3rd Rock Kids

3rd Rock is taking a temporary pause in activities for the last few weeks of August. I will post as soon as activities will resume.

This week in the 3rd Rock science classroom the youth will be learning all about the Nebula with our instructor Ashley Messier who is going for her PhD in Astronomy. They will explore constellations using the Skyview app on the 3rd Rock cell phones, make Nebula space jars and create Nebula slime. Spots are filling up fast so sign up online at www.3rdrockkids.com or on the Beyond Crayons sign up board at the studio.

July workshop sign ups are now available online. We have three events... Nebula Workshop July 16th, Light It Up Workshop July 23rd and Ecosystem Workshop July 30th. These are going to fill up fast.

Our Painted Lady caterpillars are now butterflies and have broken out of their chrysalis. They are anxious to be set free. I will keep them for a couple more days so the kids can see them but will need to release them soon.

How cool is our universe! In the month of July, our 3rd Rock Kids program will be camping out under the stars and exploring the universe with our good friend Ashley Messier who is currently persuing her PhD in Astronomy. Ashley along with our universe app will teaching the 3rd Rock Kids what's happening Beyond Earth!

The James Webb Telescope doesn’t orbit Earth.

Update: This workshop is now full! Tomorrow evening at 5:30 pm we will be doing our Butterfly Event at Beyond Crayons Art Studio. The real caterpillars are already "hanging" in the studio in chrysalis form. We will be creating two different types of craft butterflies using recycled materials and learning all about butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies. You can sign up online. Limited to 10 participants so sign up early.

The events calendar for the month of June is now online for signups. Our first event is Wednesday night at 5:30 where kids will create a leather keychain for their dads and a matching leather wrist band for themselves. They will learn leather embossing.

Were you given a "taste for nature" early on?

If so, how has it affected your life?

I'm grateful that our parents saw the ideal afternoon as one that is spent outdoors. Some of my best childhood memories involved hiking, biking, combing for agates, canoeing, camping, looking for wildflowers and generally enjoying time outside. I hope our children feel the same way!

This morning 3rd Rock Kids visited the Robert E. Barrett Fishway in Holyoke. They got to see American Shad, Sea Lamprey and Small Mouth Bass get lifted up and over the dam on the Connecticut River. They learned the importance of fish counting for environmental purposes and how the dam produces power for the city.

A huge shout out and thank you to the 3rd Rock members that made the trip all the way out to the Franklin County Fairgrounds yesterday to show the North American Family Campers Association campers how to make Campfire Cupcake Firestarters.

Reminder!!! 3rd Rock Kids will be at Franklin County Fairgrounds this Saturday at 1pm. We will be teaching the North American Family Campers Association members how to make Campfire Cupcake Firestarters. If you have not signed up for this event and wish to attend, please message me.

I just got confirmation for our tour of the Robert E. Barrett Fishway on May 31st at 11am. This is a fun visit where the kids will learn and see how Holyoke Gas and Electric uses elevators to lift the spawing fish over the dam. Don't forget to register for all our May events online.