John Glenn Astronomy Park to share hero’s legacy with next generation

Forty miles southeast of Columbus in the secluded and tranquil woods of the Hocking Hills State Park, community members are setting their sights on the sky. Ohio’s Hocking Hills, known for its lack of light pollution and resulting clear night sky views, has always been a mecca for astronomy fanatics. Thus, members of the Friends of Hocking Hills State Park (FHHSP) has broken ground on for John Glenn Astronomy Park, which opens in early 2018. Named for one of America’s greatest heroes and an Ohio native, the park is made possible through generous donations and pledges from community members.

John Glenn Astronomy Park will not only allow visitors to explore the night sky, but will also offer daytime study, welcoming visitors to its Solar Plaza to study the Sun, Earth and the North Celestial Pole, among other celestial features. It is ideal for research, star parties, special events and general daily visitation. Designed by Ohio-based M&A Architects, the Astronomy Park includes:

  • An ideal elevation of 1,000 feet
  • An 80-foot in diameter Solar Plaza, which highlights the Sun’s orientation to the Earth as it changes throughout the year and is encircled by a low wall with notches that offer framed views of the Sun on key days
  • An enclosed 540-square-foot observatory featuring a retractable roof to permit night sky viewing
  • Gathering areas
  • Open green space
  • Plenty of free parking

Perhaps the most famous Ohioan with an eye on the cosmos, John Glenn, agreed to lend his name to the park, giving it his blessing shortly before passing away on Dec. 8, 2016.

“The Friends of Hocking Hills State Park organization is honored to move forward with a project that will bear Glenn’s name and legacy for years to come, with a focus on educating and engaging visitors,” said Julieann Burroughs, president of the FHHSP Board of Directors. “The park will spark an interest in science, exploration and astronomy among guests of all ages and is expected to become a meaningful scientific research facility.”

Preliminary design for John Glenn Astronomy Park is complete and construction of the park, which is located next to Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills State Park is well underway. Land for the astronomy park will be leased to the Friends organization by ODNR for $1. As observatories statewide find their views obscured by increasing light pollution, the facility will solidify Hocking Hills’ reputation as one of the country’s last great pollution-free spots for stargazing. The region draws more than 3 million visitors annually from around the globe, with most coming to experience its unspoiled natural environment.

“In addition to miles and miles of trails through dense forests, stunning rock formations and rushing waterfalls, our star-filled skies get high marks from visitors,” said Hocking Hills Tourism Association Executive Director Karen Raymore. “The Tourism Association is thrilled at the opportunity to offer one more reason for travelers to visit the region and a new way for them to experience another natural attraction, which has been here since the dawn of time.”

Tips to Increase Your Child’s Safety in the Car

Having a child no longer means you have to be tied at home until he or she is able to take care of themselves in various situations. Nowadays you and the new baby can enjoy a trip, you can have a nice family day outside in the park, or you can simply take them grocery shopping.

All these are possible because we now have safer cars, better roads, and ways to make sure the baby will be safe in the car. Here is where the car seat comes in, and even though some adults don’t seem to believe its amazing powers, this device will make your life easier.

This is true because the baby is securely strapped in the seat, which is tightly attached to the car’s regular seat, creating a protective cocoon from which your vivacious kid can’t escape by mistake. Furthermore, the seat will protect your fragile child in the case of an accident, keeping their head, neck and spine in alignment.

These aspects are very important, especially for a baby, and you can learn more about how a special car seat can protect your beloved children by taking a look at this amazingly detailed infographic below:

car seat info

6th Annual Walk for Kids Growth & Festival

Join the community for the 6th Annual Walk for Kids’ Growth on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at Flushing Meadows Park (at the Fountain of the Planets), from 11 am to 3 pm. The event will feature a 3-mile scenic, fun walk, FREE food, carnival games, display booths, live entertainment and much more! This is the nation’s largest fundraising event for childhood growth disorders and rare genetic diseases. The Walk raises significant funds and awareness for the disorders, celebrates patient advocacy and honors those who have reached new heights. All ages and leashed pets are welcome. Sign up (FREE) to participate at www.WalkForKidsGrowth.org.

 

 

Family Friendly Spring Break Travel Tips

 

Family Friendly Spring Break Travel Tips

When you think of spring break, you may think of a swarm of college kids heading to Daytona Beach for a week full of partying. However, a lot of families in the United States are opting to have family-oriented spring break trips.

 

There is a lot of planning that goes into any family trip, especially during a busy time of the year such as spring break. Traveling can become more complicated if you are traveling with pets. Today we would like to share a few tips to ensure that your trip is seamless.

 

Plan Ahead

The earlier you start planning spring break, the less stressed you will be when the time finally comes to leave for the trip. Planning ahead consists of packing items that you and your family may need to take for the trip. When making a master list of items to take on vacation with you, think of the climate you will be traveling to. This will help you to plan outfits for you and your family.

 

Also, plan what type of transportation you will be using to get to your desired destination. If you are traveling by air, there will be more restrictions on items that you can take with you. Regardless of the mode of transportation, you choose to take, be sure to plan appropriate activities to keep the children entertained on the trip.

 

Keep Furry Friends in Your Thoughts

The earlier you book your transportation and accommodation, the more flexibility you will have when choosing where to stay. If you are choosing to bring the family pet along on the trip, you will need to look in advance to see which accommodations are pet-friendly.

 

When bringing a pet along for your spring break trip, you will also need to include items for them in your master packing list. Make sure that you have enough food and fresh water as well as plenty of toys to keep them busy!

 

Plan Activities in Advance

When traveling with the whole family, it is often better to plan activities in advance to avoid bickering among family members. If the events are already planned, there is no room for debate about when you should do each activity. Having a structured plan can keep everyone happy and on track for the duration of your trip.

 

Planning activities in advance can also often save you money on the activities. When taking the entire family on a trip, it is best to save money whenever you can!

 

As you can probably see, planning is essential when thinking about your family spring break trip. If you put a decent amount of work into planning the trip, you will easily be able to relax when you finally arrive at your destination knowing that you took all of the necessary steps to make your family trip a success. Planning ahead will ensure that everyone on your trip (your furry family members included) have an outstanding time no matter the destination you choose!

How to properly manage child’s development with toys?

Most people have a wrong notion of toys. We tend to believe that these items are nothing more than products created to keep babies occupied and give us more time to do things which we otherwise like to do. However, there is much more to them.

Toys are not only important for entertainment; they have crucial role in developing baby’s senses, motoric functions and introducing it to the world.

Infant’s mind is like a sponge and it is highly susceptible to all this outside stimuli. So, by providing proper stimulation (through toys) your child has a good chance to develop quicker than its peers. Have in mind that toys are not the only factors here: parents also have to have an active role and be there to encourage a baby to take the right steps.

Here are some of the most popular toys for development and how they can benefit your kid.

 

Activity mat

 

Mat is probably the first thing that you’ll buy for a child. Have in mind that mat as a mat isn’t that beneficial until baby is able to turn over to its belly. All these colors and designs are great only when baby is able to see them. However, surrounding trinkets are crucial.

As baby tries to grab these trinkets that are hanging, it makes efforts to roll over and it works frantically with its feet and legs. They become even more active when they see something they like and they start squirming. Movements such as this are important as they improve motoric functions and help introduce other physical exercises.

 

Toys that create music

 

Besides the body, baby’s senses also have to be stimulated. First and foremost, you need to start by introducing toys that create music. Have mind that this music have to be relaxing. Like mother’s voice, it has to soothe the baby while also affecting its hearing and improving the sense.

 

Mobile

 

Like trinkets hanging from a mat, mobile is very important for its patterns.

In this case, baby doesn’t have to reach out to them or do physical exercise; this product is valuable due to its different patterns and shapes that help develop baby’s sight and brain.

 

Grabbing toys and rattles

 

While babies have a strong grip from the get go, it is something they need to work on actively. This is where rattles and grabbing toys come into play.

Both groups of toys are important for physical development and you should always have them in your home.

 

Multipurpose toys

 

Toys in vivid colors and also creating sounds can be great for stimulating a baby.

As the baby gets a bit older, it will be hard to stimulate it with basic toys. So, with these items, it can remain stimulated and engaged.

 

Creativity toys

 

Baby needs to be an active thinker. Toys that allow baby/child to be creative are very important for brain. The best examples are crayons, cubes and other toys that have “numerous” solutions.

Here, we also have to include toys that allow child to role play, such as reborn dolls, kitchen sets, doctor sets etc. It’s very important for a child to be able to play by itself and stimulate itself at one point. If you simply provide a video game or a cartoon, child will not try to seek entertainment and will become docile which can be very dangerous.

 

These are some basic toys that your baby can use while growing up. Have in mind they are sorted based on age; some of them will become redundant after a while but that doesn’t mean that a child cannot play with them anymore.

How To Teach Children Emotional Intelligence

Children are exceptionally bright and often think they know everything by the time they reach ten. In fact by this age they will have developed many of the life skills they need, with a little help from you that means the ability to talk to others, self-confidence and emotional intelligence.

Part of this can involve choosing an early learning center such as the Star Academy Kids which will really believe in your child and help their inquisitive minds engage with the world round them. Choosing the right early learning centre is an important part of boosting their emotional intelligence. Here are some of the other measures you can do to teach emotional intelligence:

Empathy

It is important to understand that there are times when your child simply can’t deal with what has happened. You might feel frustrated by their inability but you need to emphasize with them.

A good example of this is dealing with a child that doesn’t want to do what you’ve told them to. Instead of just telling them that’s the way it is accept that they have an opinion. Let them know that you know and understand their perspective but that they need to do it how you’ve asked.

You will be acknowledging their position which will make them feel good; even if they still have to do it your way.

Emotion

It’s important that your children are allowed to express their emotions. It doesn’t matter of they’re scared or angry or even upset, by allowing them to express themselves you’ll prevent them from repressing emotions throughout their life.

You can build on this by encouraging your child to communicate their feelings, even if you have to wait for them to calm down! You can also use this to bond with them. For example, if they are nervous about speaking in front of their class you can tell them you used to get nervous too and encourage them to talk about their feelings.

Listening

It doesn’t matter if you know your child is wrong. When they are angry let them vent and then acknowledge their feelings. What this will show them is that it’s acceptable and good to vent your emotions but that there is a time and place to do this.

In this process you’ll allow them to reach a calm and cooperative place and use healthy expression, this is good for your body and mental health.

Problem Solving

Everyone reacts strongly to certain issues in life. You can teach your child to handle this response from a young age. Allow them to vent and then talk to them regarding their emotions. You should discuss what they can do to deal with the issue in hand and allow them to take the appropriate action.

You’ll teach them that they need to work through their own emotions before dealing with the issue and finding an appropriate solution.

The idea of using emotion to change your approach is one that everything can apply in life; if your child witnesses you doing it then they will certainly copy!

Win Tickets to The Liberty Science Center #LSCStarShow

 

The Liberty Science Center in nearby Jersey City, NJ has a ton to do for kids and families. They recently opened the Largest Planetarium in the Western Hemisphere- not too shabby, ay?

 

“Its diameter is almost twice as long as a bowling alley lane. Its screen is taller than four giraffes. It offers a true 8K projection. Its lights produce trillions of colors. And it will provide breaking space and astronomy news and discoveries in real time.

It is Liberty Science Center’s greatest experience yet–the largest and most technologically advanced planetarium in the entire Western Hemisphere. The only three that are bigger are in Beijing, China, and Nagoya and Niihama, Japan.”

Liberty Science Center, the largest interactive science center in the NY-NJ metropolitan area, officially opened the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium on December 9, 2017.

The kids had an amazing time watching the live show in the domed theater. The seats we were in were pretty high up, but you can choose seats closer to the ground should you want to. The speaker used a laser pointer to show different stars and constellations in the sky, and made the sun rise and set as you watched in just a few seconds. He was also able to zoom in and out of very specific locations- one of which being the science center itself. You and your kids can see the stars at different times of the year as the speaker zooms around and gives explanations of each constellation.

“You can fit any other planetarium in the Western Hemisphere inside the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium,” said Hoffman. “Add in the state-of-the-art technology and you have a spectacular unique theater like none other in the world. Visitors will be able to fly through the universe, experience the grandness and vastness of space, roam planetary surfaces, navigate asteroid fields, and watch the latest full-dome movies.”

 

Other unique features of the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium include:

• A dome that has a diameter of 27 meters, or about 89 feet. That means if you made a straight line from one end of the dome to the other, it would be 1.5 times the length of a bowling alley lane.
• From the bottom of the theater to the top of the dome screen is 60 feet, the same height as 4 giraffes.
• 588 perforated aluminum panels are seamlessly joined together to form the domed screen with a surface area of 1,145 square meters, or 12,345 square feet. That’s a nice size four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in terms of area.
• The 10-projector system features an 8K resolution of 88 million pixels.
• The sophisticated software allows for downloads of the latest animations and images from NASA to keep up with breaking science news.
• The lighting system can produce over 281 trillion individual colors, which can allow the planetarium dome to look like the blue Earth daytime sky, the red sky of Mars, or a rapidly changing pattern to enhance laser shows. A human can see about 10 million colors, while a computer screen displays about 16.8 million colors for a “full-color” image.
• In addition to out-of-this-world planetarium experiences, guests will also enjoy immersive 8K films on the wraparound dome screen courtesy of a brand new digital projection system.

Find out more info here.

 

Also available is the new rotating exhibition, Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience.

“In this interactive, immersive exhibition based on one of the world’s most popular sci-fi series, you’ll step into the shoes of a newly minted cadet in the 26th century. As you travel through nine different zones, you’ll receive the necessary science, engineering, medical, and command training to navigate your way from orientation through graduation.

Both Trekkies and non-Trekkies will be engaged by the science behind the science fiction. Learn how Star Trek paved the way for many of today’s cutting-edge technologies—such as a functional tricorder, NASA’s warp drive theory, and experiments involving phasers and teleporters—and even get a glimpse into the future of Star Trek science.”

star trek museum

Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience will be at LSC through May 28, 2018.

If you would like to win a 4 pack of tickets, please just leave your name and email in the comments below. Ends Feb. 20, 2018. Thanks!
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Win Holiday Books for the Family

With the holiday right around the corner, you will be looking for fun gifts for the family and for friends. If you are looking for great books for little ones, check out these fun titles- these classics will be read and re-read for years to come.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Crochet (Thunder Bay Press; $24.99; Ages 3 and up): From bouncing Bumbles to Yukon gold, you’ll love these adorable amigurumi figures from the classic television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! This cheerful kit contains all the materials you’ll need to create Rudolph and Santa. Colorful photos and step-by-step directions in the 76-page instruction book will also guide you through crafting the Bumble, Charlie-in-the-Box, Dolly, Spotted Elephant, Hermey, Moonracer, Mrs. Claus, Clarice, Sam the Snowman, and Yukon Cornelius. Warm up your crochet hook for this group of charming holiday characters!
T.E.A.M. Rudolph and the Reindeer Games (Silver Dolphin Books; $17.99; Ages 3-7): We all recall the most famous reindeer of all. But how much do you know about the story of the Reindeer Games and the other eight reindeer? Well, now you can know the whole story, meet the rest of Santa’s trusted reindeer, and learn what it means to be on T.E.A.M. Rudolph!
 
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Pop-Up Book (Silver Dolphin Books; $19.95; Ages 3-5)Start a new holiday family reading tradition with this delightful pop-up retelling of the beloved Christmas story. Just in time for its 50th anniversary, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is now a stunning pop-up book, a treasure for generations to come. All of the classic characters join Rudolph for his North Pole adventure: Hermey the elf/aspiring dentist, Yukon Cornelius, and the doe-eyed Clarice. The impressive large-scale pop-ups re-create classic scenes using actual movie stills. Fly along with Rudolph, join in the reindeer games, flee from the Abominable Snow Monster, visit the Island of Misfit Toys, and save Christmas one foggy night. Most importantly, be touched by the timeless story of acceptance and the true meaning of the holiday spirit.

One of you can win copies of these great books- just enter using the RC form below.
Good luck, ends Dec. 26, 2017.
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