Monster Bash is coming!

Creepy Crawler Monster Bash

October 25 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Snakes…and spiders…and bats…OH MY! Creepy crawler critters have invaded the museum and Dr. Shelly Counsel and the University of Memphis’ mad scientists are here to save the day. Come find out about the “roost” of a bat or investigate why werewolves hate salt. Join us for this non-scary monster bash celebration with fun ghostly experiments, spooky kooky crafts, candy stations, costume parades and more. Dress as your favorite non-scary costumed character and meet us here.

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!

Staff Profile: Sharon Rogness

Name: Sharon Rogness

Position: Member Services Coordinator

Hometwon: Moses Lake, Washington

How long have you been at CMOM: 4 and a half months

Favorite exhibit: the Fire Truck

What was your favorite book as a child and why? The Nancy Drew Series--I loved her sense of adventure and her fearlessness.

Hobbies: Yoga, running, photography, and watching Tiger basketball

First museum ever visited: Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport, MS

Fun fact: I was Mrs. Mississippi in 1996!

Program Spotlight—My First Book Club

Every Tuesday at 10 a.m., the four-and-under set gathers for My First Book Club. For this program, guests hear a story (this week, I read the spectacular If You Give a Pig a Pancake--we're big Laura Numeroff fans here at CMOM) and make a craft based on the story (we made pig puppets, as seen above). Then, the kiddies have a healthy snack. Next week, we’re reading the very funny I’m Not Santa. Hope to see you there. My First Book Club is for kids four years old and under.

Staff Profile: Chara Mitchell

Name: Chara Mitchell

Position: Programs Assistant

Hometown: Memphis, TN

How long have you been at CMOM?: 7 months

Favorite exhibit: The Kroger grocery store, of course!

Favorite book as a child: Ramona and Beezus

Hobbies: Party planning

First museum ever visited: The Children’s Museum of Memphis and the Pink Palace

Fun fact: I met Muhammad Ali when I was four years old.

25 Things to do at CMOM



New hula hoops!

 Once again, here are 25 things to do at our musuem!

1. Play checkers on our giant checkerboard
2. Check out the splash park construction (it's opening May 2013!)
3. Have a hula hoop contest with our new hula hoops
4. Take a picture at the new Pinwall
5. See how high you can climb on the climbing wall
6. Climb through the house at The Campground
7. Measure your height and weight in Growing Healthy
8. Arrange and rearrange the organs of the Growing Healthy doll (it’s a little tricky)
9. Build a skyscraper in Creative Construction
10. Play with the new and improved flight simulator
11. Visit the Village Toymaker gift shop
12. See the circulatory system in action in Growing Healthy
13. Check out the giant thermometer in Growing Healthy
14. Grab a partner and play with the musical see-saw
15. Come to Mini Maestro (December 5, 8, 12, and 19)
16. Experience Nature Art Walk (Dec. 1, 15, and 22)
17. See what you can win in Bozo’s Grand Prize Game (Dec. 13 and 16)
18. Join in all the Reindeer games (Dec. 2 and 20)
19. Check out our new 10 Mississippi River facts sign and learn fun facts about the river
20. Check out the quarter of the Northern Mariana Islands (did you know they have one?)
21. Look out for a fun science project on our Mobile Mad Science cart!
22. Make Alex juggle bean bags
23. Play the matching game in Windows to the World
24. Identify the nursery rhymes in the Once Upon a Time quilt
25. Have a toddler basketball challenge in Playscape

Staff Profile: Alex Smythe

Alex is a jack of all trades!

Name: Alex Smythe

Position: Visitor Service Coordinator

Hometown: Midtown Memphis, TN

How long have you been at CMOM: I have been working here for a little over a month.

Favorite exhibit: I really love the Tree House, I think the paper plane launcher is really fun. Watching kids try to figure it out then when they finally launch a plane and seeing their faces light up is just a great feeling.

Favorite book as a child/why? There was a series called “Redwall” by an author named Brian Jacques. The series was an easy-to-read fantasy about mice living in a kingdom trying to defend themselves against the evil rats. It was a great read. In fact, I picked it up recently to see if it was as good as when I was a kid and I still really enjoyed it.

Hobbies: Too many…I fly traction kites, Photography, soccer, and I am a carpenter.

First museum I ever visited: My earliest memories of museums were both of the Children’s Museum of Memphis, as well as the Pink Palace. I loved museums as a child, I was fascinated in everything and always wanted to learn and understand.

Fun Fact: Before working at the Children’s Museum I was a professional photographer, and I had a darkroom for developing 35mm film in my basement when I was growing up.

2525 Central--A History

When I first started working at CMOM, I became fascinated with the history of our building, which was formerly a National Guard Armory. I wanted more info about the building, so I trotted to the library, looked up some articles about the building, and wrote an article. The article is on our website, but I’d like to include it here as well--because, after two years, I'm still fascinated. And maybe, dear reader, you are too. So here it is:

National Guard Armory

A Short History

Many Memphians are aware that before The Children’s Museum of Memphis occupied 2525 Central, the building was home to a National Guard armory. However, the journey to CMOM has some interesting facts that may have been forgotten.

Plans for a National Guard armory date back to 1932. Construction of the armory was completed 10 years later, and in September 1943, the building was dedicated. The armory housed the 115th Field Artillery. Governor Prentice Cooper was in attendance at the dedication, and called the building “the finest armory in Tennessee” (The Commercial Appeal, 9/7/1943). Also present was Associate Justice Frank H. Gailor of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Gailor presented the armory to the State Armory Commission, and it was accepted by Adj. General T.A. Frazier, commanding general of the Tennessee State Guard. Mayor Walter Chandler also spoke at the event. Interesting fact: Hollywood Street was previously called “Huguenot.”

By the late 1970s, the building had outlived its usefulness to the Tennessee National Guard. The city and county then engaged in a “squabble” over who would get the title of the armory (Roy Hamilton, Memphis Press-Scimitar, 4/16/77). The city of Memphis gained the title, and construction of a new armory in South Memphis began in the early 1980s. Several plans for the property were discussed; the main plan was for the property to be used for additional parking for the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and the Mid-South Fairgrounds. However, the “possibility of renovating the old armory to handle the sale of state auto tags and city stickers has also been discussed” (Hamilton). Interesting fact: the mayor at the time was Wyeth Chandler, son of Walter Chandler, who was mayor of Memphis when the armory was dedicated.

In 1988, the city agreed to lease the armory to the future Children’s Museum of Memphis for $1 a year. A Commercial Appeal article noted that the “squat masonry building” was no longer used by the National Guard (Thomas Jordan, The Commercial Appeal, 11/16/88). However, the building is not only an interesting figure in Memphis history, but has since hosted thousands of smiling children. Interesting fact: Dick Hackett, mayor of Memphis in 1988, is now CEO of The Children’s Museum of Memphis.