Two young visitors chatted with us while playing in the new exhibit Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice.



Share any videos you may have taken from the Dinosaurs exhibit!

There's no escaping holiday music and carols these days. Whether standing in line at the coffee shop, passing a display at the store, or choirs gathered at the street corner: seasonal music is everywhere!

Here's a book list full of musical fun for your little ones:

The Happy Hedgehog Band, Jill Barton
To Be A Drum, Evelyn Coleman
The Drums of Noto Hanto, J. Alison James
Max Found Two Sticks, Brian Pinkney
The Leopard’s Drum, Jessica Souhami
What’s That Sound, Woolly Bear, Philemon Sturges

It's now December 4, and around the time that Minnesotans start wanting snow. All of those snowpeople, snow forts, and snow angels to be made! Not to mention all that snow shoeing, skiing and snowboarding -- Minnesotans know how to make the most out of winter!

Here's a list of cold-day books to get you in a good mood for the winter:

Snow Dance by Lezlie Evans
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
The Mitten: A Ukrainian Folk Tale by Jan Brett
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

These are some of our favorites. Does your family have others that we missed?

Now that you're home from all that exhaustive Black Friday shopping, it's time for a little bubble fun!

The Museum’s bubble area in the World Works gallery is one of the its most popular spots. Bubbles are a great way to discover gravity, air, cause and effect, surface tension and geometric structures. Play along as your child explores properties of bubbles through play!

Make your own bubbles at home and then experiment using strawberry baskets, slotted spoons and other objects as bubble wands. You can make your own bubble wands using pipe cleaners. Just shape one end into a loop for the bubbles, dip and blow!

Don’t have any potential bubble wands lying around? Use your hands! Form your hands into a triangle like. Dip you hands into bubble solution and blow. How many bubbles can you make in one minute? What would happen if we made a really BIG bubble?

Homemade Bubble Solution:

You will need:
1 cup dish soap (original Dawn works well)
12 cups water
*Optional: 2 tablespoons Glycerin (from a drugstore)

Gently stir all ingredients together in a bucket and let bubble solution sit overnight for best results.

As children begin to learn how to read, it is beneficial to have a non-judgmental, safe place to practice reading out loud. That’s why we are really excited about our new Dog Tales program. During Dog Tales, children have the opportunity to read to a dog from the Pals on Paws chapter of Therapy Dogs International. Therapy Dogs are highly trained to be friendly, calm, adaptable to new environments, and very attentive to the children reading to them. They even get an identification card. Check out Annie’s ID!

Dog Tales begins at home with children practicing reading a favorite book. Parents can then sign up for their children online for Saturday’s Dog Tales program. A certificate can be printed out and presented at the Museum. Don’t forget to bring your favorite practice book along!

However, don’t worry if you didn’t have time to practice this month – you can still come and read to one of the dogs. We’ll have books available to read including picture books for pre-readers. There are also opportunities to read to the dogs on December 19 and January 16.

We hope you can come, curl up with one of these gentle and amazing animals, and enjoy watching your child get excited to read to them.

A few young visitors, Soren, Nils and Sigrid, helped us test out a new activity at the Museum: the Flip Camera Project.



We swear we didn’t pay them for their testimonial!

So what is this Flip Video Project?
Two of these portable, user-friendly video cameras will be available for checkout at our Box Office by families who would like to share their experience with family and friends. In some cases, visitors may want to document a visit to give others an idea of what they might encounter if they visit the Museum.

There are a few guidelines for camera use. The first is that the person checking out the camera must be 18 years of age or older and complete a checkout form. This checkout form includes listing an email address so that a link to the videos may be sent to the adult. Additionally, while the cameras are in use, we require a valid driver’s license or state ID as collateral.

Soon after your visit, you will receive an email with a link directly to your family’s video that you will be able to share with others. Select clips will be posted to the Museum’s blog and the Museum's YouTube channel.

Videos will be edited for time and content. Please limit video clips to longer than two minutes. Clips posted will ideally be between 10-45 second long.

FAQs
• I want to have a copy of my video, even if you don’t select it to be posted.
All videos will have some portion uploaded to YouTube, even if your clip is not selected to be posted on the Museum blog. The Museum will email you the direct link to YouTube that you can send to all your friends and family.

• But I took a much longer video than what you uploaded. I actually took several videos that you didn’t use. Where can I get the whole video / all of my videos?
The Museum reserves the right to edit the videos for content and length. Not all footage taken will be used or uploaded, and we cannot send you the full videos.

• People post nasty comments on YouTube. I don’t want my child’s image sullied in this way. Or, why can’t my mom post a comment about how cute her granddaughter looked with the bubble wand?
The Museum has disabled the comments feature on its YouTube channel to prevent abusive, or “flaming,” language and comments that can happen on the internet. If you do not want your family’s image on YouTube, we do not recommend using the cameras.

Please look for this activity next time you visit! We hope you will have fun with the project and share with your relative and friends all over the world! The project isn't ready QUITE yet, but look for them in the next couple weeks!

This week marked the 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street, a show that revolutionized educational television. In 1969, the original intent of the show was to teach children basic math, the alphabet, and general concepts through frequent repetition, visual presentation, and dynamic characters.

Over the years, cable television has grown immensely and added numerous educational shows, but the concept of providing interactive ways for children to learn is still a tried-and-true model of teaching. From hands-on activities at Minnesota Children’s Museum, to bedtime jingles passed on from generation-to-generation, children should always be provided with fun and exciting ways to learn.

When helping your children with their homework tonight or teaching your toddler the ABC’s, try creating your own dance, puppet show or song.

Happy Birthday Big Bird and Friends, thanks for making learning fun for the last 40 years.

We've got a few indoor play ideas for you and your children to experiment with on this dreary October day. All you'll need are a few magnets and a couple other household items and your family can explore magnetic science.

1. Magnet Fishing Game
Make your own fish shapes and cut them out. Attach a paper clip to each fish. Next, make your magnetic fishing pole. You can use a wood dowel or large measuring sticks or anything that you can think of that can be used as a pole. Tie a magnet with string onto the end of your pole. Have fun fishing!

2. Magnetic Adventure
Go on a magnetic treasure hunt. Explore where you live and find out what attracts a magnet and what does not. Give your child a magnet and have them walk around indoors or outdoors and test objects to see whether they “stick” to the magnet. As you are exploring, play “I wonder why” and see what creative and inventive reasons come to mind.

3. Magnetic Magic
Make a magnetic maze. You and your child can simply draw several paths from straight to squiggly on a piece of paper. Draw the paths from one end of the paper to the other. Place a paperclip on the path. Can you guide it along the path, using a magnet underneath? Try it and find out!

4. Magnet To the Rescue
Drop a paper clip into a clear glass of water. Can you rescue the paper clip without wetting either your hand or the magnet? Ask your child this question before you start and brainstorm the possibilities!

Do you have other magnetic games your children like to play?

This recent article in Educational Leadership magazine has the Museum's Learning Experience team excited. The piece takes a look at creativity and critical thinking as being essential 21st century skills.

At the Museum, we so often hear visiting parents say "I'm not creative." This article suggests that we can all learn to be creative, and challenges many misconceptions -- such as the idea that creativity is only found in the arts.

Sir Ken Robinson, who is interviewed in the article, calls for the current education system to focus more on encouraging children to explore, experiment, and to find their own answer -- instead of adults giving the answer to them. These are all things that we encourage here at the Museum, and find to be so important in children's development.

It's an article that makes us cheer. Check it out and let us know what you think.

If you can get past the somewhat crusty tone with which Dr. Jane Brody accuses “mothers and nannies” of being too tuned in to their cell phones instead of their young children, this recent New York Times article explains why talking to children and introducing books from birth is so important. It also offers great practical advice for nurturing young children’s language development.

To be fair, it was kind of Dr. Brody to congratulate the communicative young mother who she refers to at the beginning of the article. Any parent knows a word of encouragement can go a long way!

To us, it may simply look like building and knocking down blocks, but to a child 'construction play' is a skill-building lesson about gravity that requires questioning, experimentation, and problem solving. As we parents, grandparents, and caregivers create activities at home, or watch our children play in a museum, there are some concepts that help us understand and encourage this learning process. Ask our children to...Look, Look Again. Ask Questions. Predict. Investigate. Experiment. Try and Try Again.

Tomorrow, the Museum opens a new exhibit called Trash Bash. The exhibit encourages visitors to increase their knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivation and commitment toward sustaining a healthy environment. Children will use recycled and reused materials to create art, music and imaginative play activities.

It makes us wonder here at the Museum -- how much do we know about our trash?

Last month, the New York Times had an article about tracking where trash goes -- literally following paper cups, a can of beans -- to their "final" destinations. The article cites one woman's musings that perhaps the key to sustainable living is emphasizing reducing rather than recycling.

As the weather takes a colder turn, Minnesotans might like to hunker down for a long hibernation. Resist the temptation! Keep your family active, no matter the weather, by making a family fitness promise.

Make a list of physical activities your family likes to do together. All family members who agree to participate can sign the promise together and be a member of your Fitness Team. Come up with a team name!

• Go for a family walk around the block. Make the walk into a game where each team member takes turns deciding what kinds of steps, hops, or skips you’ll take.


• Do active household chores together that require steps like raking leaves.


• Draw a crazy path on the sidewalk with chalk where you need to jump, hop, skip and walk at different points, or have a hopscotch marathon.


• Step like a hurrying ant, a lumbering elephant, a prowling tiger or a scared rabbit. Can you think of more fun animal movements?


• March to your favorite music.

With the Museum's popular Halloween Spooktacular Parties just around the corner (Oct. 24-26 & 31) and the all-new, 2-week Halloween twist on a permanent gallery, Spooky Woods, those of us at the Museum definitely have costumes on our minds!

Our friends at Star Tribune started a Halloween photo costume contest for proud parents to display pictures of their children at their goofiest, cutest and/or scariest (in costume, of course)! The contest is for children 12 and under.

There are several rounds of the contest, and voting will go through October 25. Check out some of the costumed cuties already posted. It'll help you get some ideas for this year's Halloween costume, too!

A new exhibit called Out on a Limb opens tomorrow, September 19. It promotes nature-play through a sculptural, interactive design and incorporates nostalgic settings, such as a tree house and a fort-building area.

Out on a Limb was designed to inspire children and their caregivers to learn to explore nature by using their senses. More than simply seeing the beauty of a tree, the exhibit encourages visitors to hear the sounds of the forest, use leaves to make beautiful art, and build big and little structures from bark and limbs.

The whimsical atmosphere of Out on a Limb is created in part by children’s nature-themed artwork that makes up the faux bark and leaf canopy of the centerpiece tree. The individual exhibits, Whirlwind, Light Play, Forest Jam and Gnome Home, further enhance the magical scenery and are tools to enhance exploration. For example, individual activities encourage children to experiment with light and shadow, patterns of leaves, music of the forest, and the effects of the changing seasons. The exhibits also provide practice with the physical skills of climbing and balancing, which helps children to develop self-confidence in outdoor play.

For children, Out on a Limb provides a unique space for unstructured play, where they can create a connection with nature on their own; while for parents and caregivers, the exhibit represents an opportunity to reminisce about their own childhood experiences in the outdoors and to re-connect with nature exploration with their children. For visitors of all ages, there are places for building, climbing, listening and exploring -- all designed to inspire a love of nature.

Inspired in particular by works from environmentalist Rachel Carson, philosopher Henry David Thoreau, and author Richard Louv, Out on a Limb’s distinctive design delivers on its promise to use natural artistic materials and full-sensory activities to nurture children’s inborn curiosity about and love for nature.

Few things can get children excited like dinosaurs. These giants from long ago have a unique way of capturing the young imagination. Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice, which opens December 19, will take visitors back in time to explore the late Cretaceous Period when dinosaurs last roamed the earth. Once in the exhibit, they will discover dinosaur habitats to better understand how these mysterious animals lived, and use inquiry skills to examine what the dinosaurs left behind.

Typically, children encounter dinosaurs on the pages of a book or as petrified bones behind a glass wall. At Minnesota Children’s Museum, they’ll see them face-to-face, literally able to immerse themselves into an entire prehistoric world. A key component of this exhibit is the construction of two sculpted dinosaurs, a Troodon and the larger Edmontosaurus. These original pieces will give children the rare opportunity to have a true hands-on encounter with life-sized and life-like dinosaurs.

“The exhibit builds on children’s fascination with dinosaurs,” states Mary Weiland, the Museum’s exhibit developer. “It combines large motor skills with dramatic play for unique whole-body, age-appropriate activities, like sitting in a nest of Troodon eggs; clambering through a bog walk; touching large, realistic, sculpted dinosaurs; and donning vests and goggles to uncover fossils.”

The school year has officially begun! A key skill to build for school readiness is listening. You can help your child develop their listening skills by encouraging them to tune into the sounds around them and try to mimic them.

Create Music From Surprising Places
You can use household items to create your own musical instruments. Pots and pans can be used with wooden spoons to create drumming beats or even plastic Tupperware for a softer sound. Two pan lids could by used as cymbals. Two tablespoons taped, back to back, can be used for tapping each other or even tapping on your knees. Be creative and find the many sound possibilities in your household.

Can You Play Your Favorite Song?
After experimenting with home made sound instruments, a great way to familiarize your child with rhythm is to play along to any recorded song. They can drum, shake, tap or jingle along to any music. Remember that there is no right and wrong way to play and you will be surprised at how inventive your child can be.

Follow the Leader
Clap a simple rhythm with your hands and encourage members of the band to copy you as they play one of their homemade instruments or clap or tap their hands. You can incorporate some physical movement into your rhythms by making your own band and marching, skipping, hopping or whatever movement comes to mind as you move around inside or out.

Suggested Reading:
What’s That Sound, Woolly Bear by Philemon Sturges

Know of other great books about listening, music and sound? Share them!

“There are no perfect toys; there is no magic formula. Parents and other caregivers teach young children by paying attention and interacting with them naturally and, most of all, by just allowing them to play.”

That quote comes from a New York Times article by Alison Gopnik, a professor of psychology at Berkeley and the author of The Philosophical Baby. The article, called “Babies Are Smarter Than You Think,” is a great summary the science behind Minnesota Children’s Museum’s mission: sparking children’s learning through play.

Check it out and pass it on to other parents. There is a lot going on in your children’s brains while they’re playing in the water area of World Works or crawling through the Ant Hill. For children, play = learning.

At the Minnesota Children's Museum, we believe children are competent, active, creative, and inquisitive learners. We acknowledge children’s competence to make choices by following their lead. They choose the activities they want to do to make it a satisfying learning experience and we share in the joy of their discoveries by tagging along.

Children are also active and hands-on learners. As they load and unload a grocery cart, we adults may tire, but the children are engaged and learning about their senses and their muscles. The Museum also focuses on the process of creating rather than the product. This produces a safe environment for children to take risks. They can see new things in familiar ways and familiar things in new ways by using thinking skills while they create.

Lastly, we believe children are filled with wonder and curiosity. They explore materials, ask questions, and experiment to find answers and solve problems. We can see an inquisitive thinking process at work as children try lots of ways to get props moving, pieces fitting together, or even bubbles blowing through our experiences and environments here at the Museum.

Letting children use their senses is a wonderful way for them to describe and use details. Play guessing games with spices, fruits and vegetables. Let the child describe how a food smells or tastes: sour, sweet, strong, spicy.

Play guessing games with various objects by placing them in bags, pillowcases, or socks. Let the child put his/her hand inside and describe the object. How does it feel? Is it soft? Is it hard? Does it bend? How big is it?

Parents and children can make their own memory cards with index cards or colored paper. Cut out various items from grocery store ads and magazines. You can match up many things: baby animals – adult animals, colors, sizes, shapes, toys, and foods.

Food Fun Books:
Baby Food by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
First Book of Sushi by Amy Wilson Sanger
Food ABC by Heinemann Read & Learn
Good Bread by Brigitte Weninger and Anne Moller
How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers

Pull off those socks and get ready to play! You can play language games while your child is sitting in the car seat, on your lap, or waiting in line at the grocery store. Explore with rhymes from traditional “This Little Piggie” to adaptations like “This Little Froggie:”

Wiggle each toe of the child while saying each of the following lines:

This little froggie broke his toe.
This little froggie cried, “Oh, oh, oh.”
This little froggie laughed and was glad.
This little froggie cried and was sad.
But this little froggie did just as he should;

Tap a rhythm to the bottom of baby’s foot as you say this line:
He hopped to the doctor as fast as he could.

Suggested Reading:

First Steps in Music by John M. Feierabend

Minnesotans earn their long summer days after all those winter months. Warm weather means outdoor play for your kids and there are plenty of chances to maximize your children’s outdoor experiences!

-Ask children to compare shapes of leaves, observe the shades of green outside and try matching crayons to them, make a nature collage, or draw animals.

-Dance and movement spark creativity too. dance in the sun and watch the shadows.

-Watch and copy how squirrels and pigeons move.

-Throw leaves in the air and watch them float back down. Drama and role-play inspire imagination.

-Music is often found in the rhythms and sounds of nature. At home, children can listen and imitate sounds like wind, insects, and birds. They can even make musical instruments with natural materials like seeds, pebbles, and sticks.

Here's a quick tips list on how to make the most out of a Museum visit. MCM.org is a great resource for helpful info in preparation of your next visit.

• Read before you go
• Learn about what skills (cognitive, large motor) the gallery is intended to develop
• Interact with your child
• Encourage your child to interact/work together with other families
• Continue the learning at home through book lists

Social skills and thinking skills both develop through playing together with others. Group play lets children be dramatic, plan and rehearse roles, see alternatives to situations, build peer relationships, understand other perspectives, negotiate and cooperate, and experience success because they’ve created play that works for their needs. Adults can support social play at home and at the Museum by joining in with play, adding props to expand play, and organizing activities that encourage social interaction.

This month, the state of Minnesota released a new booster seat law for parents. Are you aware of the updates? We've provided a brief overview here, but the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) has materials available for parents and caregivers to view and download at www.buckleupkids.state.mn.us — including a flier explaining the law, frequently asked questions and more.

Minnesota children under age 8 and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches tall must be in a child safety seat or booster seat, effective July 1. Under the booster law, children cannot use a seat belt alone until they are age 8 or 4 feet 9 inches tall — whichever comes first. To ensure child safety, DPS recommends parents keep children in a booster based on their height, rather than their age.

In Minnesota, three out of every four child restraints are used incorrectly — meaning children are riding in the wrong restraint or the restraint is not properly secured. DPS reports the following as the most common child passenger safety mistakes:

-Turning a child from a rear-facing restraint to a forward-facing restraint too soon.
-Restraint is not secured tight enough — it should not shift more than one inch side-to-side or out from the seat.
-Harness on the child is not tight enough — if you can pinch harness material, it’s too loose.
-Retainer clip is up too high or too low — should be at the child’s armpit level.
-The child is in the wrong restraint — don’t rush your child into a seat belt.

The long weekend ahead brings daydreams of sitting on the dock with a good book in hand and your feet in the water. Stop by your local library first to pick up a few books to enjoy together. And don't forget your sunscreen!

This week’s booklist is about the joys of playing together as a family.

Mama Zooms by Jane Cowen-Flectcher
Rain Song by Lezlie Evans
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
We’ll Paint the Octopus Red by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

In Minnesota, we really EARN our summers. Once the weather warms up, everyone's in a better mood and everyone is thinking and living more actively. It's a great time to pick up healthy habits.

There are growing concerns about children’s health today. Reports say nutrition and diets are crumbling, children don’t play outside anymore, and screen time at the computer or television has increased to more than four hours per day. However, you can help your children stay healthy and develop good habits they’ll carry with them into the future by trying a few simple things. Start by helping them participate in fun physical activity for 60 minutes a day. Encourage trying a variety of activities until children find the right activity they love to do. Remember to have fun exercising together. It’s more likely children will increase their activity level and build lifelong healthy habits if everyone is involved and having fun.

Minnesota Children's Museum offers lots of opportunities in all the exhibits for getting the activity children need. Wiggle, jump and hop to music in Our World. Climb, crawl and walk through different surfaces in Habitot. Keep the conveyor-belt moving at World Works. Or crawl around the Ant Hill in Earth World. Being active can be fun anywhere!

How do you encourage your child to keep active? What kinds of things do you as a family to keep health top of mind?

Are you looking to get the most of your Museum visit? Read these helpful tips and stay tuned for more suggestions on how to get most play out of your day.

1. Encourage your children to focus on one of the small subsections of a gallery. These thematic sections have a number of activities to interest a variety of ages.
2. If you have more than on child, visit the Museum with a friend or relative and divide the children into two age groups. Each group can visit the areas of greatest interest to them.
3. Look for red-vested volunteers throughout the galleries. These people have special activities that can be personalized to appeal to each of your children.

Do you remember how you played as a child? Did you climb trees, read, build forts or play pretend? Did you like to play by yourself or did you seek out others? Maybe you had a playful adult who added to the fun.

Think of a favorite way you used to play. You were probably figuring something out, practicing new skills, cooperating, creating and feeling good about yourself. This is what learning is about for children.

You can learn a lot about children by watching them play. Are they physical learners? Some are talkers, full of questions and stories. Some children need to see how things work. At Minnesota Children's Museum, we pack play with possibilities. You can help your child discover these possibilities by following their lead. By taking cues from your children, you learn how they play while they play to learn.

What kind of learners are your children?

Here's a great article about expanding your child's vocabulary and creative thinking by using fanciful langauge. Read the article. Thoughts?

Looking to mix up your at-home art activities? Here are some BIG red ideas that will jumpstart your child’s creativity.

Painting:
Think of new ways to apply red paint to paper: try kitchen utensils, old toothbrushes, the bottoms
of shoes, or old hairbrushes and combs. What textures do you see in the red paint?

Food Coloring:
Add red food coloring to water and make ice cubes. Place the ice cubes on a tray or plate covered with paper. Paint by moving the red ice cube around on the paper As the ice melts the color is left behind on the paper!

Add one drop of red food coloring and one drop of a different food coloring to water to make
the ice cubes. What color ice cubes did you make this time? Try painting with one red ice cube and one of the new ones you made. What happens to the colors as they melt now?

Clay:
Try this clay recipe:
Mix 2 cups of salt and 2/3 cup of water in a saucepan and stir over heat for three to four minutes. Remove fromheat and add a cup of cornstarch and ½ cup of coldwater. Don’t forget the red food coloring! Stir until smooth.
Can you use your red clay to make a Clifford?

Drawing:
What are some ways that you can change a conventional drawing tool?
Select all the “red” colors in your crayon box, put a rubber band around the bunch and try to draw with it.
Tape a red marker to a broomstick and draw on a large sheet of paper on the floor for some Clifford-sized drawing.
Talk about what objects are colored red and ask, “Besides Clifford, are there other red animals?”

Suggested Book:
Clifford The Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell

What do a bagel, a ball and a banana all have in common? Cut them through the center, and each one has a circle inside! Our upcoming exhibit, Secrets of Circles, allows children to explore the math, science and engineering of circles. Read more about Secrets of Circles. What kind of exhibit would you like to see at Minnesota Children's Museum?

Learning about safety in the home and in the neighborhood is an important part of a young child’s life. Everyday they come across situations that require them to choose a course of action. Knowing how to be safe is a great way to teach young children about being responsible for themselves and helping others to be safe too.

Watch Clifford™ be responsible and safe
Together, watch some episodes of Clifford The Big Red Dog on PBS KIDS and talk about situations in which Clifford and his friends learn how to be safe and responsible. Let children role play or draw “safe scenes” from Clifford The Big Red Dog. They can include themselves being safe in their drawing of the scene as well.

Take your child on a safety walk
Walk around the house with children and count how many safety items they can find. (first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc.) On the reverse side, have the children point out all the unsafe items (open cupboard doors where someone could bump their heads, toys on the floor where they could trip ,etc.)

Hot and Cold
Have your toddler or preschooler help you put red dots on hot things, and blue dots on cold things. You will be surprised because they probably already understand the concept that red represents hot and blue represents cold!

Play the classic game Red Light, Green Light
Talk with your child about the meaning of the colors on a stoplight. With a small group of children, let one child be Clifford and call out “red light or “green light” to the other children. Have the children run around until Clifford calls out, "red light" and then the children have to stop moving until they hear "green light."

Suggested book:
Clifford The Firehouse Dog by Norman Bridwell
Act out the stop, drop, and roll procedures and review the Fire Safety Rules on the last page.

It’s important to learn numbers and letter sounds to get ready for school, but there are other skills that benefit children in preparing for school success. These skills (curiosity, risk-taking, imagination, persistence and reflection) are defined by the Minnesota Early Childhood Indicators of Progress as Approaches to Learning.

Here are some books that address each indicator:

Curiosity
Curious George Flies a Kite by H.A. rey and Margret Ray

Risk-Taking
Harriet’s Recital by Nancy Carlson

Imagination and Invention
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

Persistence
The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

Reflection and Interpretation
The Hat by Jan Brett

Youth volunteer Alexandra Richardson was recently recognized for outstanding volunteerism at Minnesota Children’s Museum. Alexandra was honored by Washington County and the Community Volunteer Service & Senior Center as the Outstanding Youth Volunteer of the Year.

Alexandra was presented with her award at the April 21 Washington County Board of Commissioners meeting in Stillwater. She was nominated by Museum staff for the positive impact she has on our visitors and for her enthusiastic teamwork. Alexandra says she volunteers at the Museum because she loves little kids and it’s fun! She thinks people should volunteer because it’s a good way to decide what kind of career to choose.

We appreciate the contribution of each and every Museum volunteer, and are especially thankful for Alexandra outstanding service.

Read more about volunteering at Minnesota Children's Museum.

Create your baby’s first book using photographs of recognizable people and objects in your baby’s life. Photos could include siblings, caregivers, a favorite stuffed toy, etc.

Place photographs between sheets of clear contact paper.
Round the corners to make them smooth and safe. Punch a hole in the corner and bind pages together with yarn. This simple book is not only drool-proof, it also invites talk surrounding the pictures and familiarizes your baby with the joys and comforts of sharing books.

May is National Family Month and what better way to celebrate being related than a family-themed story time? Check out these children's books that the whole family will enjoy. Also, check out the National Family Month website for ideas on how to share your love and appreciation for your children.

Mama Zooms by Jane Cowen- Flectcher
Rain Song by Lezlie Evans
Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
We’ll Paint the Octopus Red by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen

Here's a great article from last week's New York Times on the importance of play. Read the full article here and let us know what you think.

You can help your child develop their listening skills by encouraging them to tune into the sounds around them and try to mimic them.

Create Music From Surprising Places
You can use household items to create your own musical instruments. Pots and pans can be used with wooden spoons to create drumming beats or even plastic Tupperware for a softer sound. Two pan lids could by used as cymbals. Two tablespoons taped, back to back, can be used for tapping each other or even tapping on your knees. Be creative and find the many sound possibilities in your household.

Can You Play Your Favorite Song?
After experimenting with home made sound instruments, a great way to familiarize your child with rhythm is to play along to any recorded song. They can drum, shake, tap or jingle along to any music. Remember that there is no right and wrong way to play and you will be surprised at how inventive your child can be.

Follow the Leader
Clap a simple rhythm with your hands and encourage members of the band to copy you as they play one of their homemade instruments or clap or tap their hands. You can incorporate some physical movement into your rhythms by making your own band and marching, skipping, hopping or whatever movement comes to mind as you move around inside or out.

Suggested Book:

What’s That Sound, Woolly Bear by Philemon Sturges

Whether you're a first time visitor or a weekly attender, you should know about these helpful tips!

1. Stay late on Friday Family Fun Nights - we keep the fun going until 8 p.m. with special Friday night programming like Family Arts and an extra Big Fun!
2. Lighten your load by leaving your coats, hats, etc. in the car if you use the parking ramp and skyway. If you decide to bring in your seasonal clothing, we do have a coat room and lockers for rent.
3. Take advantage of affordable and convenient parking. Pick up a $3 coupon at the Box Office when you check in. It's good for up to three hours of parking at the World Trade Center ramp.
4. Visit Habitot Tuesdays (1st, 3rd, 5th, Tuesday of the month) as no school groups are scheduled this day.
5. Consider leaving your stroller in the car during busy days (like Target Free 3rd Sunday). Our hallways and galleries can get congested with large amounts of strollers.

There are growing concerns about children’s health today. Reports say nutrition and diets are crumbling, children don’t play outside anymore, and screen time at the computer or television has increased to more than four hours per day. However, you can help your children stay healthy and develop good habits they’ll carry with them into the future by trying a few simple things. Start by helping them participate in fun physical activity for 60 minutes a day. Encourage trying a variety of activities until children find the right activity they love to do. Remember to have fun exercising together. It’s more likely children will increase their activity level and build lifelong healthy habits if everyone is involved and having fun.

The Minnesota Children's Museum offers lots of opportunities in all the exhibits for getting the activity children need. Wiggle, jump and hop to music in Our World. Climb, crawl and walk through different surfaces in Habitot. Keep the conveyor-belt moving at World Works. Or crawl around the Ant Hill in Earth World. Being active can be fun anywhere!

How do you encourage your child to keep active? What kinds of things do you as a family to keep health top of mind?

At Minnesota Children's Museum, we believe that early learning is the foundation for lifelong learning. No matter how young your child is, you can participate in activities that can help form skills in language and reading.

Newborn to 3 Months: Listen and talk to your baby throughout the day. While feeding, diapering and bathing your baby, sing songs, nursery rhymes, and smile and coo in response to your baby’s smiles and coos.

4 to 8 Months: Talk and play with your baby. Use words and actions when talking. Play games, such as peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake, which teach your baby about taking turns when communicating.

9 to 12 Months: Read and tell stories with your baby. Make reading a shared experience. Point to pictures and name the objects. Use puppets, dolls and other toys as props. When reading, hold your baby on your lap and the book so your baby can see the pictures.

1 to 1 1/2 Years: Provide play materials that match your child’s skill level and interest. Let your child play with pots, pans, wooden spoons, plastic containers and other safe household items. Talk about what they’re doing. This will help your child learn new words. The more words your child knows, the easier it will be when he or she starts reading.

1 1/2 to 2 Years: To build your toddler’s vocabulary, say what you or your child is doing. If you are shopping with your child, say, “Let’s buy some apples. What color apples should we buy? Green or red?” Use as many words as you can when you talk with your child. If your child is building with blocks, say, “Look at how big your tower is! It’s almost as tall as you are! Wow, now you’re adding even more blocks to your tower. It’s going to be huge.”

2 to 3 Years: Read books and do activities that let toddlers join in. Arrange a special time for reading and read some of the same books again and again. Encourage your toddler to help you read the book by joining in with the words or repeated phrases he or she knows. Begin pointing out letters in your child’s name wherever there is print.

Do you want to keep your child interested in math outside the classroom? Here are a few math-related books to keep your child interested in numbers, patterns, shapes and more!

Number Concepts and Operations
Seven Blind Mice by Ed Young

Patterns and Relationships
The Quilt by Ana Jonas

Spatial Relationships/Geometry
Color Zoo by Lois Ehlert

Measurement
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall

Mathematical Reasoning
The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins

Ask your kids what they think Clifford the Big Red Dog™ eats and drinks to stay healthy. If you have a dog, these treats are a great way to model that animals need our love and care. If you don’t have a dog, make plans to spend time with the dog of a friend or family member.

Earth Day is next Wednesday, April 22. Here at Minnesota Children's Museum, we're marking the occasion a few days early with an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 18. From 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., we'll be unearthing fun "green" activities like building a robot out of recycled materials and discovering the life cycle of a pencil.

If you don't make it to the Museum this Saturday, here are a few nature-inspired activities to do as a family this weekend.

• Ask children to compare shapes of leaves, observe the shades of green outside and try matching crayons to them, make a nature collage, or draw animals.
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  Dance and movement spark creativity too. dance in the sun and watch the shadows. Watch and copy how squirrels and pigeons move.
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  Or throw leaves in the air and watch them float back down. Drama and role-play inspire imagination.
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  Music is often found in the rhythms and sounds of nature. At home, children can listen and imitate sounds like wind, insects, and birds. They can even make musical instruments with natural materials like seeds, pebbles, and sticks.

As communities continue to grow more diverse, some things remain universal, like playing with toys and games. Children learn to appreciate cultural connections and differences when they compare different versions of toys with neighbors near or far. Dolls, blocks, cars, and balls, as well as games like tag, jacks, and hopscotch are all examples of worldwide children’s games.

To help children explore the world from home, let them use everyday materials to make their own toys.
- Use pop bottles for pins and try bowling
- Make board games like Mancala with cardboard and marbles
- Mold aluminum foil into different objects
- Or just use paper and markers and see what happens!

The Museum’s bubble area in the World Works gallery is one of the Museum’s most popular spots. Bubbles are a great way to discover gravity, air, cause and effect, surface tension and geometric structures. Play along as your child explores properties of bubbles through play!

Make your own bubbles at home and then experiment using strawberry baskets, slotted spoons and other objects as bubble wands! You can make your own bubble wands using pipe cleaners. Just shape one end into a loop for the bubbles, dip and blow! Don’t have any potential bubble wands lying around? Use your hands! Form your hands into a triangle like. Dip you hands into bubble solution and blow! How many bubbles can you make in one minute? What would happen if we made a really BIG bubble?
Homemade Bubble Solution:

You will need:
1 cup dish soap (original Dawn works well)
12 cups water
*Optional: 2 tablespoons Glycerin (from a drugstore)

Gently stir all ingredients together in a bucket and let bubble solution sit overnight for best results.