Grandparents Day and more at the museum

For those of you who may be new to Carson City, the following information will be beneficial to you if you are a parent or a grandparent. The Children's Museum is a safe place for parents or grandparents to interact with their children and grandchildren with more than 33 permanent hands-on exhibits.

Did you know the first Saturday of each month is Grandparents Day? When a grandparent visits the Children's Museum with one or more grandchildren, the grandparent's admission is free and the price for each grandchild from 2 to 13 years of age is $3. How's that for a senior discount?

The 18th annual Push America bicycle trip from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., began Saturday when riders left San Francisco to bicycle through Napa, Sacramento, Jackson, Markleeville, with arrival in Carson City scheduled for Thursday.

Pi Kappa Phi is a college fraternity serving people with disabilities. The idea is to bicycle across America to raise money and the public's awareness of people with disabilities.

Each rider has to raise at least $5,000. There are 70 bicyclists and support personnel. To help people become more aware of disabilities, several of the Push America members will perform a puppet show for an audience of adults and children at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the Children's Museum. The show is free with paid admission or family membership.

The next morning, several of the museum staff and Kiwanians will use the Kiwanis' grill to prepare a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes for the Push America Team then send them on the next leg of their journey to Fallon. Push America will arrive in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 13.

On a personal note, I am proud of these soon-to-be leaders of our country seeing America by bicycling and having contact with thousands of people during their journey.

Later Saturday, the Children's Museum will celebrate Juneteenth from noon-3 p.m. Juneteenth originated as an American-African celebration immediately upon Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender to General Ulysses Grant, ending the Civil War, or the War of Northern Aggression, as it is referred to in the South.

On June 19, 1865, General Granger and many soldiers of African descent arrived in Galveston, Texas, and brought the word of the Emancipation Proclamation to isolated plantations to officially notify ex-slave owners and newly freed slaves of their status. Many of the African-descent soldiers became the "Buffalo Soldiers" stationed in the West to protect settlers.

If you attended the Kwanzaa Celebration at the museum in December, you met Isha Echols. She will have arts, jewelry crafts, freedom songs and dance with Juneteenth stories to share. Juneteenth is free with your paid admission or family membership.

June 20-24 from 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Penny Holbrook will teach a fun arts and crafts class at the Children's Museum for students ages 5-10. Penny is a retired elementary school teacher. Class size is limited, and cost is $50 for members and $60 to nonmembers. Call 884-2226 to ask questions or register.

The museum's newest exhibit, the US Bank/Langson Financial Center, a banking exhibit, has been a hit with parents and children. Parents can show their children how to unlock a real safe-deposit box, write a check, or see how tall they are in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Mayor Teixeira cut the ribbon for the grand opening on May 6.

If you have never visited the Children's Museum or it has been awhile since you last visited us, you really need to visit us with one or more of your children or grandchildren. "The Children's Museum, where discovery and fun go together."

n This column was written by Ken Beaton, executive director of the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada. He can be reached at 884-2226.