We just found out we're a top write-in pick for Best Enviro-friendly Place for Little Kids in the Bay Area, from Parents Connect! If you haven't voted in this category yet, please write us in and join dozens of other parents who appreciate our award-winning eco-friendly atmosphere.

There are six days left to vote - we're nominated for Best Museum for Little Kids and Big Kids and you can write us in for any category you like.

Vote online here!

We're up for Best Museum in the Parents Connect Parents' Picks 2008 Contest!

We'd appreciate your vote - just click here and vote for us in the Museum category for both Little Kids and Big Kids.

And while you're at it, share your comments on other web sites too - your honest reviews of the Museum are worth their weight in gold. We recommend Yelp.com and GoCityKids.com as two great sources of reviews from real people!

We need your help! The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is a federal agency that provides funding for museums. This Thursday, the House of Representatives Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to debate the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill—which includes funding for IMLS.

Contact Congress today to urge their support for $46.3 million for IMLS’s museum program —a $15 million increase from last year's appropriations bill.

The Bay Area Discovery Museum received significant support from IMLS for our My First Museum project. We paired with an organization that serves diverse families to pilot a joint curriculum that provides access to the Museum to non-traditionally museum-going communities. IMLS support is critical to our mission - and to the mission of museums across the country.

We—the museum community, including our visitors and members—need to let every member of Congress hear that an increase in IMLS funding is critically needed. Use this easy form to send a letter of support to your representatives today.

Like most parents, we've been singing little made-up songs to our kids since day one - crooning "sleepy, sleepy, baby" to the newborn, or encouraging "put your shoes on, shoes on, shoes on" to the 3-year-old. And our son has been singing his own nonsense songs just as long as he's been talking.

Tracy Zimmerman from FPG Child Development Institute talked to music therapist Dr. Petra Kern who points out the great ways music can help with transitions.

You can listen to the interview here. And if you need a little more inspiration, check out this book by Dr Kern that features 17 goal-oriented songs supporting outdoor play.

(Thanks to Zooglobble for this link!)

Meet Heather Posner - our fabulous Camps Coordinator. We sat down for a quick chat to learn more about our summer camps, which start on Monday!

What's new to Discovery Camps this year?

We're offering snacks for the first time this year - we have 100 pounds of Cheddar Bunnies ready to go - we'll see how long they last! Also, the way the ages are distributed is new, so that we could meet the developmental needs of the children better. Now 4-year-olds and 6-year-olds wouldn’t be in the same camp. More fun for all.

Any specific camps you're particularly excited about?

I’m really excited about our kid building camp – the teacher worked at adventure playground in Berkeley. They’re going to use real tools, real wood, build forts, it will be awesome. The yoga camp will be great too – she’s a professional kids' yoga instructor and mom, they’ll go on hikes, make art, and of course learn yoga.

Sounds fun! Are there still spots available?

We still have openings in yoga July 14, 21 and 28, and there are spots in many sessions in the kid building camps too. You can sign up online!

What else should we know?

Well, we'll be posting to this blog regularly – so parents know what their children are up to, have a better idea of what their kids do during the day, and see pictures too.

To read all the camp blog entries, just click the keyword "camps" from the tag box to the right!

Have you been to see our new special exhibition Tales from the Land of Gullah yet? Get a taste of what you'll see by visiting Gullah.Net before you come - or check it out after if you're looking for ways to extend your visit.

My favorite part of this interactive site is the Music section - kids can listen to Aunt Pearlie-Sue (a character on the web site and in the exhibit!) explain the origins of African music and instruments, play their own Gullah songs, and even explore a musical map showing how African music influenced music today, from bluegrass to rock 'n roll.

You can also watch videos of Gullah islanders knitting fishing nets with a needle made of palmetto wood, and listen to samples of the Gullah language. Did you know Gullah was developed among Africans as a way to communicate with people from other tribes and Europeans? It's made up of English and over 4,000 words from many different African languages, but sounds very similar to Krio, one of the common languages from Sierra Leone in West Africa.

The National Wildlife Federation is supporting the Bay Area Discovery Museum by donating a portion of each subscription to these award-winning magazines:

• Wild Animal Baby (ages 0 - 3): Filled with bright colors and delightful stories, Wild Animal Baby is a wonderful learning and interactive reading experience for parents and toddlers to share.
• Your Big Backyard (ages 3 - 7): Let young children know the world is their “big backyard”…a place filled with interesting places to go, fascinating creatures to meet, and fun things to do.
• Ranger Rick (ages 7+): Take kids closer to nature with amazing photographs, real adventures, rain-or-shine activities and intriguing information about animals and natural wonders.

I have very fond memories of reading stacks of Ranger Rick magazines on lazy summer days as a child. Your Big Backyard just won a coveted Parent's Choice Award. And it's great to see Wild Animal Baby is printed on coated card stock which will stand up to the gnawing gums of a 1-year-old!

To take advantage of this great offer, visit www.nwf.org/museums enter special order number PACM721.

The extremely popular World On Stage series continues Saturday with a performance by Ballet Afsaneh at 11 a.m.

The performance will feature dance, poetry, and music of the Silk Road —the historic trade route stretching 7,000 miles across Central Asia from the China Sea in the east to the Mediterranean in the west. 

Their repertoire includes:

• Afghanistan: Attan, Afghan National Dance; Loghari, Herati, Tajiki and Pashto dances
• Iran: Classical Persian dances including Barg-e Behesht: The Gardens of Paradise, Dayereh Hasti: Circle of Life, Atash Dar Noor-e Maah: Fire in the Moonlight, and Caravan of Dreams.
• Iran: Folk (Mahali) Repertoire: Gilaki, Azeri, Qashqa’i, Armenian, Bandari, Kurdi
• Tajik and Uzbek: Safaar-e Zamaan, Time’s Journey, Uzbek Wedding Suite, Kolyabi, Badakhshani, Ferghana, Bucharan, Shodiana, Chashmaqam, and various Tajik Contemporary dances

In our rapidly changing world, the need to understand and appreciate other cultures has never been greater. Saturday's performance is a terrific opportunity to introduce your children to the incredible beauty and artistry of Central Asia. Catch a sneak video preview of their work online.

Register online today to guarantee your seat.

Show us your love on Valentine's Day - vote for the Bay Area Discovery Museum on Bay Area Parent's annual Family Favorites Survey!

Please vote for us in the San Francisco / Peninsula edition - it's all write-in categories, but we encourage you to vote for us in the Best Children's Museum category as well as birthday party location, summer day camp, art studio and any other category where you think we fit!

In Rich Winefield's column in the Winter Newsletter, he wrote about the need to let our children take risks - to allow our children to try and fail and try again in order to authentically build up their confidence and self-esteem. Solving their problems for them doesn't help them learn and grow. You can read the whole letter here for his take on risk-taking.

In the same vein, there's a great video from the TED conference from Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School, where he talks about our new wave of overprotected kids -- and spells out 5 (and really, he's got 6) dangerous things you should let your kids do. Now, we're not particularly advocating for giving your 3-year-old a pocket knife or letting her play with matches!, but the provocative video is worth checking out.

What do you think? Are we too overprotective as a society? Or are we simply being reasonable parents? Share your thoughts in the comments...