Hey there, Discovery Corner readers! I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Fall is my favorite season, and it’s not just because my birthday is in October (but that certainly helps). I love fall for numerous reasons, including the color-changing leaves, pumpkin pie, apple cider, football season, and the best holiday ever, Halloween!
Throughout the month of October, we’ll be celebrating all things Falloween at the museum with lots of fun seasonal activities and arts and crafts, culminating with our spooky, kooky, kid-centric Batty Ball on Oct. 26 and a Halloween-themed day on Oct. 31. If you’re looking for a safe, fun, and—dare I say—educational place to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve with your little ones, the Discovery Museum is the place for you!
Other activities planned for the month include pumpkin carving and pumpkin tic-tac-toe, mask decorating, and a special Goosebumps-themed campout for older children, so make sure to keep an eye out here and on our Facebook page for upcoming events. These activities, of course, come in addition to our regularly scheduled weekly programs.
In the meantime, let’s kick off this fabulous time of year with some cool facts about fall, aka autumn, from playbuzz.com:
- •According to the University of Illinois, 90 percent of th pumpkins grown in the United States are raised within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, Ill.
- •It takes about 36 apples to make one gallon of apple cider, according to the University of Illinois Extension.
- •Americans spent approximately $1.9 billion on Halloween candy in 2013, according to The Nielsen Company. That’s around 600 million pounds worth of Hershey bars, lollipops, Milk Duds, Twizzlers and Clark Bars.
- •Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. on Nov. 2.
The Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum is at 705 S. McClelland St. in Santa Maria. We are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Amy Asman Blasco, program director for the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, wrote this week’s Discovery Corner, a weekly column in the Sun highlighting events, science activities, and more. Send comments to discoverycorner@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 2-9, 2014.