Creativity Jam: Imagine & Make

Last Friday the girls and I had the opportunity to visit the newest version of Creativity Jam at the Minnesota Children's Museum. I've shared before that I think Creativity Jam is one of the coolest things at the museum. The new Creativity Jam is no exception.

My girls would spend all day grocery shopping in Our World, and while I think that type of play is important, I also love seeing what my girls will do when the play is wide open. That's what Creativity Jam is all about.

When we first walked in to the Imagine area of Creativity Jam, it was like we were walking in to a whole new world. The white fabric and blue lighting made the room so cool. Miss A and Little J immediately disappeared inside a tent. I have no idea what was happening in the tent (as I was immediately kicked out when I tried to sneak a peek) but when Miss A came out, with lantern in hand she said, "Something's attacking the world and we have to find out what." The girls ran off, continuing to explore the room to find their answer.

A little later Miss A found some wings (and kept a tight hold on that lantern... her favorite thing there) and she and Little J transformed into fairies. They decided the red platform was fairy school. In case you're wondering, fairy school is "all about the magic!" and seems to involve a lot of running around in circles.

The thing that made the imagine space so engaging is that kids can use the space in so many different ways. My girls went from a exploring a destroyed world to being fairies within the same visit, and I can only imagine what other kids may have imagined. I'm excited to see what ideas our next visit will inspire.

After leaving the Imagine area we moved on to the Make space (located in the Curiosity Center). When we walked in each girl was given a black tray and told to pick up whatever supplies they were interested in. There were fuzzy balls, buttons, beads, string, wire, paper, tape, cupcake liners, popsicle sticks and much more. The girls made their selections and headed over to a table to get to work. 

Miss A decided to make a "guy" out of her supplies so Little J decided to do the same. We started out with regular glue, but that wasn't quite cutting it, so we moved over to an area with a hot glue gun. Miss A would show me where to put glue, then she would add the different objects. I thought their "guys" turned out great!

Little J's project

Miss A's project

I was alone with all three girls, so we didn't get into anything more advanced than the hot glue gun, but there were tool sets and a variety of building materials available too. If we go back with E or without Baby C we might have to see what we can create.

The Creativity Jam components that are featured at the Minnesota Children's Museum right now are prototype exhibits for the expansion and renovation of the Minnesota Children's Museum set to begin this fall. You can look at plans for the project here.

I'm linking up with Katie today because MCM is one of my favorites!

Full disclosure, my family and I are provided with a free membership to the Minnesota Children's Museum in exchange for being a Smart Play Ambassador.  Of course, all opinions are completely my own.

A Visit to Birdwell Island: Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog

Back many years ago, when I was a volunteer at the Minnesota Children's Museum one of the special exhibits I remember was Clifford the Big Red Dog. Fast forward to today, and Clifford is back at the Minnesota Children's Museum! I was really excited to be able to take my girls on a little adventure to Birdwell Island to visit Clifford The Big Red Dog this time around. 

Tip: We made our trip to the MCM on a Friday night, which is a great time to explore the museum. I think I've mentioned it before, but it is worth saying again. A trip to the museum on a Friday or Saturday night, when the museum is open until 8pm, makes a great family date night. The crowds are smaller, so it's easier for the kids to explore.

As we explored the Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog exhibit, I took note of the signs next to the different play areas. For example, in the restaurant area there was a sign about working together. The signs were helpful for me to think about when talking to Miss A and Little J about their play.

The first area where the girls wanted to play was the restaurant. Miss A and Little J pretty naturally took different "jobs" at the restaurant. Miss A took my order, Little J cooked and Miss A took my money. Miss A really liked the money. She's working on counting to higher and higher numbers, so the play money was extra fun for her. As the girls played, I added in comments like, "I love to see you working together to get me my food."

Doesn't Miss A look excited to be a restaurant employee...
I promise she was actually enjoying herself :)

They continued working together as they were feeding Clifford, filling his bowl with giant dog bones, but I also talked to them about what a big job it is to take care of a dog and how you have to be really responsible.

Shortly after feeding Clifford, Miss A was distracted by the stage. No surprise there. The stage area had costumes, instruments and a big screen showing Clifford and some friends making music together. Miss A was quick to join in, and helped Little J find things too. We stayed in this area for the longest.

Before we left the girls had to check out Clifford's doghouse. Inside the doghouse there was paper, scissors and crayons to write letters and draw pictures that could be posted on a big board, delivered around the island or taken with for delivery. I loved the sign in this area because it encouraged being kind. The sign in the picture is hard to read but it says, "Creating special pictures and letters for loved ones can brighten a person's day. When you make another person feel better you are being kind." This reminded me so much of my dear friend Miss Heather, who sends me and my girls super fun mail all the time, so it really connected with me and Miss A (Little J was just excited to be drawing).

Overall, we really enjoyed our visit to Birdwell Island. You can read more about the Adventures with Clifford The Big Red Dog exhibit here!

Full disclosure, my family and I are provided with a free membership to the Minnesota Children's Museum in exchange for being a Smart Play Ambassador.  Of course, all opinions are completely my own.

STEM Skills with Thomas & Friends

My drive to and from work every day during the school year involves crossing University Avenue in St. Paul.  Normally, not a big deal, but for the past several years it has been under construction, adding rails for the Metro Green Line.  The construction drove me a little crazy, though the girls loved it.  Now the trains are finally running on the Green Line and that makes the girls even happier!

Last week we took our first trip on the Green Line.  We took the train to downtown Minneapolis to have lunch with E, and check out the farmer's market.  It was a great trip.

After our trip, the girls were extra excited about trains.  So, for one of our next adventures, we planned a trip to one of our very favorite places, the Minnesota Children's Museum, to check out the new Thomas & Friends: Explore the Rails exhibit.

While the girls were excited to see Thomas and his friends, I was excited that there were STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) skills worked in to the various parts of the exhibit.  I think we do a pretty good job of working on literacy skills at home, but I'm not always sure how to engage the girls in science and math at home.  Visiting the Thomas & Friends exhibit gave me some new ideas about how to use STEM thinking skills as my girls play.  Throughout the exhibit there were signs giving ideas about what to ask kids to help them think about their projects.  For example, as the girls were working with different tools (technology skill) to fix Percy's wheel, I was talking to the girls about what they were doing and why they were making certain choices.  Overall, we had a lot of fun exploring the Thomas & Friends exhibit, and I left feeling like the girls had learned a lot too!  You can read more about how the Thomas & Friends exhibit integrates STEM skills and the 7Cs here. 

Local friends, if you haven't visited the Minnesota Children's Museum this summer, I would highly recommend it!  Besides having the special Thomas & Friends exhibit, Creativity Jam is back (one of my all time favorites!) and the Rooftop Art Park is open too.  It's a great time to visit the museum!

Full disclosure, my family and I are provided with a free membership to the Minnesota Children's Museum in exchange for being a Smart Play Ambassador.  Of course, all opinions are completely my own.

Overview of the 7 C's

As I mentioned in my Favorite Twin Cities Kid Spots post, the Minnesota Children's Museum is one of my favorite places in the Twin Cities.  I briefly volunteered for the MCM as a college student, and couldn't wait to take my own kids there to play.  We have been members since Miss A was quite little, and I'm sure we'll continue to be members and supporters for years to come.  A few months ago I noticed a post on Facebook that the MCM was looking for Smart Play Ambassadors, so I immediately applied.  A few days later I found out I was selected as a Smart Play Ambassador for 2014.  I'm really excited to have this opportunity to support a place I love, and share more information with you about the benefits of play for children whether at home, school or the MCM.

Always a favorite spot at the MCM!

Today I'm sharing a brief overview of the 7C's.  The 7C's are seven proficiencies children will need to be successful in the 21st century, including things like confidence and creative thinking.  As a middle school teacher, the 7C's are a frequent focus in our staff development, but children build these skills starting in early childhood.  For a brief overview of the 7C's, take a look at this article from the Minnesota Children's Museum (make sure you read all the way through the article to see how you can win a family 4 pack of tickets to the MCM!).  

My little artists in the Curiosity Center.

Full disclosure, my family and I are provided with a free membership to the Minnesota Children's Museum in exchange for being a Smart Play Ambassador.  Of course, all opinions are completely my own.