib to its staff. Talib will present the popular traveling program Science In Your World.

For the past seven years, Talib has taught at the Davis Waldorf School. Talib is a puppeteer in his free time, and for the next five weeks, you might see him at the Renaissance Faire, where you can ask him to give you a juggling lesson.