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Museum Celebrates Mother’s Day and “Motherhood”

By Reading Public Musuem

May 07, 2020

Home-learning kits and on-line programs focus on Mother Earth and Mothers Everywhere

With Mother’s Day coming up on Sunday, May 10, the Reading Public Museum’s weekly science kit and on-line planetarium show will help families celebrate all the special ladies in their lives, including Mother Earth.  Scheduled for distribution beginning at 11am on Friday, May 8, this week’s STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics) kits teach students how to create a simple circuit card to help “brighten up” any card or gift by just adding a battery (not included).  This hands-on activity is a longtime staple of science center activities, and is simple enough for kids of any age.  Supplies will be limited and will be distributed until they are exhausted.  Because previous kits were so popular and sold-out before many families were able to take advantage of them, The Museum is asking for a $5 suggested donation for each kit which will help support the development of future educational efforts during this difficult time. Due to the mandated closure, the Reading Public Museum is experiencing a complete loss of revenues during its busiest season, and contributions via mail or online are always accepted.  Visitors picking up kits are asked to enter through the Museum Road entrance and remain in their vehicles as kits are distributed and donations are collected.

 In addition to the science kit distribution, a new show from the Neag Planetarium will be released on Wednesday, May 6 celebrating the birth of planet Earth, as The Museum continues its “Way-Out Wednesday” programs.  Last week’s shows attracted more than 1,000 views online as viewers can experience the exciting educational content usually offered under the dome on their home devices.  This week’s release is Birth of Planet Earth, a 24-minute movie that tells the twisted tale of our planet’s origins.  Scientists now believe that our galaxy is filled with solar systems, including up to a billion planets roughly the size of our own. The film employs advanced, data-driven, cinematic-quality visualizations to explore some of the greatest questions in science today: How did Earth become a living planet in the wake of our solar system’s violent birth? What does its history tell us about our chances of finding other worlds that are truly Earth-like?

 Links to movies are made available each Wednesday, as well as accompanying study guides and other materials related to the programs, on The Museum’s website at www.ReadingPublicMuseum.org .  Visitors can click on the “Planetarium” link at the top of the page to be directed to hotlinks for each show.

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