It’s Halloween central at the Discovery Museum this month, meaning the essence of All Hallows Eve has leaked into all of our regular programs and activities, making them extra creepy and cool!
Tuesday Tales at 10:30 a.m. will feature seasonal stories that are still kid-friendly, including Peanuts favorite The Great Pumpkin Strikes Again (Oct. 7), the slightly twisted classic There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat (Oct. 14), a thought-provoking folktale called The Goblin and the Empty Chair (Oct. 21), and the scarily adorable Boo, Bunny! (Oct. 28).
Our ever-popular Preschool Patrol at 10:45 a.m. has gone to the birds—and spiders and ghosts! Each week, children will get to make a creature-inspired craft, including pinecone pets on Oct. 8, creepy-crawly spider jewelry on Oct. 15, pasta skeletons on Oct. 22, and spooky ghost leaves on Oct. 29.
On Passport Thursday, little globetrotters will gather round at 11 a.m. to hear spine tingling folktales from Japan (Oct. 9), Holland (Oct. 16), Nigeria (Oct. 23), and Mexico (Oct. 30). We’ll also make some cultural crafts, including sugar skulls in preparation for la Dia de los Muertos.
Even Science Saturday is getting a seasonal revamp: On Oct. 11, we’ll journey into Dr. Frankenstein’s lab to make ooey-gooey pumpkin slime. The next week, Oct. 18, we’ll snap on some rubber gloves to dissect owl pellets. Then, we’ll welcome back the mad scientists from Allan Hancock College on Oct. 25.
Attention, Goosebumps aficionados and their parents: From 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 24, Program Director Amy Blasco will be host to a night of s’mores and scary stories around the campfire at the museum’s Bunkhouse!
Of course, all of these activities lead up to our spooky, kooky Batty Ball on Oct. 26. This local favorite will feature games, such as pumpkin tic-tac-toe and bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, tasty treats, a Halloween costume contest, and more, so make sure to stop by the museum soon to buy your ticket.
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 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 9-16, 2014.
