Wednesday Workshops Challenge Kids’ Creativity

Every Wednesday now through December 17, the Westport Historical Society has organized a series of workshops for curious creative kids from 3:45 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.  These fun workshops will allow kids ages 6 to 12 years old  to create a new project each week.

The workshops will be a fun way to encourage kids to explore their creativity.  Projects will be of interest for kids with a variety of interests.  For the child fascinated by technology, there’s “Industrial Revolution Robots,” where kids will make their own bots from nuts and bolts. For the budding artist there are workshops on how to make folk art signs and decoupage treasure boxes. Workshops on making sock dolls, parchment paper, scary Halloween stuff, antique toy reproductions and holiday gifts round out the syllabus.

“Wednesday Workshops,” Wednesdays, Oct. 1-Dec. 17, 3:45 to 5:15 p.m. Ages 5-12. There is a $25 per session fee, $20 for members. For 10 sessions, the fee is $150 members, $200 non-members; includes all supplies. Reservations suggested: (203) 222-1424. For additional information visit  http://westporthistory.org.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children Announces 2014 Around the World Program

Exposure to the world’s diverse cultures and customs provides priceless educational opportunities for our children. Through the Stepping Stone Museum for Children’s highly popular and award-winning Around the World programming, families can explore the world without leaving Norwalk through cultural programs brought to life.

The Stepping Stones Museum for Children is proud to announce the 12 Around the World “destinations” selected for each month of 2014. Frequent Around the World participants will be able to achieve “World Traveler” status and attend an exclusive end-of-the-year event in December 2014.

Since 2009, Stepping Stones has been transporting children and parents to 12 different parts of the world each year. Each month, museum guests get an extensive look at a different country’s customs through their engaging, interactive Around the World Performance Series events featuring youth performers and professional artists and musicians and their Around the World Creative Kids offering hands-on cultural craft activities.

Throughout the month, the designated country is represented on the museum’s walls with a map display and travel guide, in the Multimedia Gallery with a short film and interactive digital media floor games broadcast at various times each day and in the Family and Teacher Resource Center with the Around the World Bookshelf offering children’s books about the featured country.  School vacation weeks are dedicated to Around the World programs and include special crafts, story times and activities.

From the program’s inception, participants have been receiving a keepsake Around the World “passport” that is stamped to keep track of each destination they have “visited.”   Stepping Stones registers each child’s passport to keep track of his or her participation.  If a child “visits” at least 6 countries during the year, he or she will receive “World Traveler” status and will be invited to the special World Travelers’ event in December 2014.

Experiencing the world’s diverse cultures can be enriching and rewarding. Below is the 2014 roster of countries that will be “explored” at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children located on 303 West Avenue, exit 14N or 15S off I-95 in Norwalk.  Museum hours are Labor Day through Memorial Day, Tuesday—Sunday and holiday Mondays from 10 am-5pm; and Memorial Day through Labor Day, Monday-Sunday from 10 am-5 pm. Admission is $15 for adults and children and $10 for seniors. Children under 1 are free. To learn more, call 203 899 0606 or visit www.steppingstonesmuseum.org

2014 Around The World Performance Series Schedule:

January 18, 2014

Ballet Los Pampas – Argentina 

February 15, 2014

Soro Bindi – Ghana

March 8, 2014

Inca Son – Peru

April 19, 2014

Kahana Hula – Samoa

May 3, 2014

Rossijanochka Folk Dance Troupe – Russia

June 21, 2014

Didgequest  – Australia

July 26, 2014

Music and Dance of the Scottish Highlands – Scotland

August 16, 2014

Surcari  – Chile

September (Date TBA)

Greek Mythology – Greece

October 25, 2014

The Catskill Puppet Theater presents The Lion’s Whiskers – Ethiopia

November 8, 2014

Shane Long – United States (Native Americans)

December 13, 2014

ABBA Girlz – Sweden

Family Fun is guaranteed, rain or shine in Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County

When the beach outing or the picnic is rained out, what to do with restless kids on a wet summer weekend?  Plenty of possibilities await in Western Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills and Fairfield County, where special indoor exhibits from bats to dinosaurs to a working carousel are guaranteed to bring smiles. Families can join a workshop learning how to make their own clocks or even have a “stay-cation” at a resort with an indoor water park.

In Norwalk, the Maritime Aquarium is featuring Africa from Dessert to Sea starring amazing creatures from exotic fish to adorable meerkats, geckos and awesome giant boas. Playful meerkats are a favorite, and special windows allow following them into their underground burrows. A viewing bubble even lets young visitors stand up right among the meerkats. www.maritimeaquarium.org.

 Not far away in Norwalk at the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Dinosaur Revolution, a special exhibit through September 8, lets youngsters uncover fossils and facts about dinosaurs as they navigate a giant maze. www.steppingstonesmuseum.org

The Stamford Museum and Nature Center has a new exhibit through September 2 called Masters of the Night, starring bats, those mysterious and often misunderstood mammals. Visitors can try out a variety of fun and informative interactive stations featuring life-like models, such as "Bat Ears," “Feast in Flight," and the "Echo - Echo Unit."  www.stamfordmuseum.org.

In Greenwich, Eggs-hibition: Unscrambling Their History at the Bruce Museum through October 20 promises to enthrall all with its array of bird eggs, edible eggs, and eggs both ugly and beautiful. www.brucemuseum.org.

LITCHFIELD HILLS TREATS

A ride on an old-fashioned merry-go-round is a treat for all ages, and it is included in the price of admission at the Carousel Museum in Bristol. This unique museum offers one of largest collections of antique carousel pieces in the country in its "Golden Age of the Carousel" exhibit. Visitors also see the workshop where antique carousel creations are restored. Upstairs, a Museum of Fire history awaits and the museum includes a changing art gallery and a children’s craft center, as well. www.thecarouselmuseum.org.

Waterbury’s Timexpo: The Timex Museum is a fascinating place for older kids with its Time Tunnel and a colorful history of watch making. Fun for all is the museum’s Make A Clock workshops offered every Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Workshop participants choose among many designs, decorate and assemble their own working clock. http://timexpo.com.

Waterbury also offers a unique splurge solution for a rainy weekend. It is always 84 degrees and sunny at the Coco Key Water Resort and Conference Center, where a 50,000 square foot indoor water playground offers an Adventure River, water slides, raft rides, activity pools with water basketball and the Parrot's Perch Interactive Play Island with a special shallow Kiddie Entry Area.  If you don’t want to stay the night, day passes are available. www.cocokeywaterbury.comwww.cocokeywaterbury.com.

For more information about family activities and a free copy of UNWIND, a full-color,

152-page booklet detailing what to do and see, and where to stay, shop and dine in

Western Connecticut, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968,

Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit their web site at www.visitlitchfieldhills.com and www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com

Native American Drum Making Workshop at The Institute for American Indian Studies

The Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington Connecticut located in the heart of the Litchfield Hills is offering a workshop to celebrate the drum because it is considered to be the most important Native American instrument.  Most Native Americans prefer to use drums made from traditional materials made by a master drum maker or make their own. This is because of the strong spiritual associations of the drum....it is the heartbeat of Mother Earth.

Indigenous peoples made several kinds of drums; log drum, water drum and the most common, the hand drum. Hand drums could be single or double-headed. In the northeast region they were traditionally made using a wooden base and an animal hide; typically deer or elk.

The drum is considered to be the first musical instrument used by humans; historians believe the drum has been virtually every culture known to mankind. The original purpose was for communicating over long distances as a type of signal.

On Saturday, February 23 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Allan Madahbee, Ojibway artist and musician, will instruct participants in making their own single-face drum while sharing the importance of the drum in Native American culture. This workshop is recommended for cildren ages 12 and up. The workshop fee is $150; $125 IAIS Members. Reservations and a $50 nonrefundable deposit is required by calling 860-868-0518. The museum is located on 38 Curtis Rd. in Washington 

Connecticut. For additional information www.iaismuseum.org. For area information www.litchifieldhills.com

About The Institute for American Indian Studies

IAIS is a Not-For-Profit organization. We do not receive monies from the State, Town of Washington nor any other museum or gaming facility. We reply on membership, programs and contributions for support.

January Events at Stepping Stone Museum for Children

At the Stepping Stones Museum for Children, the new year begins with the final days of the show titled Native Voices: New England Tribal Families that will end on January 6th.  This unique exhibit is an introduction to Native Americans living in New England today. By visiting five different communities from northern to southern New England, visitors learn about Native American traditions and how modern families balance contemporary life with preservation of important cultural identities through stories and songs. Free with museum admission.

Opening on January 21 is a show titled Framed: Step into Art™ that was produced by the Minnesota Children's Museum for the members of the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative (YMEC). This exhibit allows you to enter the framework of famous paintings and experience art like never before.  Art viewers become art as they physically enter a scene and are encouraged to interpret, express and connect with art.  They can ride a giant chicken attached to a wagon, set up a camp in the Canadian Rockies, prepare dinner for a group of hungry farmers.  They can become an art gallery director, selecting and exhibiting art in their own gallery, as well as explore the exhibit through Art Hunt Cards.

January's Around the World program focus's on India. Stepping Stones takes children and parents to 12 different places around the globe, bringing the culture and its people to life. Now in its fourth year, the Around the World Performance Series presents professional artists, musicians, dancers, storytellers and youth performers representing a variety of cultures and traditions.

In its first year, the Museum's quarterly Accessibility Day program proved to be so popular that they are now offering it on a monthly basis.   Accessibility Day falls on Jan. 12 from 9 am - 11 am and offers free admission for families of children with special needs.
On Wednesday, January 16 parents are invited to the Parent Zone from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm where they will learn simple techniques to help their children with numbers, estimation and describing and comparing shapes.   This is a parents only workshop. Free childcare for children 3 and older. Free dinner included.  Limited space. Registration is required.

On January 25 the Stepping Stones Museum Presents the Story Book Pajama Party from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  The event will consist of a compelling reading the tale in front of a large screen showing the pages in the book for all to see. After the story, the reading is brought to life when children meet the storybook character (bring your camera). There will also be a hands-on craft activity and a musical parade featuring the storybook character. Dinner is available for purchase in the museum's cafe.Members $10/person, Non-members $12/person. Tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. Space is limited, registration recommended.

Stepping Stones Museum for Children is located at 303 West Avenue, Norwalk, CT, exit 14 North and 15 South off I-95. Museum hours are Monday-Sunday from 10 am-5 pm.  Admission is $15 for adults and children and $10 for seniors. Children under 1 are free. To learn more visit steppingstonesmuseum.org or call 203 899 0606.

For regional information visit www.visitfairfieldcountyct.com.