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