Saturday, December 20: Open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. The SnowCat, 11 a.m. Members $8; General $10 Winter Ornament Making, 3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Free with admission
Sunday, December 21: Open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Monday, December 22: Open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Gingerbread Architecture Extravaganza. We may have a slot or two available - ask at the Front Desk when you arrive. $25 per kit.
Candy and frosting and gingerbread oh my! 'Tis the season for our annual Gingerbread Architecture Extravaganza and I know you don't want to miss out.
We provide all the goodies your child needs to create their fully-edible dream house - and don't worry about getting sticky, we'll clean up too! Thanks to Beth's Fine Desserts for providing the delicious gingerbread.
Early bird registration started Monday for our sweetest program of the season - guarantee your kids the best slot by upgrading your membership today - our Supporting Members ($160+) get first crack at the openings. Give Suzann a call at (415) 339-3954 to join or upgrade.
Open registration begins November 17 but don't wait too long - Gingerbread sells out every year.
Museum favorites The Hipwaders are back this Saturday at 11 a.m., playing their irresistible blend of witty lyrics and pop-rock tunes. Their fresh spin on such classic subjects as siblings, math and toys will get everyone in the house dancing.
Their latest album, Educated Kid, got a rave review from the SF Bay Times: "Pulling off some brilliantly fun and surprisingly hip songs extolling touchstones of childlike glee including art cars and dinosaurs. With Devo influences the post-mod-rock trio lays some serious grooves and invokes the best spirits of They Might be Giants, Schoolhouse Rocks and The Beatles’ veiled odes to decadence that were so brilliant no one cared what they were about."
Check them out on their web site, where you can watch a video and download a few free tunes too.
Well, actually meet Wednesday Kirwan, author and illustrator, as she reads from her new book Minerva the Monster, today at 3 p.m. in the Art Studios. She'll sign copies of her book, and help lead a mask-making workshop so all of the participants can pretend to be monsters!
You may remember Wednesday: she's our former lead art guide, and the author of Nobody Notices Minerva, one of our favorite books to read during daily storytime at the Museum. Her new book features loveable - and mischevious - Minerva as she dons a monster costume—and starts behaving like one, too. Whenever Mom asks her to eat her green beans or Dad tells her to put on her pajamas, she just growls and says that monsters don’t do that! But Minerva is about to find out that sometimes being a real child is better than being an imaginary beast.
Drop in for our boat building workshop this Sunday at 3:15 p.m. This 1 1/2 hour drop-in program is designed for kids ages 4 and up. Children experiment with materials to explore the science concepts of flotation and balance. They construct boats using a variety of recycled materials, and test their seaworthiness on our racing table, while observing how wind, water and waves affect the crafts. Parents and children are encouraged to stay, make modifications and discover what sails... and what sinks!
Can't make it on Sunday, October 26? We'll have a second Boat Building workshop on Sunday, November 23 at 3:15 p.m.
The first show of our second annual Hip Kid's Music Series is this weekend!
Check out the energetic blues, R & B, funk and rock of the Baby Blue Blues Band on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Discovery Theatre, presented by Wells Fargo. Clap, sing and dance along with their mascot, Ray the Rhino!
We talked with band leader Alex Delucca: "We sing blues songs, but not in the typical sad way. We have fun songs like Daddy’s Scratchy Face. We play funk, surf rock & reggae. It’s music that parents can dig, too. A lot of dancing, Ray gives high fives to the children the whole time." Get the whole scoop and take a listen at their web site.
And as our thanks for reading our blog, use the coupon code boogie to save $1 on each ticket. This code is only good for advance tickets bought online.
A new study suggests that children are only able to learn from their mistakes after age 12 - in other words, negative reinforcement doesn't work. What does work? Positive reinforcement.
Researchers hypothesize that young children learn from positive reinforcement ("Way to go, good job picking up your clothes!") because it is easier to keep doing something that worked, rather than change it ("Don't leave your clothes lying about.").
Researchers at the Leiden Brain and Cognition Lab used functional MRI (fMRI) to observe areas of the brain in the cerebral cortex responsible for cognitive control. 8-year-old children's brains didn't active when receiving negative feedback, but strongly lit up during positive feedback. The opposite result is true for children ages 12 - 13, and adults too.
I've often read about the importance of regular positive feedback - and it's difficult to turn off the negative feedback with a 3-year-old sometimes! - so it's nice to have some empirical evidence to back it up.
Tickets are still available for the 9 a.m. & 10 a.m Sponsor Breakfast. Enjoy a delicious buffet and performances by Miss Kitty, Suzy Q and Chris Molla. Sponsor breakfast attendees at any seating can enjoy early access to all the fun at Goblin - how about a pony ride before breakfast?
Don't miss the Sponsor Breakfast faboolous goody bag with treats including:
Pottery Barn Kids $25 gift certificates Classic Kid's complimentary photo session - $295 value Peekadoodle "To Go" cups Copy of Thirteen O'clock (children's book) compliments of Chronicle Books ….and much more!
You can also buy tickets for the Sponsor Breakfast raffle, and do not need to be present to win. Prizes include:
Randy Winn signed baseball from the SF Giants $200 gift certificate from M Clothing 3 family photography sessions valued over $1500 each …and much more!
Sponsor Breakfast admission starts at $200 for a family of four and includes admission to the Goblin Jamboree (a $56 value!). To buy tickets, register online or call Pam Long at (415) 339-3942.
