US
r e h t e g To CONGRATS GRADUATES! ALL OF
by Kathleen Donner
Hill Center Mad Science Summer Camps
Space Telescope-Our Window to the Stars; Your Space Science Questions Answered; Your Career Questions Answered; Launching to Mars with NASA’s Perseverance Rover; Mars Perseverance Rover Will Look for Signs of Ancient Life; Preparing to Launch the Perseverance Rover to Mars; OSIRIS-Rex Touches Down on Bennu; and International Space Station-Our Home in Space for 20 Years. Share your questions about space on social media using #EZScience and they could be answered in a future show. airandspace.si.edu.
Art Tales for Pre-K
The National Portrait Gallery’s Introducing...
Hill Center Mad Science summer camps (for rising first to sixth graders) give kids the opportunity to learn about science through their interactive and hands-on science activities. These summer science programs let children become junior scientists for the summer and embark on a series of science adventures. Before care, aftercare, and half-day options are available. The Hill Center is at 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. hillcenterdc.org.
Need ideas for how to talk about art with your little ones? Visit nga.gov/education/teachers/lessons-activities/prek.html. In each box, you can explore artworks with your children, read books with related themes, and try your hand at making some art of your own. Find out about Romare Bearden, George Bellows, Louise Bourgeois, Mary Cassatt, Joseph Cornell, Wassily Kandinsky, Jacob Lawrence, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro; Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keeffe, Raphael, Diego Rivera, Henri Rousseau and Alma Thomas. Download the related coloring pages and cut-outs for extra creative fun! nga.gov. Planning to visit the National Gallery of Art with a pre-K class? Register for Art Tales tours at nga.gov/education/teachers/school-tours/art-tales-sky-color.html.
Baseball: America’s Home Run
The National Postal Museum will present, as soon as it reopens, a blockbuster exhibition exploring America’s national pastime. Featuring hundreds of US and international stamps commemorating great players, historic moments, and drawing on original artwork and archival material from the United States Postal Service’s esteemed Postmaster General’s Collection, the exhibition approaches the story from a unique, worldwide perspective. The display of stamps and mail will be complemented by dozens of objects loaned by other Smithsonian Institution museums, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, law enforcement agencies, and private collectors. The exhibition, in English and Spanish, will have broad appeal to collectors of stamps and memorabilia, family audiences, and diehard fans. Baseball: America’s Home Run is opening soon at the National Postal Museum, 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. postalmuseum.si.edu.
36
EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM
Photo taken on Feb. 21, 2017. Giant Panda Bao Bao Departs Smithsonian’s National Zoo for China. Photo: Eric Long, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
National Zoo Reopens
The National Zoo reopened to visitors on May 21. Zoo hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily. Free timed-entry passes are required. Masks and social distancing are also required. Restaurants and food trucks are open. Viewing of the Zoo’s newest panda cub, Xiao Qi Ji, will be limited for social distancing purposes and will require a separate free timed-entry pass. Visitors can obtain a free pass for Asia Trail/ Giant Pandas when they arrive at the Zoo. Passes will be released throughout the day. As a reminder for the public, Xiao Qi Ji is still young and sleeps a lot during the day. Xiao Qi Ji along with his parents can be viewed on the Zoo’s live panda cams. Visitors driving to the Zoo who wish to park must purchase parking in advance. Visitors can reserve passes online at si.edu/visit or by phone at 1-800-514-3849, ext. 1. si.edu/visit.
#EZScience from Air and Space
In the National Air and Space Museum’s #EZScience video series, presented in collaboration with with NASA, Museum director Dr. Ellen Stofan and NASA’s associate administrator for science Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen talk about the latest in planetary science and exploration. The 13 YouTube shows include: Exploring the Moon with Apollo; The Search for New Planets; Our Favorite Star-The Sun; The Path to Mars 2020; Balloon Science; NASA’s Hubble
Introducing… a new kind of story time. Each week the National Portrait Gallery shines a light on some of this country’s lesser-known history makers and their portraits. Join them on YouTube every Wednesday at 11 a.m. for Introducing… with a Portrait Gallery educator. Children will learn more about art, hear the stories behind the portraits, and even learn some new vocabulary. Select story times will be in Spanish. For children ages three and up and their families. npg.si.edu/events/family-programs.
Terrapin Adventures for Kids
Terrapin Adventures Kids Pass features a two-tiered high ropes course with more than 20 obstacles and a high ropes course that also includes a 20-foot climbing wall. $29 per participant. Minimum requirements: five to ten years old and 35 lbs. The experience lasts one hour. Terrapin Adventures is at 8600 Foundry St., Savage, MD. terrapinadventures.com.
National Children’s Museum STREAM-work
National Children’s Museum is closed until further notice. Find STREAMwork classics on their website in the categories of design & build; nature spotlight; sensory play; science exploration; community connection; and climate action challenge. nationalchildrensmuseum. org/steamwork.
Six Flags (formerly Wildworld) Is Open for the Summer
The Six Flags Amusement and Water Park, 13710 Central Ave., Upper Marlboro, is open almost daily, 11 a.m. to
