Few things capture a child's imagination like a good book...and since the only thing better than reading a good story is writing one, WHTJ PBS is looking for original stories written by children. The PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest is open to young writers in grades K-3. Each entry must be an original (...)
The award-winning television show "Charlottesville Inside-Out," hosted by local singer/songwriter Terri Allard, begins its third season on WHTJ PBS on Thursday, February 4. The program introduces viewers to the people and places that define the Charlottesville area through interviews conducted (...)
J. Joshua Wheeler normally spends little time thinking about what happens at a children's museum. As associate director for the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, Wheeler is typically trying to convince adults about the Constitutional merits of free speech.
"I'm an (...)
Probably putting an end to fears that Albemarle County would close three of its elementary schools in favor of building one giant elementary, Superintendent Pamela Moran issued a press release Thursday night saying that the cost to fix and expand Red Hill Elementary, located in North Garden; B.F. (...)
Registration is underway for Charlottesville Parks & Recreation’s fall classes. More than 200 classes are available for kids of all ages. Classes include aquatics, athletics, fitness, gymnastics, dance, art, enrichment, outdoor adventure, therapeutics, seniors, and much more. To view the class (...)
Downtown denizens who stroll the bricks on a warm weekend evening may have noticed a new addition to the parade of characters haunting the Mall recently. Tall and lean, sporting a grey mustache and spectacles, and clad in a turn-of-the-century cutaway and top hat, Rob Craighurst is exactly the sort of (...)
Virginia Discovery Museum is all lit up with Illumination Station: Lights, Lasers, Lenses. It’s a new rotating exhibit in the Back Gallery with lots of fun experiments that let young explorers learn about things like lights, shadows, and things that glow. Try to get the laser beam through the maze of mirrors or use a prism to create a rainbow. Now through May 9 at the east end of the Downtown Mall. 977-1025.
Adventurers young and old can discover the dynamics of maps by land, air, sea, and space in a National Geographic exhibit at the Science Museum of Virginia. Chart new territories and plan adventures. Navigate through new technologies and ancient mapping techniques. 2500 W. Broad St., Richmond. 804-864-1400.
Virginia TimeTravelers is back for 2010 with a new twist. The theme for this Virginia educational tourism program for 2010 is “Minds Wide Open!” and focuses on creativity and diversity in Virginia’s museums. Kids can explore Virginia’s museums and historic sites, attend special events, and earn a colorful TimeTravelers t-shirt, a certificate of completion signed by the Governor, and more. See the website for the vast variety of venues all across the state of Virginia, including the Arts Depot in Abingdon, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, and the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach. For more info, call 804-788-5824.
The 16th annual Virginia Festival of the Book is back offering a stack of bookish programs featuring prominent figures in the literary world. Kids of all ages can indulge their inner bookwork with a great variety of special events for youth and families include school-based programs, a high school poetry evening, and the Annual StoryFest on Saturday, March 20. Various venues. 924-6890.
The view is out of this world at Public Night at McCormick Observatory (weather permitting). UVA’s research telescopes on O-Hill will be pointed heavenward, and Astronomy Department staff and students will be on hand with a slide show and answers to starry questions. McCormick Rd. 924-7494.
Does putting on a crown make you feel like a real princess? When you put on that pirate hat, can you taste the salt spray of the ocean? Is dressing up your thing? If so, come to Crozet Library for an afternoon of dress up and make-believe fun, as they kick off the first of a new program series, “I Just Love That Book!” this time, celebrating Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor. Recommended for ages 4-6. Registration is required. In the Old Train Station on Three Notch’d Rd. 823-4050.
Another StoryFest event at the Virginia Festival of the Book. Marietta McCarty (Little Big Minds) converses with kids in grades K-8 about two invaluable concepts from her book: gratitude and compassion. Then, PVCC Assistant Professor Kelli Olson and Marietta guide young philosophers in creating poetry and art based on their newfound understandings. Materials are provided. Register by March 18 by contacting Sarah Johnston (sjohnston@pvcc.edu or 961-5382). Limited to 50 children. In the Library Lounge, Main Bldg, PVCC, 501 College Dr.
Once again, Oakley’s Gently Used Books hosts a Kids’ Book Swap as part of the sixteenth annual Festival of the Book. Kids ages 0-18 are invited to collect the books they no longer read (ask your parents first), bring them to the center hallway in York Place today, and swap them for new books. Downtown Mall 977-3313.
The Virginia Festival of the Book presents a Sesame Street Celebration featuring Sonia Manzano (Maria of Sesame Street). Join us for a parade that begins at the Omni and travels to the Paramount. Enjoy music and storytime with Maria and sign up for a library card. Downtown Mall. 979-1333.
There are rodents of unusual size running about the Old Michie Theatre, and wee ones just might enjoy their tale of tails. Their performance is staged with hand puppets and includes audience participation, fun, and more. 221 E. Water St. 977-3690.
Dynamic and popular storyteller Kathy Coleman brings Appalachian folk tales to life at Carver Recreation Center. Storytelling is followed by an art activity. This fun-for-the-entire-family event is part of the Virginia Festival of the book. 223 4th St., NW. 293-2259.
The sheep are donning their new spring coats at Ash Lawn Highland, and folks are invited to come and watch. Master shearer Emily Chaplein will demonstrate her art with manual shears as well as the modern electric ones. Ash Lawn Highland. 293-8000.
Teens in grades 6-12 can hang out with their friends at the Scottsville Library for an afternoon of handcrafting with needles, hooks, and fibers. 330 Bird St. 286-3541.
Kids 5 and under who are hungry for a good read are invited to hop in the pot for a generous serving of stories, rhymes, songs, and fun especially designed for mixed ages at Central Library. The soup changes with the age of the ingredients (you), so come add your flavor to the pot. 201 E. Market St. 979-7151, ext. 3.
Local artist Susan Northington returns to Gordon Avenue Library to help us celebrate the March birthday of artistic genius Vincent van Gogh. You’ll learn a little about his life and then create your own masterpiece in his distinctive style in this hands-on program for kids ages 6 and up. Registration is required. 1500 Gordon Ave. 296-5544.
Kate White leads an afterschool program for families at Ivy Creek Natural Area where participants will play nature games, learn songs, do crafts and hear stories. Participants are expected to learn the songs so they can sing with the storyteller. Parents are strongly encouraged to play. This is a full family participation activity for families with children of all ages. Patterned after the invisible school of nature mentoring. Meet in the Education Center at Ivy Creek Natural Area. 1776 Earlysville Rd. 973-7772.
Families are invited to join Kate White for a little green time at Ivy Creek Natural Area. This afterschool program gives participants the chance to play nature games, learn songs, do crafts, and hear stories. This is a full family participation activity for families with children of all ages patterned after the invisible school of nature mentoring. Meet at the Education Center. Earlysville Rd. 973-7772.
The PVCC Student Art Club sponsors Free Movie Friday with films on the big screen in the comfortable and spacious V. Earl Dickinson Theatre. Tonight’s feature is Up in the Air. General seating. 501 College Dr. off route 20. 961-5362.
March is known for its wind. Kids ages 4 and up can come catch it with us at Scottsville Library. We’ll be making a windsock to catch the spring breezes. Registration is required. 330 Bird St. 286-3541.
Children ages 7 - 11 are invited to participate in a print workshop with local artist Fenella Belle at the Kluge-Ruhe Collection. Inspired by their current exhibit, Etched in the Sun: Prints by Indigenous Australian Artists, young artists cancreate their own prints using two different techniques. Reservations are required. 400 Worrell Dr., Peter Jefferson Place. 244-0234.
The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection invites children ages 7-11 to participate in a print workshop led by artist Fenella Bill, inspired by Kluge-Ruhe’s current exhibition, “Etched in the Sun: Prints by Indigenous Australian Artists.” Reservations required. 400 Worrell Drive. 244-0234.
PHOTO courtesy of Red House Productions
“It’s not just a parking lot, it’s a battle with humanity.”
The Paramount Theater brings you the Charlottesville Premiere of the highly anticipated local documentary that everyone’s talking about. Filmmaker Meghan Eckman’s The Parking Lot Movie features the attendants at the Corner Parking Lot located off University Avenue across from UVA. Selected for inclusion in South by Southwest film festival, this documentary is a strange rite of passage for all involved, with themes that include cars and license plates, capitalism, anger, justice, drunkenness, awareness, class struggle all meshing together in the orbit of the Parking Lot Attendant. Q&A afterwards with filmmakers and attendants. Watch a trailer here. Downtown Mall. 979-1333.
Archaeologist wannabes can help out at an actual excavation at the home of President James Madison, Montpelier. Work with trained professional archaeologists as you trowel Montpelier’s historic soils to unearth evidence of stables and slave quarters to the south of the mansion. Call ahead for reservations. 11407 Constitution Highway in Montpelier Station. 540-672-2728, ext. 160.
