16 SCOTIA GLENVILLE 08.pdf - Pirate CNY

Page 16 April 17, 2008 Spotlight
New science lab fetches fun for families
Schenectady residents Jordan Baroni, 10, left, Nicholas Dockins, 6,
and Maxwell Baroni pose with “Fetch!” host Ruff Ruffman at the grand
opening of the Schenectady Museum’s new “Fetch!” science lab for kids
on Sunday, April 13.
Ross Marvin/Spotlight
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
5
Museum and Planetarium
exhibit provides hands-on
activities for kids
By ROSS MARVIN
Spotlight Newspapers
marvinr@spotlightnews.com
Sometimes an animated dog is
all it takes to get kids interested
in science.
On Saturday and Sunday,
April 12 and 13, more than 1,000
children and their parents visited
the Schenectady Museum &
Suits-Bueche Planetarium to
witness the grand opening of
the museum’s new “Fetch! Lab,”
a science-themed exhibit based
on the popular PBS television
show.
The new lab, funded by the
National Science Foundation,
Arby’s and Greendog, will be
hosted at the museum for at
least a year, said Ilene Frank,
the museum’s director of public
programs and education.
Hosted by a humorous
animated dog named Ruff
Ruffman, PBS’s “Fetch!” is part
game show, part reality TV and
part spoof aimed at children ages
6 to 10. The show originated on
PBS affi liate WGBH in Boston
695
295
FAIRMOUNT
Onondaga Lake
690
90
STATE
FAIR GROUNDS
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SYRACUSE
and can be seen in the Capital
District on WMHT. “Fetch!’
mixes live action with animation
and also features real kids, real
challenges and real science.
While many of the kids on
hand in Schenectady came out
to get their picture taken with
Ruff Ruffman, or to give the
show’s mascot a hug, many
others came to participate in the
same lab activities featured on
the television program.
Carol Tamas came all the
way from Wappingers Falls,
Dutchess County, to bring her
three children to the grand
opening.
“We’ve done every event,
and my two oldest children
are in the planetarium now,”
said Tamas as she watched her
youngest child Erin, 3, play in
the lab’s shadow-making area.
“She really loves Ruff. She saw
a commercial about the grand
opening on television and she
wanted to come. It’s our fi rst
trip to Schenectady.”
Frank said she hopes the
new exhibit will attract people
like Tamas who live outside the
museum’s general demographic
area.
“We have the only ‘Fetch! Lab’
in this area,” said Frank. “There’s
one in the Boston area and on
Long Island, but we’re the only
lab in between.”
Many local residents and
regular museum attendees were
on hand to take part in the lab
activities and to view the new
IN BRIEF
Library friends to
present poetry gala
The Schenectady County
Public Library will hold its
annual poetry gala on Sunday,
April 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the
McChesney Room of the main
branch of the library, corner of
Clinton and Liberty streets, with
arrangements made by Linda
Witkowski.
Everyone is invited.
Victorian tea with
Sue McLane
The Schenectady County
Historical Society and Sue
McLane will demonstrate
how to host a Victorian tea on
Wednesday, April 23, from 6:15 to
9:15 p.m. at 32 Washington Ave.,
Schenectady.
Learn the history of tea
drinking and participate in an
interactive hands-on lesson
with McLane, “The Victorian
Lady.” Learn how to give a tea
party, including how to make
the invitations, create the menus,
how to make authentic tea foods
and the proper way to brew
tea. After the tutorial, enjoy an
authentically prepared and detailoriented
Victorian tea.
Reservations are required.
Cost is $41 per person. Call
Kathryn Weller at 374-0263 for
reservations.
Rotterdam library
changes times
Program times for a four-part
series on wellness presented at the
Rotterdam Branch Library, 1100
North Westcott Road, on Mondays,
exhibit.
Jamie Baroni, of Schenectady,
brought her children, Jordan, 10,
Maxwell, 8, and family friend,
Nicholas Dockins, 6, to the
museum on Sunday.
“It’s cool because kids get
to do stuff,” said Maxwell. “We
learned how a bird uses its
beak by picking up things with
tweezers.”
At the bird activity station,
kids huddled around dishes
full of worms and seeds and
used chopsticks and tweezers
to simulate the action of a bird
eating.
At another station, Union
College senior Jude Mason,
taught children about nanometers
and measurement. He gave the
participants pieces of paper and
asked them to cut the paper as
thinly as possible.
Mason held up the thinnest
piece of paper he could fi nd.
“Is that a nanometer?”
asked Kylie Kerr, 8, of East
Greenbush.
“It’s about as close as you can
get with scissors, said Mason, but
it’s still 100 to 200 nanometers.”
“Wow,” said Kerr in unison
with the other participants.
Spring school break activities
continue at the Schenectady
Museum’s “Fetch! Lab” this
week. Special activities will be
held through Friday, April 18,
from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.
For information, call 382-
7890.
April 21 and 28 and May 5 and 12,
have changed from 10:30 to 11:30
a.m. to 11 a.m. to noon.
Tamara Flanders, holistic
health counselor, will present
the series. Natural Wellness from
Within will be presented April 21;
The Sugar Blues, April 28; Whole
Foods 101 - Foods without Labels,
May 5; and Healthy Meals and
Meal Planning, May 12.
The programs are supported
by Coordinated Outreach
Services of the Mohawk Valley
Library System.
For information, call 356-
3440.
SCORE to host
business seminar
The SCORE-Albany Small
Business Counselors will
present a seminar titled “Tools
and Techniques for Business
Leaders to Motivate, Train,
and Retain Employees,” on
Wednesday, April 23 and 30,
from 8:30 to11 a.m. at the Albany-
Colonie Chamber of Commerce
Conference Room, 1 Computer
Drive South, Albany.
The two-session program is
designed for big, small, startup
and established business
managers that want to learn to
effectively communicate, coach,
motivate and give constructive
feedback to employees.
The seminar is presented by
Bob Furlong of Sage Leadership
Consulting and I. David Caird of
IDCaird Consulting.
Admission is $25 for both
sessions and reservations can
be made by contacting SCORE-
Albany at 446-1118, ext 233, or
www.scorealbany.org.