Museum Blog

Welcome to A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village Blog page. We will feature museum stories from our staff and our visitors on this page. Do you have a story about your last visit to our museum or do you have a picture of your family playing in our exhibits? Please email your digital photos and stories to info@acgilbert.org.

April 23, 2008

Girl Scout Advice:

Each Wednesday, the Girl Scouts march past my office to gather in one of our meeting rooms at the Village. Today, the girls provided me with some useful tips on math, measurement, and local entertainment. And I'm passing it along to you:

· There are three centimeters (approximately) in one inch.
· If you can't remember what 9 times 4 is, use the "finger trick" to figure out your 9 multiplication tables.
· Magic is the best horse (actually a Pegasus/Unicorn combo) in Salem's Riverfront Carousel. If Magic is not available, G.J. or Bucky come highly recommended.

From Stephanie, Promotions Director

April 22, 2008

From the Director:

I was scheduling a field trip today as our education department staff were out. I was talking to a teacher in Lincoln City and she interrupted me to say to her class: "Boys and girls, I am talking to someone from the Gilbert House about scheduling a field trip." Their reply: "Take as long as you want." It's great to know that children over on the coast know and appreciate our museum.

April 21, 2008

Overheard at the Village in reference to the giant rocking chair on the Gilbert House's porch:

"Mom, did this used to be a real chair?"

March 20, 2008

This month the first step was taken to open the Union Street Railroad Bridge to pedestrian traffic with the ceremonial pulling of the first railroad spike from the unused historic steel bridge.

Connecting Wallace Marine and Riverfront Parks, the bridge is planned to open later this year. Salem's Mayor Janet Taylor and key members from Friends of Two Bridges, including Virginia Green, and other groups were there to participate in the ceremony.

The opening of the bridge will be one more reason to visit Riverfront Park and A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village, and another educational opportunity for families to explore. While you're keeping your eye out for changes to the bridge, make sure you stop by our River Room to learn more about the Willamette River, its history and ecology, and the many ways it impacts our community.

You can learn more about the project here.

February 18, 2008

Here are some photos from Sizzling Science Day today. If you have stories or photos to send us, please share!

Volunteer demonstrates static electricity. Children lift a grown man using a pulley. Child examines petrified wood.

Rocket launching!

Free western hemlock. Static electricity demonstration. Mentos/Pop explosion. Rockhounding Fool presentation.

January 30, 2008

Hi there,
My family visited the Gilbert Discovery Village last week and had so much fun. Thank you so much! I didn't see a picture of the neat slide on your website, so if you need one, I took one that looks pretty good, all kids want to see a giant slide!

Thanks again!
Alee Richards

January 27, 2008

Over the weekend, our Visitor Services Manager caught Panda from "A Child's Trip to China" having a party all by himself. We're open today, so stop by and join Panda for tea so that he doesn't have to eat alone!

January 25, 2008

Here's a great report from the Namba family, winners of tickets to Walking With Dinosaurs: The Live Experience:

"I did almost forget to thank you and tell you what a marvelous time we had at the event. Ticket pickup was smooth as I had my son take his ID just in case and let him get the tickets.

My daughter, Natalie, just loved the parts with the baby T-Rex. Especially the intro with the giant ominous shadow of the T-Rex that actually turns out to be just the shadow of the baby.

We took Natalies grandmother since Lisa was out of town and she was equally amazed by the show. All in all, it was a big hit with all of us and very impressive Animatronics on a large scale to say the least.

There were no flash photos allowed even though I saw people taking them. I did get a couple shots without flash. Not the best but this one will give you an idea of the scale of things.

Thanks again for all your friendly help and for a great show. We were just tickled to have won such a nice and totally unexpected prize."

January 22, 2008

If you were one of the nearly 1,000 people who celebrated New Year's Eve Family Fun with us, you'll recognize some of these fun events from our Swashbucklin' Pirate Parrrty. From 6-9 p.m., we had live music, magic shows, pirate crafts, free photos with Stalnaker's Photo Studio, and of course, a countdown at "midnight" (EST). Join us next year when we celebrate Oregon's 150th anniversary with 150 action-packed ways to ring in the new year.

Thank you to Village Photographer Rick Keating for capturing these moments for us!

December 17, 2007

As with all organizations, we occasionally have to say good bye to some incredible staff. We are fortunate to have several employees who have long tenure with the organization. In recent months, two of them have decided to take positions at other businesses. We are sad to see them leave as they have done an incredible job but I am glad they learned additional skills at the Village to advance their careers.

Amy Vandegrift, Director of Volunteer Programs and Special Events, recently left to become the Executive Director of Marion County Historical Society. Amy's been involved in historical museums in the past and involved in nonprofits for many years. Amy gleaned a number of skills at the Village. After five years, she was looking for something new and different and was fortunately hired locally. Amy did an incredible job for the Village running a strong volunteer program and energetically and enthusiastically coordinating our special events.

Jennifer Gibson-Millis, is moving on to a new adventure after four and a half years at the Village. Jen worked for the Village as Assistant Director of Education, Interim Director of Education and for the last month Volunteer Coordinator. In January, Jen will become a Library Media Specialist at Chapman Hill Elementary School. This new direction for Jen keeps her in the field of education with more direct contact with children. Jen is impressively great with kids. This opportunity allows her to have more time off with her family. Jen was a dedicated and passionate employee.

Lorena Marin, floor manager, left to move to Chicago and beyond. Lorena worked for us for 2 years, doing whatever needed to be done in the store, on the floor, behind the scenes and assisting our Spanish- speaking guests. Lorena had excellent customer service skills and a great smile to great our guests.

With good byes, we have hellos. Hello to:

Sylvia Halsey, an experienced educator and administrator. Sylvia has always wanted to work in a children's museum and here she is! She holds a master's degree in Education Administration and Leadership from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in Science Education from Southern Oregon University. Her experience in educational leadership, teacher trainings, and as a speaker and chairperson at national educational conferences will enhance her role at the Village. Halsey taught science for 12 years and received the State of Oregon Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 1996. She is ready to step into goals of our strategic plan as well as getting to know the Village. Sylvia started in November and will be working part time.

Za'chary Westbrook and Noelle Asendorf are our two newest frontline employees. Za'chary recently graduated from Corbin College and is active in theater, film making, and is currently writing his first novel. Noelle moved here recently from Alaska and has a background in retail sales and is extremely artistic and creative. Both Za'chary and Noelle are fantastic with children and make great editions to our hospitality team.

And, we want to congratulate:

Roxanne Noud, on her graduation from George Fox with a Bachelors degree. Roxanne has worked as our bookkeeper for over six years and we've been able to share the birth of two children, an AA and a BA degrees with her. Roxanne's ability to manage all is amazing!

November 3, 2007

26 Ways to Have Fun In November

A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village is open 361 days a year.
Bubbles are best on rainy days. Visit our Bubble Room to find out why!
Cultivate your child's curiosity in the arts, science and humanities with a day at the museum.
Dinosaurs are awesome, according to reports from kids in the Dinostories exhibit.
Educational gifts for all ages abound at the museum store. Why go anywhere else?
Family memberships make a great gift for year-round fun at the Village.
Garbagena will make an appearance November 17 to teach children about garbage! Don't miss her, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Hands-on Holiday Clay workshop offers children the chance to make a handmade gift November 30, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
If you work full-time, take a look at out our Thanksgiving workshops for kids.
Join our museum membership program to receive free admission to over 300 science centers and more!
Know how you felt the first time you flew down our two-story slide? It's here for you any time you need a thrill.
Learn about the body from the inside out while crawling through our Body Basics digestive system.
Make childhood memories in the Toy Inventor's Workshop.
Need some quiet time? Our toddler room offers a retreat and age-appropriate toys to promote brain development in your little one under three.
Oregon's history will be explored in our Workshops: "Follow in Lewis and Clark's Footsteps" and "Explore Early Oregon."
Playing is essential to learning, that's our philosophy. Test out this philosophy on the Music Ensemble Deck and make some noise!
Quit complaining that you never get to go anywhere. Take a Child's Trip to China without leaving town. No passports required!
Rent the Village for your company's holiday party and get the exhibits all to yourself for your friends and family.
Storybooks transform math problems into interactive play in our newest exhibit, Go Figure!
Travel? Your membership gets you in free to other Association of Science & Technology Centers in Oregon and abroad.
Use your membership discount and book a birthday party in one of our private party rooms.
Volunteer with us this season to help out with classes, exhibits, and special events.
Www.acgilbert.org. Read our blog, view our calendar of events, and find ways to get involved!
X-hibits. River Room, Village Grocery, Fairytale Theater-everyone has a favorite. What's yours?
Your family will have lots to talk about after at day at the Village
Zap! Overcome your fear of the dark while exploring our Frozen Shadow Room!

October 31, 2007

Our staff donned pirate outfits for Halloween as a dress rehearsal for our New Year's Eve Family Fun: Swashbucklin' Pirate Parrrty. Come join our pirate crew on December 31, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm - entertainment, crafts, games, and a 9:00 pm (East Coast Time) lighted ball drop!

October 20, 2007

Harvest Festival & Pumpkin Merriment was a huge success! Read more about the event on our Newsroom page.

October 16, 2007

This blog entry comes in from Mary Anne Schaap, Village member, donor, board member, and past corporate sponsor. Thanks for your support of the museum and for sharing your children's wonderful camp memories and pictures!

"This past summer our two oldest children each did 3 summer camps at A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village. They were all fantastic, but the one that stands out the most is the one they did together. It was titled Preschool Smorgasbord. It was very engaging and kept my children's attendtion the whole time. Each day the teacher chose a theme that children love and expanded on it with all sorts of hands on, interactive activites. The pictures I've included are of Kolton and Taitum as astronauts and frogs. On astronaut day, they made an edible solar system, put on "moon boots" and picked up "moon rocks". They couldn't stop talking about it :) On the day about frogs, they made a life cycle that was age appropriate and sang some great interactive songs. Again, they still talk about these classes several months later!"

September 26, 2007

The Salem Association of REALTORS® came to the Village today and applied wood preservative to play structure in the Outdoor Discovery Science Center. Thanks to all the great volunteers!

Julia Buckland of Windermere Real Estate (left) and Debbie McMillan, Marianne McNally, & Jay Mulkey of Prudential Real Estate Professionals (right)

September 22, 2007

Timothy Maybe led Scout Troop 127 in painting the gray wall that surrounds the Outdoor Discovery Science Center. Thanks to all the wonderful friends, family, and scouts who volunteered to help! Timothy organized this project as part of his Eagle Scout ranking.

September 14, 2007

Our annual Home School Day drew quite a crowd! Participants took part in our Multi-Cultural Discovery Program, saw fun demonstrations by local groups, and spent the day networking with other home school families. Thank you to Debbie Schmidt, Village teacher and home school parent, for organizing the day's events!

Pictured left to right: Christina Barth from Ireland's AKA Black Belt Academy, Rafael Villarreal III and Joshua Keatley from Salem Classical Fencing, and Debbie Schmidt leading the drum circle.

September 6, 2007

Providing great educational hands-on exhibits is just one of the many ways A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village interacts with the community. We also provide outreach programming to more than 20,000 people a year through schools and other organizations. It is a great way to carry our mission to people outside our museum walls. Another way we reach the community is to participate in local events during the summer such as World Beat Festival, Marion County Fair, Public Works Day, and Salem Art Fair. These events are a great way to support our business partners and bring more awareness of the museum to the community.

Here are some wonderful pictures of Cole Condit after he visited our booth at the Salem Art Fair and some encouraging words from his mom and dad. It looks like Cole is just the right age to enjoy some fun in toddler room for ages 35 months and younger. Thanks for sharing Cole's bright smile with all of us!

Just getting around to sending a couple of photos courtesy of my little man Cole from his visit to the Salem Art Fair this year! As you can see he had a good time! He loved his paper cowboy hat and we would like to thank the museum for having a booth. Respectfully, Andi and Cole Condit

September 3, 2007

Joan Smith and her family had such a good time visiting A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village in August that they just had to share some of the fun here on the museum blog. Pictured are Garron, Graham, and Hope playing at Water Works and Graham and Hope coming out of the slide. The Smith family has an annual membership to the museum and Garron and Graham participated in summer camps this summer. Thanks for sharing Joan!

August 16, 2007

From museum member Karen Barnett:

"We had a great time at the Gilbert House today and have been members for about 7 years. I shared this story with the clerk in your gift shop, but I'm still laughing about it later, so I thought I'd write in and share it again in hopes that it would make you smile, too. My 8 year old son was playing upstairs in the Rockenfield House when my 5 year old daughter needed to use the restroom. I stood outside the bathroom door so I could keep an eye on my son as well. I heard my daughter yell from inside the bathroom, "MOM, there's POTTY words on the wall!!!" Assuming she was reading graffiti, I called back, "Well, don't look at it!" She responded, "I'm looking right at it!" A few moments later, I stepped in to help her reach the soap dispenser and noticed the picture toilet and labeled plumbing diagram opposite the toilet. Leave it to a children's museum to give "potty talk" a whole new meaning!"

The Barnett children enjoy a day at A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village

August 11, 2007

Stephanie Lenox, Promotions Director, has created a fabulous slide show of the museum. Click here to view "Welcome to A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village".