Balloon Painting!

Last Thursday, for Tot Art, we did Balloon Painting. Everyone had a blast! We used tiny balloons, but if you want to do this at home, I'm sure any size would work.

It's fun to choose paint with two primary colors, so it'll make a new color when they mix together!



Little masterpieces!

Staff Profile: Tamara Williamson

Writing the drop-in programs on the dry erase board!

I, your humble blogger, have decided to profile myself!

Position: Program Specialist

Hometown: Memphis, TN

How long have you been at CMOM: Three years and three months

Favorite exhibit: CMOM-TV

Favorite book as a child and why: Green Eggs and Ham, because it was the first book I was able to read by myself

Hobbies: Reading, cooking, yoga, watching old movies (my favorite is All About Eve)

First museum ever visited: Probably the Pink Palace, like everyone else!

Fun fact: I love to bake, and sometimes I bake cookies for the CMOM staff. They particularly like gingersnaps!

My Field Trip to Peabody Elementary

Yesterday, I went to Peabody Elementary and visited Ms. McMillen's second grade class for Memphis Monday. We played Memphis Trivia, and the kids learned facts about our fair city. For example, did you know that Memphis is mentioned by name more than any other city in the world in songs and song titles? We all had a lot of fun. Check out some of the pictures below.



Teamwork!

More teamwork!

Great young minds.

Fun group!

And then there's me...

Happy Birthday Virginia Lee Burton

Happy birthday to one of our favorite authors, Virginia Lee Burton! She was born on August 30, 1909, and died on October 15, 1968. She wrote such books as The Little House, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel (both seen above), and Katy and the Big Snow. Her books have a nice, homespun feel to them without being overly sentimental. Burton also illustrated her books--and the illustrations are super cute! Check out some of her works.

Staff Profile: Pamela Lax

Such a sweet, hardworking lady!

Name: Pamela Lax

Position: Houskeeping Supervisor

Hometown: Somerville, TN

How long have you been at CMOM? 6 and a half years

Favorite exhibit: Kroger

Favorite book as a child: Little Red Riding Hood

Hobbies: Watching movies, spending time with friends, and being with my son

First museum ever visited: The Pink Palace

Fun fact: I was in ROTC in high school.

Potato Prints

Today for Tot Art, we made potato prints. I am not a sculptress, so some of the shapes looked a little rough.

This is supposed to be a heart.

 But the end result was super cute!

P.S. If you do this at home, you hands will smell like potatoes for awhile. Also, triangles and squares are great shapes to start off with (the heart is a bit complicated, and I tried to do a star, but it did not work out).

The Little House

Yesterday for Book Worms, we read The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton. The kids who came had never heard it before! It's such a great story. Later, they made their own little houses. Join us for next week's Book Worms (Wednesday at 3:30 pm)--we're reading another Virginia Lee Burton story, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. That's a great story too!

Staff Profile: Brad Laney



Brad is leading the teen volunteer orientation.

Name: Brad Laney

Position: Visitor Services/Volunteer Manager

Hometown: Memphis, TN

How long have you been at CMOM?: 15 years

Favorite exhibit: Going Places, with the FedEx Airplane

Favorite book as a child: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

Hobbies: Playing golf, traveling, and going to University of Memphis and Memphis Grizzlies games

First museum ever visited: Pink Palace

Fun fact: I've made two holes in one.

Potato plant progress!

Remember the Eco Art project we did last month with the potatoes? Well, I can report that the one I made is actually growing! I'm tickled pink. We'll see how it looks in another few weeks.

Cinco de Mayo at CMOM!

Our Cinco de Mayo event on Saturday was tons of fun! Here are a few pics!

Potato plants!

Hey dear readers! Earth Day is this month (April 22, to be exact), so we've been doing earth-friendly art projects in April. Yesterday, we made potato plants, an idea I adapted from Eco Art. Also, I was inspired by our previous project about The Enormous Potato. If you want to try this at home, use a spoon or knife to hollow out the potato. Put a little soil and some seeds in there, and keep the potato moist. If all goes well, you'll see growth in a couple of weeks. I made one for my office, and I'll let you know how it's doing in a few weeks!

Staff Profile: Randy McKeel

Name: Randy McKeel

Position: Chief Financial Officer

Hometown: Memphis

How long have you been at CMOM: This time 14 years and counting!

Favorite exhibit: Creative Constructions – because I loved playing with Legos when I was little – and now I love playing with Legos with my son!

Favorite book as a child/why?: The Hobbit – it was the first “big” book I read – then I tackled the Lord of the Rings series after that

Hobbies: Reading, traveling, antiques/auctions, shopping, spending time with my son

First museum ever visited: Pink Palace

Fun fact: I did my college internship at CMOM in 1991 right after CMOM opened on June 16, 1990! I also managed the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM) for two years before it moved to Washington, DC.

CMOM in January

Brrr! It’s cold outside, so come in to the Children’s Museum of Memphis. We’ve got some exciting things going on this month:

January 12—Safe Kids Safety Day Celebration (11 a.m. until 2 p.m.): Werre helping Safe Kids Mid-South commemorate 20 years of growing safe kids in Memphis and the surrounding areas. Join us as we present a special presentation of 9-1-1 Good Sense in a Pinch program and meet Fire Safe Frannie as you take a tour of our very own 36 ft. Fire Safety Trailer. Bring a safety tip that you and your family practice to post on our Kid’s Share Board to help keep other children safe and receive a prize from Ronald McDonald. Play our “What If” game to see if your child knows what to do if ever in an unsafe situation.

January 21—A Celebration Fit for a King (10 a.m. until 1 p.m.): Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took a courageous stand for unity and equality for all people. Following the non-violent teachings of Gandhi, Dr. King's example of peaceful demonstrations made a powerful impact on the fight for civil rights. Join us as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Day. Visitors will enjoy making crafts to commemorate the day, decorating squares of hope to be added to our ever-growing peace quilt. In addition, take part in the largest balloon release of hope while two doves of peace are being released into the air.

January 26—Treasures and Memories - Parent/Child Workshop with Mrs. Sew & Sew (1 p.m. to 2 p.m.): Everybody has a special garment of clothing that holds memories that are close to the heart. You and your child can bring an article of clothing and its memories to this workshop and hand stitch it into something new. Make a useful tote bag, book bag, keepsake pillow cover, or video game seat cover for yourself or create a gift for a loved You create a new memory with your family while learning a basic sewing skill for life. We’ll provide accessories like buttons, jewels, fabric paint and more to add to your project and everyone will receive before-and-afte​r keepsake pictures of your project to take home. $20 per project.

We hope to see you soon!