We continue to be amazed by the generosity of the Santa Maria community. This past week, we had 20 employees from Rancho Harvest give up their Sunday for a volunteer work day at the Discovery Museum. Special thanks to Carol Fox for taking it upon herself to organize this amazing group of volunteers. And thank you to owner Jesse Manriquez for fostering the power of community service in his staff. Rancho Harvest was also a major sponsor of our fifth annual Family Kite Festival.
The museum got a spring deep cleaning that could only have been accomplished with the help of a hard-working group of volunteers. The Bubble Machine was pulled out into the parking lot, pressure washed, and restrung with fresh rope. The crew got up on a scissor lift and ladders to clean the tops of the HVAC piping, the trellis that runs through the museum, and the tops of exhibits. What a big job! The Creation Station looks brand new, and the fish tanks got a good cleaning, too. Our small, part-time staff works hard to keep the museum clean and working properly, but this kind of community support is a huge boost for the facility.
We are always in need of maintenance at the museum, so please keep us in mind if your company or organization is looking to take on a community project. In addition to ongoing facility support, we always struggle to fund our long wish list of office supplies, Creation Station art materials, science lab kits, and you name it. The more support we receive from the community, the better resources we can give right back. It takes a village, and the village of Santa Maria is a wonderful place to be!
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Check out our Facebook page at smvdiscoverymuseum for daily tips on fun things to do with your kids.
Chris Slaughter, executive director of the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum, wrote this week’s Discovery Corner, a weekly column in the Sun highlighting events, science activities, and more for the museum at 705 S. McClelland in Santa Maria. Send comments to discoverycorner@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 8-15, 2014.
