Goodbye to Oz!

Why is the Cowardly Lion looking so glum? It’s because the Welcome to Oz exhibit closes on June 2. Come experience this exhibit again (or for the first time) before it leaves this week. Dress up as the characters from the book, test your wits like the Scarecrow, and click your heels in the giant silver shoes to return home. We hope everyone who has seen this exhibit has enjoyed it as much as we have!

SUMMER CAMP at The Children's Museum of Memphis!

What will you say when you teacher asks, “What did you do this summer?” Your answer could be. “I played with bugs and found buried treasures at The Children’s Museum of Memphis!” What better way to spend the summer?


Backyard Bugs and Butterflies Summer Camp:
June 27 – July 1
8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

There’s no need to be afraid of the fascinating small wonders found in the world around us. Campers will discover what is cool about creepy, crawling, intriguing little critters and the roles they play in nature when they sign up for our Backyard Bugs and Butterflies Summer Camp. Girls and boys will become entomologist for a week as they study and observe bugs found right in our own backyard. Each child will photograph, identify and record their findings as they investigate bug behaviors. They will also witness the complete life cycle of the butterfly and make their own butterfly inspired wall hangings. Who can sit still while cheering for their favorite insect in the Olympic Bug Races and planting flowers and foliage to attract beautiful butterflies?

Cherished Treasures Adventure Camp:
July 11 – 15
8:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Follow the map that leads to Cherished Treasures Adventure Camp where girls and boys will travel around the globe and explore 7 of the world’s most famous treasure islands. Buried chests full of handmade personalized jewelry, uniquely designed fancy belt buckles, and priceless tie-dyed t-shirts await explorers as they learn about the ambush of Nombre de Dios in the Caribbean Islands and the hidden treasures in the Tusket Islands that belonged to the d’Entremont family. Campers will listen to lost tales of sunken ships as they create their very own message in a bottle, replicate lost art from famous artists like Van Gogh and maybe even walk the plank if they dare.

Camp sessions are designed for ages 6 years old and up
$130.00 per session. Snacks provided.
Sign up today as space is limited.
Call 901-458-2678 for more information.

Look Whoo's Counting!

Today for Bookworms we read Look Whoo’s Counting, and we made owl collages with numbers! This craft helped show how shapes and numbers when collaged can work together to create an object. I had one 3 year old participant who helped me count all through the book. She made this lovely owl (with a mustache)!

Join us next week when we read Yertle The Turtle at 3pm Thursday @CMOM!

Fabulous Feather Painting

These paintings were made using feather quills and tempera paint. Some kids mixed using the pointed tip of the feather, and the actual feather. This technique created line variations in these works of art!

It's Almost Summer!

...and with this summer comes the opportunity to play longer in the museum with our "Summer of FUN" extended hours! We will be open 7 Days a Week from 9am-7pm May 30( Memorial Day)-July 31! This means that not only are we open every day this summer, but we are open late so that everyone has the opportunity to beat the heat here this summer! These extended hours also give families and tourists 14 more hours a week during summer vacation to enjoy the museum together. CMOM is the “Cool Place to Play” during the hot summer months! So come spend your summer nights here at the museum!

Little Monster Did It!

Today for Bookworms we will be reading Little Monster Did It! by Helen Cooper. This book is about a little girl, her pet monster, and a new baby brother. It deals with sibling jealously in a light hearted way. For the craft we will be making our own monsters. These are good monsters though, and wont mess anything up like the monster in the book! These little creatures are made out of play-dough. The children will be able to shape the body however they choose and adorn their monsters with feather, sequins, googly eyes, and then color on the play-dough with markers! All around this will be a fun activity for all ages and encourage creativity and different kind of development. Here is a great article about how important play-dough can be to development. http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5052528_play-dough-enhance-infants-development.html

So join us today! Bookworms begins at 3pm!

Record Bowls for The Children's Museum of Memphis' Flashback Party!

This Thursday, May 5th, The Children’s Museum of Memphis is hosting the Flashback Party fundraiser. It’s a casual party for our grandparents and empty nesters, and an invitation for them to re-discover The Children’s Museum of Memphis. While the party focuses on our Baby Boomers, everyone is welcome to come and have fun. We’ll have a DJ spinning the best of ‘60s and ‘70s music and Café’ Society and Central BBQ will provide amazing hors d’oeuvres! We’ll also have wine and a selection of beers from Boscos!

Click here for our official invitation!
For more info go to CMOM's website

If you come, you may notice some awesome looking center pieces. I say they’re awesome ‘cause I made them. The programs dept. was tasked with making some inexpensive themed center pieces. So we went to our local Goodwill store and snatched up a bunch of old records.

We made these cute record bowls. It’s very easy and fun to do. It can definitely be an at home family activity…possibly done on one of our Memphis rainy days!

First get a cookie sheet, large bowl, and records. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees f.

Place the bowl up-side-down on the cookie sheet and the record on top of the inverted bowl. Keep an eye on the project. It should only take about 10 minutes or less in the oven to make the record pliable. The record will naturally take the shape of the bowl. Once it has, you can take the record out of the oven. Of course it will be hot, but will usually set in about 15 seconds.

We’ve seen these bowls go for 10-30 dollars online and at shops. All in all each bowl cost us about 1.50! Great deal and a fun family project. Win-Win-Win!