October & November 2005 Issue

Contents:

Letter From Lindy - Spooks and Sushi and Snot Oh My!

GROSSOLOGY Comes up a Second Time

Find Your Way to the Forest

Liberty Elementary Palying Around at OCM

Museum Rentals: Instant Fun—Just Add People

Make a Welcome Fund Donation

Caring Comes in all Colors

Letter From Lindy
Spooks and Sushi and Snot Oh My!

This should be the theme song for Omaha Children's Museum this fall. As soon as the nights grow cooler and the leaves start to turn, I get itchy to put out my Halloween decorations. My husband grudgingly plays along by hanging the Halloween icicle lights from the gutters and putting out the lighted plastic pumpkins in the yard. "Because the kids love it," is my response to his annual question of "why do we have to go all out for Halloween?"

Last October, we went all out at OCM for Halloween with the introduction of Cobweb Castle, our not-so-spooky haunted house for kids. This year kids can get lost and find their way again in the Find-Your-Way Forest. As staff was dragging the castle pieces out of storage they might have quoted my husband—"tell us again, why do we go to so much work for only one month?" But they don't ask because they know "the kids love it!"

And, as it turns out the kids also love learning about another culture, as they have shown by attending Five Friends From Japan. The exhibit will be here through the month of October, so there is still plenty of time to meet some friends from the Far East.

With the fall months settling in, we also see the results of allergies. Our house is full of snot these days. Literally! I'm looking forward to the return of Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body so I can remind myself of just how much snot we produce in a day and why our tummies rumble and we sometimes toot (can you tell I have a toddler in the house!).

It's hard to imagine the place where spooks, sushi and snot all come together, but you really don't need to imagine it, you can come experience it yourself this October at Omaha Children's Museum.

Lindy J. Hoyer
Executive Director

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GROSSOLOGY
Comes Up a Second Time

When it comes to the human body, stuff gets much grosser when it returns. That hamburger, fries and shake looked great at the restaurant. But when it's coming up after a little nausea or going out after some constipation, it's disgusting.

Omaha Children's Museum has its own grossness coming up for a second time—Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body. Opening October 1, 2005, the returning exhibit is twice the size of its predecessor, and a lot grosser.

"We picked the big booger this time," said Lindy Hoyer, executive director of Omaha Children's Museum. "More than any other traveling exhibit, Grossology has been requested by visitors who saw it before or did not get the chance when it was in Omaha last time. So we are thrilled to host the large version of this science lesson in disguise."

Branzei Kicks Off Exhibit
This time, the museum will open the exhibit with Her Grossness Sylvia Branzei, author of the best-selling book "Grossology" on which the exhibit was based. Branzei will be at the museum Saturday, October 1 from 1 – 3:30 p.m., with a presentation followed by a book signing.

Branzei invented Grossology inauspiciously enough. While clipping her toenails, she noticed the icky stuff that forms under the nails and thought, "Hey, I can figure out what that disgusting stuff under my nails is." After she contemplated the formation of toe jam, an idea hit her: "Kids love gross stuff. I can teach them science using gross as a hook. Grossology!"

From Best-Selling Book to Blockbuster Exhibit
Grossology the exhibit takes the gross facts and illustrations off the page and into a 5,000 square foot exhibit. Featuring 17 interactive exhibit areas, it's snot the usual way to learn about science. This larger-than-life biology lesson is full of the things kids love—gross smells, burps, crusty stuff and slime. Parents and teachers may not be clamoring for the chance to smell the odor produced by armpit bacteria, but they will appreciate the science the kids are learning while having fun.

Visitors can take a "Tour du Nose" to explore 10 nasal features, including how the nose acts as an air filter, a smell sensor and a mucus producer, or explore the culprits behind gas when they play the pinball game "Gas Attack" by scoring off bumpers dressed up as food items that cause gas. Younger visitors can take a ride on the GI slide through the digestive system or climb a large-scale replica of human skin, complete with warts, hairs, wounds and other objects that act as hand and foot holds. Budding grossologists can delve into the role of the kidney in a virtual reality experience known as "Urine: The Game," mimic the build up of acid indigestion by causing the "Burp Machine" to release a giant belch, and discover other mysterious ways the body's biology does what it needs to do to keep itself healthy.

The exhibit uses giant book pages fashioned after the actual Grossology book as a backdrop to the animatronic characters and the interactive elements, literally putting visitors into the middle of a biology book. In addition to a number of fascinating science, health and cultural facts, the book pages also feature models of the human body and endoscopy videos of the human digestive system to help further explain how the body functions.

Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body is sponsored locally by Douglas County Visitor Improvement Funds. The media sponsor is Star 104.5. Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body was created and produced by Advanced Exhibits, a division of Advanced Animations L.L.C. in collaboration with Science World British Columbia. PSS! and Grossology are registered trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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Find Your Way to the Forest
Cobweb Castle comes back bigger for more frightful fun

It's where Red Riding Hood met the wolf, and Hansel and Gretel lost their way, Dorothy feared the "lions and tigers and bears" might be lurking inside. It is also the scene of nearly every campfire ghost story. It's The Forest.

This year, Omaha Children's Museum brings this spooky backdrop to the forefront when Find-Your-Way Forest is added to Cobweb Castle, the museum's not so scary haunted house exhibit. Cobweb Castle returns from October 1 – 30, 2005.

"The seeds of the forest were planted last year while we packed up the castle for storage," said Tom Simons, director of education and public programs. “ The forest came to fruition through the 2005 "For The Kids" Benefit when the Rainbow Connectors Guild raised over $10,000 to create it."

This year, as children enter Cobweb Castle they will choose a path through the Ghostly Graveyard or the Find-Your-Way Forest. If they choose the forest, visitors will find themselves in a maze of creepy-looking trees created by Mike Nelson and Dan Gutzmann of Mural Mural Graphics. Fallen trees create a tunnel for intrepid ghost hunters to crawl through. While other trees with frightful faces stare out.

"It really will feel like a forest," said Simons.
Gutzmann and Nelson are also improving the castle itself for this year.

A brick wall will adorn the Batty Bedroom and tree roots will hang throughout all of the Tree Root Tunnel.

Cobweb Castle makes a return from a very successful initial run in 2004. Last year, in October, the museum's attendance approached 20,000, 70% more than in October 2003. Without any other special exhibit showing at the time, Cobweb Castle drew in families seeking a fun Halloween-themed experience.

"Kids had an amazing time," said Simons. "It was an opportunity for families to do something that didn't scare kids too much."

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Liberty Elementary Playing Around at OCM

Thanks to the generosity of the Mammel Foundation, selected Liberty Elementary classrooms will be visiting the museum on a very regular basis for the entire 2005-2006 school year. Due to the close proximity of the school, there is no need for transportation, allowing funds to be used directly for the field trip costs.

The program, "Playing Around", will be the first opportunity OCM has to survey the results of consecutive field trips and the ability to introduce Museum exhibits, programs and activities into daily classroom curriculum. "We hope our partnership with Liberty Elementary school will further develop throughout the years and our local elementary classrooms will be able to utilize the educational programming available at OCM on a regular basis." said Lindy Hoyer, executive director of Omaha Children’s Museum.

"Playing Around" field trips started in the middle of September 2005. All of the Liberty Elementary School Headstart and Pre-school classrooms will be visiting the museum twice a month, Kindergarten classrooms will be visiting the museum once a month and First Graders will be visiting the museum four times a year. Both pre and post surveys of students and teachers will be conducted to have a better understanding of what will benefit the classrooms most.

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Museum Rentals:
Instant Fun—Just Add People

Omaha Children's Museum has become a hot venue for parties, meetings, luncheons, and other events. Rentals at the museum have increased more than 360% in the past year. OCM has hosted graduation parties, family gatherings, baby showers, cocktail events, evening dinners, and more!

Activity rooms are available for smaller parties with a fun twist or board, staff and group meetings. Groups have started using OCM's 11,000 square foot exhibition halls for award ceremonies, luncheons and receptions. One of the greatest advantages to hosting an event at OCM is the flexibility and customization of the venue and prices.

Evening Rentals:
All evening rentals may begin as early as 5:30 p.m. and end as late as 11:30 p.m.

Daytime Rentals:

If you are interested in having your event at Omaha Children's Museum, please contact Kristen Ostenso at (402) 930-2358.

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Make a Welcome Fund Donation

Omaha Children's Museum has always tried to ensure that the museum is affordable and accessible to everyone in the community. The Welcome Fund program is a 100% donor-supported fund designed for the purpose of sharing the museum experience with families and children who may not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy our programs and exhibits due to financial restrictions.

OCM partners with local elementary schools and community organizations to coordinate curriculum evenings at the museum as well as to recruit eligible families. OCM has worked with the following schools and organizations: Spring Lake Elementary, Liberty Elementary, Bancroft Elementary, Belvedere Elementary, Bloomer Elementary in Council Bluffs, Karen Western Elementary in Ralston, Jefferson Elementary, Habitat for Humanity, and Educare.

"OCM will always strive to reach out to those in need,” said Lindy J. Hoyer, executive director of Omaha Children’s Museum. Our Welcome Fund program has been embraced by the community and we look forward to the challenge of raising even more funds this next year.”

Throughout the month of October, OCM will have special Welcome Fund donation bins by the front desk. We will be asking all visitors who are able to make a donation to help another family receive a membership. Please ask any of the staff for more information or contact Kristen Ostenso, Development Associate, at (402) 342-6164, ext 420 or kostenso@ocm.org.

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Caring Comes in all Colors

United Way's 13th Annual Day of Caring brought out volunteers from Aquila Inc. to the museum on August 31, 2005. The Aquila employees prepared a new visual design prior to coming to the museum. Then, they painted the colorful backdrop for the eating and vending area over the course of a day.
"Now, a sense of play pervades the entire museum, even where our visitors eat lunch," said Christian Burk, director of marketing and public relations, “thanks to Aquila and United Way.”

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