Well, we walk in and the first room is this...
...a black light room filled with balloons. It's hard to take pictures but we did our best. There was nothing structured, just lots of things to play with and discover. Balloons, scarves, and hand puppets...
These are the glasses that were on every table. If you put them on, you see this...
We met some friends and there were plenty of booths and tables to sit and chat while the kids ran around. And free snacks and drinks. That helps keep the kiddos happy.
Apparently, this is the brainchild of Julianne Wurm, an educator who is working on a doctorate in Early Childhood Education. She started as a member of Teach For America (hello Wade and Michelle, do you know this woman by chance?) teaching kids in inner city Houston (nice coincidence). Another interesting coincidence...About a month before this, I had picked up a copy of Scientific American Mind. The main impetus was this crazy show they were showing on Discovery or The Science Channel called Secret Life Of The Mind. There were only 5 episodes I think, but it was unbelievably fascinating (well, to me, anyway). I tried looking it up on the internet but there is NOTHING out there, almost like the show never existed. I just loved it and felt starved for more information about the brain. Then I saw this magazine on the newsstand that I have never seen before and picked it up. The cover story: "The Serious Need For Play".
What is lying around everywhere when we get there? Copies of this article, of course.
So, it's happening again this Saturday at Cinespace again. I don't know if it's the same theme but we are definitely going. Maybe we'll see some of you there?
