Boy Scouts Complete Archaeology Merit Badge at the Museum

The Museum of the Gulf Coast welcomed Boy Scout Troop 932 from Jasper last month. The Scouts worked on their Archaeology Merit Badge. Activities included learning about worldwide archaeology sites and archaeological fundamentals, imagining what future archaeologists would discover about us if they uncovered our trash from lunch, participating in a mock dig, using a metate, and discussing the importance of preserving our archaeological resources.

Scouts carefully uncover "artifacts" during the "mock dig."

Carnaval! Family Fun Day

We opened our latest exhibit, Carnaval! with a Family Fun Day.

The day featured hands-on activities and performances . Children decorated their own masks and miniature floats.  Their creative works were adorable. 

The wonderful Folkloric Dancers of the Mexican Heritage Society Port Arthur performed, and instructors Tracie and Tiffany led Zumba lessons.  Visitors were moving at the Museum! So fun!

Carnaval! will be on display until March 18, 2012. What better time to see it than during Mardi Gras!

Holiday Hayride

The Museum hosted a Holiday Hayride on Saturday. Guests were able to take hayrides from the Museum to Pompeiian Villa. While at Pompeiian Villa, they could warm up with some hot chocolate and enjoy the holiday decorations.

Back at the Museum, we had holiday crafts, including a snowman gift bag, teensy Christmas trees, thumbprint snowman/reindeer, and coloring pages.

Happy Holidays!

Fall 2011 Arts Express

 

This fall, the Museum hosted the Arts Express Program.  Participants were inspired by the museum’s collections and temporary exhibit to create some fantastic art!  They made colorful sand art, used recycled materials to make glass and plastic vessels, made “combined painting” bags, and pursued other creative endeavors. 

Arts Express is a weekly after-school program for children in grades 2-5. For 8 weeks each fall and spring, children learn about the arts through exhibit tours, hands-on activities, and art projects. The Spring 2012 Arts Express program starts February 7.  Application forms are currently available at the Museum.

Girl Scout Overnight

Local Girl Scouts joined us on the Fossil Freeway on October 21.  Girl Scouts and their fearless chaperones spent the night in one of the Museum’s displays, and they worked on badges. 

Brownies worked on their “Puppets, Dolls, and Plays” Try-It. They made yarn dolls and paper sack puppets.  Then, they put on quite a show in a puppet stage they created! 

Juniors completed their ”Visual Arts” Badge.  They learned about the color wheel, used color to express emotion (more than one girl picked ”hyper”), and made designs and shapes based on items they found in the Museum.  Each girl also painted a miniature canvas or a calendar.

Everyone also enjoyed a movie and a star show in the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Discovery Dome. 

We had so much fun with the Girl Scouts! 

Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway Family Fun Day

On October 1, the Museum celebrated the opening of the temporary exhibit, Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway, with a Family Fun Day.

Children’s book illustrator Bill Megenhardt took guests’ requests and created dozens of fun drawings of dinosaurs, animals, and more! Guests enjoyed planetarium-style movies in Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Discovery Dome.  The local chapter of American Car Enthusiasts showed off a collection of classic cars (which would be perfect for cruisin’!).  Children enjoyed dino-inspired crafts and other hands-on activities. 

Artist Bill Megenhardt at work

A Young Artist Creating a Bracchiosaurus Egg

Watch out for dinosaurs on the Fossil Freeway!

Digging for “Dinosaur Eggs”

Map Quest

The second installment of our popular Explore It! program was all about…well, exploring. We learned about Christopher Columbus, compasses, maps, navigation, went on a pirate treasure hunt, and made maps of our favorite places. Looking forward to seeing everyone this Tuesday for week 3: Paint a Legend.

Digging for buried treasure where X marked the spot!

 

A great start on the blueprint of his house. Future architect, right here.

 

Cartographers at work

She was all about the details--last one to leave.

Painting her map with tea to give it an aged look.

Now here's a map I need..."Where the Diamond Is." Guess we need to pay close attention to this one!