SPARK!

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STEAM Play Achieves Real Knowledge

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)

Join us for outdoor SPARK! at Discovery Center this fall

Discovery Center’s SPARK! program is for children ages 1-6 and their caregivers, and is held exclusively outdoors. Using the Discovery Center’s outdoor Wisteria Classroom, children and their caregivers can enjoy socially distanced hands-on exploratory STEAM learning and play. Enjoy light refreshments, music and motion, yoga stretches, and guided activities with Discovery Center staff!

Select Wednesdays from 9 to 10:15 a.m.:

Oct. 7 – Wandering in the Wetlands
Oct. 14 – Fall into STEAM (part of the Tennessee STEAM Festival)
Oct. 21 – Space Explorers
Oct. 28 – Spiders, Pumpkins, and Scarecrows, Oh My!
Nov. 11 – All About Weather

REGISTER NOW»

  • $4 per each child ages 1+
  • Free for adults
  • Included for free with SPARK! Card benefits
  • Registering online in advance is strongly encouraged, as spaces are limited.

Arrival & Logistics

  • Look for Discovery Center staff and signage to direct you to the patio for check-in and admission.
  • Check-in between 8:30-8:55am on the patio. Register in advance to secure your spot and save time. Walk-ups are accepted first come, first served as capacity allows.
  • Individual pre-packaged refreshments and outdoor toys will be provided to enjoy on the patio during check-in.
  • At 9:00am, SPARK! facilitators will lead the class to the outdoor Wisteria Classroom.
  • Discovery Center bathrooms will be available for use, if needed. Requirements for entering the building: Masks for ages 4+ and forehead temperature screenings for all ages.
  • We ask that all guardians assist in safety and physical distancing of their group during the program.

When the SPARK! program concludes, guests have the opportunity to visit the museum when it opens at 9:30am, or can continue outdoor exploration in the Murfree Spring Wetlands. Museum admission can be added to the SPARK! class ticket upon arrival or by registering in advance.

Rain & Inclement Weather

In the event of light rain or a chance of rain, SPARK! will continue as planned, outdoors under our covered patio area.

In the event of inclement weather, SPARK! will be held the following day, Thursday at 9:00am. We will do our best to communicate any rescheduling ahead of time, following local weather radar predictions. Check our Facebook page the morning of, where we’ll post any changes to the class, or register in advance and we will email you with any changes.

Register now to reserve your spot, and to provide your email address for communicating any plans to reschedule.

 

Sponsored by
Wild About Smiles-logo

 

 

  • spark! Blog

    Each week at SPARK, what a joy it is to say good morning to you and your children and to witness the Adventure Room buzzing with excitement. While music plays, exploratory learning abounds as children engineer towers with blocks or create innovative structures with Tinkertoys and construct math patterns with pegs, lacing beads beads, or pom poms. Developing language is advanced as children peruse a thematic book, write on white boards or thread lacing letters.  Our weekly STEAM themes in circle time are extended with the children’s examination of life science trays or their work watering and charting the growth of the pea plant sprouts that they have planted. Journaling in Creation Station provides enhancement of kindergarten readiness skills and a great opportunity for you and your child to review the STEAM themes we explored, both while you create a page for the journal and when you take time in the future to review the journal pages you created together.
    We love seeing many of you week after week, but we also have new families join us all the time, and it is wonderful to report that over 85 children have experienced the educational benefits and fun of music & motion, yoga stretch, STEAM discovery and related thematic literature and crafts. Upcoming themes will continue the indoor play and learning but will also bring outdoor and life science adventures on the patio and in our lilypad pond and wetlands (weather permitting) including:

    May 11 & 12– May Flowers: Late Spring Garden Day

    May 18 & 19– Life Cycles in our Lily Pad Pond

    May 25 & 26– Turtle Talk

    June 1 & 2– Water, Water Everywhere!
    Spring programs will continue each Monday and Tuesday morning through June 2nd, and then watch for Summer SPARK! backpack checkout from June 8-August 14 for materials and inspiration for your child to increase his or her hands-on interaction and learning opportunities with our exhibits and wildlife inside and out at the Discovery Center!
    SPARK! Family Resources
    To learn more about the benefits of STEM in Early Childhood Education and of hands on science learning in nature:
     
    For inspiration and more information on the benefits of learning and play in the garden:
    We Need Your Help
    Vote each day until May 13th for Discovery Center at Murfree Spring!
    Help us win an Imagination Playground set!

    Image result for imagination Playground photo

    For more information and to vote, go to:

    http://www.imaginationplayground.com/vote-for-an-imagination-playground.html

    Click on or paste the link above and vote once a day until May 13th, and you can help the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring win these valuable engineering tools. My children and I have played with a set of these blocks at a Science Center in Alabama and we loved them! What a resource for learning and fun these would be at the Discovery Center!
    As always, please feel free to speak to me before or after SPARK! or email me anytime to discuss our program or your child’s needs. The staff of the Discovery Center and Ms. Micki and I value our ability to work with you and your family to help SPARK! curiosity and to provide a wonderful foundation for your child’s learning!
    We hope to see you soon in the SPARK circle!
    Yours,
    Meredith Hilleary
    “Ms. Meredith”
    Continue reading →

  • SPARK!

    Mondays & Tuesdays | 9:00-10:00 am

    Sparking Bright Futures for our smallest visitors! Join us to learn all about our newest program!

    Discovery Center’s spark! is for children ages 1-6 and their caregivers.

    Learn more.

    Continue reading →