Oak Ridge Today

Children’s Museum to celebrate 50 years with free admission

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The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is pictured above in this file photo from 2017. (Photo by Manhattan Project National Historical Park)

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will celebrate its 50th anniversary with free admission on Saturday, June 10, and Sunday, June 11.

The free weekend and its activities are sponsored by Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

“Visitors will enjoy the museum’s many exhibits and a special scavenger hunt on both days, including a special exhibition that celebrates the museum’s golden anniversary year, ‘CMOR at 50: Past, Present, and Future,'” a press release said. The exhibition features photos from the museum’s 50-year history and a selection of objects from the museum’s collection.

On Sunday, June 11, visitors will also enjoy special activities including arts and crafts, a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activity, selfie station, and complimentary refreshments. Also, on Sunday the museum’s mascot, Charlie the Curious Bear, will be on hand to interact with visitors, the press release said.

[Read more…]

MCLinc donation funds ramp for Children’s Museum

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Barry Stephenson, left, Michele Sanders and Beth Shea stand on steps leading to the World of Trains exhibit in the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. A ramp funded by Materials and Chemistry Laboratory Inc. will be built here later this year. (Submitted photo)

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Barry Stephenson believes the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge is one of the city’s treasures.
The laboratory he leads, employee-owned Materials & Chemistry Laboratory Inc. (MCLinc), wants to make sure this treasure continues to serve children and families well. MCLinc recently made a $50,000 contribution to fund the final ramp needed to make the interior of the historic Children’s Museum building accessible for strollers and those with disabilities.

The ramp will meet standards of the Americans for Disabilities Act, which describes what is needed for a building to be physically accessible to persons with disabilities. The ramp will connect the Selma Shapiro Wing of the Museum to the next level housing the World of Trains exhibit. [Read more…]

Children’s Museum re-opens June 2 on three-day-a-week schedule

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Children enjoy the Healthy Living exhibit at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge before it closed in mid-March. (Submitted photo)

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will reopen on a three-day-a-week schedule and welcome visitors beginning Tuesday, June 2, now that museums across the state are allowed to re-open.

The Museum will take precautions recommended as a result of COVID-19, including social distancing and increased cleaning of the facility, to protect the safety of visitors and staff, a press release said.

“Children’s Museum visitors will be expected to practice social distancing, and visitors ages 5 and older will be required to wear a mask. Masks will be optional for visitors ages 3-4,” said Beth Shea, executive director of the Museum. “All staff and volunteers in public areas of the Museum will wear masks, and the Museum will be vigilant about cleaning and visitor safety protocols.”

The Museum’s new schedule will be 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday until further notice, and the staff hopes to eventually expand the schedule, the press release said. [Read more…]

Panhellenic Alumnae Association contributes to flat top exhibit at Children’s Museum

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Beth Shea, left, Children’s Museum executive director, receives a check from Panhellenic Alumnae Association President Joan Vicary to help restore and maintain the original Oak Ridge flat top house at the Museum. (Submitted photo)

 

After hearing plans for an exhibit featuring an original Oak Ridge flat top house, the Oak Ridge Panhellenic Alumnae Association decided to support efforts by the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge to restore and maintain the house.

Joan Vicary, Panhellenic Alumnae Association president, recently presented Children’s Museum Executive Director Beth Shea with a check for $1,800 to help complete the exhibit.

“The decision was unanimous that we wanted to support this project,” Vicary said. The association holds fundraisers and selects an Oak Ridge organization to support each year, a press release said. Members of the group visited the flat top on the museum’s grounds, heard plans for the history exhibit, and decided to help with funds raised in 2019, she explained. [Read more…]

Rain delays flat top house move to Children’s Museum

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The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, officials said Monday, Sept. 10. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade was scheduled to be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, but the move has been postponed. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Moving the historic flat top house from the American Museum of Science and Energy to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge had been scheduled for today (Tuesday, October 2), but the move has been postponed because of delays in site preparation due to recent heavy rains, a press release said.

The move will be rescheduled for later this month, according to Beth Shea, executive director of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. Residents along West Outer Drive from the Museum to Illinois Avenue will be notified of the move date and asked to move cars from the street on the day of the move, the press release said.

The Children’s Museum offered to give the flat top a new home when AMSE, now closed temporarily as the museum moves to Main Street Oak Ridge, announced its move. Its new location doesn’t have space to keep the flat top as an exhibit. The Children’s Museum does have room on its property southeast of the museum building at 461 West Outer Drive, the press release said. [Read more…]

Historic flat top house moving from AMSE to Children’s Museum

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The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, officials said Monday, Sept. 10. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018, officials said Monday, Sept. 10. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The historic flat top house that has been at the American Museum of Science and Energy for about a decade will be moved to the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge on October 2, project officials said Monday.

The Children’s Museum kicked off a Go Fund Me campaign for the project on Monday, inviting the community to help raise $25,000 to support the move and preserve and maintain the flat top.

The Children’s Museum said it offered to give the flat top a new home when AMSE announced that it is moving to Main Street Oak Ridge. The former AMSE location on South Tulane Avenue, which had been used for about four decades, closed in late July. The new AMSE location at Main Street Oak Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall, is expected to open in October. There isn’t enough space to keep the flat top as an exhibit at the new AMSE, a press release said.

But the Children’s Museum does have room for the flat top on its property, the press release said. The flat top will be southeast of the museum building, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in north Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Flat top house at AMSE is moving to new location

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The American Museum of Science and Energy is pictured above on South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge on Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The flat top house at the American Museum of Science and Energy is moving from its current location on South Tulane Avenue.

The new location hasn’t been announced yet, although an announcement about the move will be made Monday by representatives of the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The AMSE location on South Tulane Avenue has been used for more than 40 years. But it closed in late July because the museum is moving to a new location at Main Street Oak Ridge, the 58-acre redevelopment of the former Oak Ridge Mall. The new AMSE will be near JCPenney on the northeast side of Main Street Oak Ridge. It is scheduled to open in October. [Read more…]

Children learn through play at Children’s Museum Imagination Station Summer Camps

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Children enjoy making slimy concoctions during Junior Wizarding Summer Camp last year (2017) at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Children enjoy making slimy concoctions during Junior Wizarding Summer Camp last year (2017) at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Children will create art, join the wizarding world, generate some “mess-terpieces,” become gumshoes and chefs, shape designs with clay, delve into science and STEAM, and more during Imagination Station Summer Camps beginning June 4 at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

Summer camps, from June 4-July 27, are for children from age 3 through rising fifth graders. The Children’s Museum’s enriching environment provides the backdrop as an experienced staff helps campers learn and grow through play in fun and safe surroundings, a press release said. Each camp is created with age-appropriate activities aligned with the child’s developmental stage.

“We hope to foster campers’ imaginations and passion for lifelong learning through our wide range of themes and activities, as well as our many hands-on exhibits,” said Beth Shea, Children’s Museum executive director.

The fee for Monday-Friday half-day camps is $115 for members, lower fees this year, and $135 for non-members. A discount is available if two siblings register for camp during the same week or if a child registers for two half-day camps in the same week. A limited number of scholarships for camp are available. Download the scholarship application from the museum’s website. [Read more…]

Holiday Express trains coming to Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge

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Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will feature G-scale model trains and a miniature village decorated for the holidays. Here, a CSX model train passes the train station, ready for the holidays. (Submitted photo)

Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge will feature G-scale model trains and a miniature village decorated for the holidays. Here, a CSX model train passes the train station, ready for the holidays. (Submitted photo)

 

All aboard the Holiday Express at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge!

A miniature village with 10 garden-scale model trains and thousands of lights will open at the Children’s Museum on Friday, December 8. The Holiday Express features a 2,500-square-foot G-scale railroad display inside the Children’s Museum gymnasium, with the 10 trains running consecutively. The display will be open through January 1.

Designed by landscaper and train enthusiast Mark Fuhrman, the display includes rivers, waterfalls, and more than 100 scale model buildings decorated for the holidays. The trains include logging trains, freight trains, and passenger trains. Many buildings in the village Fuhrman created are scale model replicas of East Tennessee structures, most depicting the architecture during logging days in the Smoky Mountains. [Read more…]

Children’s Museum Gala will be a celestial celebration on Friday, Dec. 1

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Children's Museum of Oak Ridge Starry CMOR Night Dec 1 2017

Guests will experience a “Starry CMOR Night” at the 16th annual Gala benefitting the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. The celestial celebration of children, the arts, and science will be from 6-10 p.m. Friday, December 1, at the Museum, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge.

The Gala evening will feature entertainment by local youth, fine dining, and auctions, a press release said. With science and the arts among the themes of exhibits and classes at the Children’s Museum, as well as the Gala theme, those attending are invited to dress as their favorite scientist or artist, or to come in semi-formal attire.

David Fields, director of the Tamke-Allan Observatory at Roane State Community College, will present a “Starry Nights” chat that evening, the press release said.

Entertainers will include the Oak Ridge High School String Quartet, the Oak Ridge Academy of Dance, and harpist Amy Carty. [Read more…]

New healthy living exhibit opens at Children’s Museum on Saturday

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Children will find plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables to encourage healthy eating and many suggestions for movement to keep them fit when the new Kids in Action! Healthy Living exhibit opens Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

Children will find plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables to encourage healthy eating and many suggestions for movement to keep them fit when the new Kids in Action! Healthy Living exhibit opens Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

Children will find plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables to encourage healthy eating and many suggestions for movement to keep them fit when a new exhibit opens Saturday at the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge.

The Kids in Action! Healthy Living exhibit opens with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 22, in the east wing of the Museum. The exhibit opening will feature special activities in the gym and drawings for door prizes throughout the day, with one week of summer camp as the grand door prize. The museum is open until 4 p.m. Saturday.

A members’ sneak preview of the new exhibit will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday at the museum, which is at 461 West Outer Drive in Oak Ridge. Museum visitors may join that evening if they wish to participate in the sneak preview.

“The exhibit is an opportunity for kids to learn through play where their food comes from. We have a henhouse and a farmers’ market. Children and families can learn about making healthy food choices,” Beth Shea, the museum’s executive director, said of the “Healthy Eating” part of the exhibit.

The “Healthy Activity” section of the exhibit encourages kids and families to keep healthy and fit through exercise and movement. [Read more…]

Charlie the Curious Bear is Children’s Museum’s new mascot

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Hart Family

Loren Hart, center, provided inspiration for the Children’s Museum’s new mascot, with her artwork of a bear in blue overalls. With her are her parents, Jennifer Lee and Len Hart, and her sister Matti. (Submitted photo)

 

The Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge has a new mascot.

The newest addition to the Children’s Museum was recently unveiled at its annual Holiday Gala. As supporters gathered to celebrate the holidays, Board President Tom Beehan, Executive Director Beth Shea, and Marketing Chair Gene Patterson introduced the crowd to Charlie the Curious Bear, the museum’s new mascot.

The image of the cuddly brown bear, with expressive eyes, wearing blue bib overalls and cap, was inspired by student Loren Hart, who took part in an art competition in the Oak Ridge Schools to create the museum’s new mascot. [Read more…]