Get thee to the RMSC
The Rochester Museum and Science Center (RMSC) is always a
great family destination. In addition to the standard exhibits, there are
usually special events going on. This week, there are two that sound
particularly appealing.
If you’re a space junkie, you might already know that the
European Space Agency’s Huygens probe is about to become the first spacecraft
ever to land on Saturn’s moon, Titan. RMSC will have a free event this Saturday
at 1 p.m. in which the first images from the probe will be shown on the
planetarium dome, less than 24 hours after they are beamed to Earth. The
presentation will also feature panoramic views of Mars taken by the NASA Mars
rovers.
There will be a second presentation next Saturday, January
22, as well. That one will be free for RMSC members, but $5 to $7 for the
general public. At the second presentation, there should be enough data to show
a panoramic view of Titan’s surface.
RMSC is also one of many places planning special events
around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 17. The “Seeking Freedom”
program will take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. It will include a tour of
the Frederick Douglass exhibit as well as performances by the RMSC players.
There will also be a speech-writing activity and a family game based on
information from the tour.
For more information, got to www.rmsc.org or call 271-4320.
This week for
families:
Barnes & Noble
Pittsford Thurs, Jan 6, storytime and craft with Memorial Art Gallery
Workshop, 10 a.m. | Fri, Jan 7, PJ storytime with Rochester Children’s Theatre,
7 p.m. | 3349 Monroe Ave. 586-6020
Brighton Memorial
Library Stories for pre-K: Mondays 10 a.m.; for toddlers: Mondays 10:30
a.m.; for families: Thursdays 7 p.m. | Sun, Jan 16, Grandpa Teddy, stories ages
3-6, 1:30 p.m. | Mon, Jan 17, Rafe Martin, 11 a.m. | 2300 Elmwood Ave, 784-5300
Central Library
Coldrush Events Sun, Jan 16. Ice sculptures, curling, kids activities,
115-116 South Ave, 2-3:30 p.m. Free. 428-8301
Coldblast Sat-Sun,
Jan 15-16. Kids activities, performances, free admission, Rochester Museum and
Science Center, 657 East Ave, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m. Free.
Henrietta Public
Library Storytimes for toddlers: Tues, Jan 11, 10:15-10:45 a.m. | for
preschoolers: Tues, Jan 11, 11 a.m. and Wed, Jan 5 and 12, 10:15-10:45 a.m. |
for grades K-3: Thurs, Jan 6, 4-4:45 p.m. | for families: Mon, Jan 10, 7-7:30
p.m. | 455 Calkins Rd. 359-7092, www.hpl.org
Music and Dance
Classes Saturdays. Ages 3-5, 9:30-10:30 a.m.; ages 6-10, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Cobblestone Arts Center. 398-0220
19th Ward Family
Skate Night Sat, Jan 15. Genesee Valley Park Ice Rink, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free,
$2.50 for skate rental. 328-6571
Preschool Workshop Thurs,
Jan 13. For ages 2.5 to 5, art project, story, Gallery tour, Memorial Art
Gallery, 500 University Ave, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. $17. 473-7720 ext 3056
RMSC Strasenburgh
Planetarium 657 East Ave. Giant-screen film: Bears, Wed-Fri 4 p.m.; Sat 2, 4, 8 p.m.; Sun 1, 2, 4 p.m., Mon, Jan
17, 2 and 4 p.m.; Pulse, A Stomp Odyssey,
Sat-Sun 3 p.m., Mon, Jan 17, 3 p.m. | Star shows: Hubble’s Universe: Sat 1 p.m., Mon, Jan 17, 1 p.m.; I See the Sky: Sat 9:30 a.m., Solar System with Titan Update, Sat, Jan
15, 1 p.m. | Laser shows: Beatles Laser,
Sat 9 p.m.; Pink Floyd Laser, Sat 10
p.m. | $4-$7. 271-1880, www.rmsc.org
Rochester Museum and
Science Center 657 East Ave. Sat-Sun, Jan 15-16, Coldrush event | Mon, Jan
17, “Seeking Freedom: Two Men, One Cause,” 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Surprise! It’s Science, through May 2005
| Rochester’s Frederick Douglass,
through January 2006 | Live Science! demos and theater, Sat 2, 3, 4 p.m.; Sun 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 p.m. Sat 3 p.m. show
sign-interpreted | Ongoing exhibits include: AdventureZone, Carlson
Inquiry Room, At the Western Door | Hours: Mon-Sat 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m., closed Sat, Dec 25. Tix: $5-$7.
271-1880, www.rmsc.org
Seneca Park Zoo 2222
St Paul St. Fri, Jan 14, little ducks: colors and shapes, age 2, 10:15 or 11:30
a.m. $18 | Wednesdays, book and beast, 11 a.m. | Wed, Jan 19, family fun night,
6-8 p.m. $8.75. Preregister. Hours: daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tix: $5, $4 seniors,
$2 kids. 467-9453, www.senecazoo.org
Seussical the Musical
Fri-Sun, Jan 14-16, and Sat-Sun, Jan 22-23. Rochester Children’s Theatre,
Nazareth Art Center, 4245 East Ave, Fri 7 p.m., Sat-Sun 2 p.m. $12. 389-2170,
www.naz.edu
Start with Art Thurs,
Jan 13. Preschool workshops, taught by Memorial Art Gallery Creative Workshop,
Barnes & Noble, 3349 Monroe Ave, 10 a.m. Free. 473-7720
Strong Museum 1
Manhattan Square. Mon, Jan 17, family fun day, multicultural activities and
performances, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | Wed, Jan 19, Wednesdays for tots, hula dancing,
9:30 a.m. | Arthur’s World, through
Jan 23. | Long-term exhibits include National
Toy Hall of Fame, Can You Tell Me How
To Get To Sesame Street? and Super
Kids Market. Hours: Mon-Thurs 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat 10
a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m. Tix: $7; $6 seniors, students; $5 children. 263-2700
The Wizard of Oz Sat-Sun, Jan 8-16. TYKEs, UpStage3 Theater,
Auditorium Center, 875 E Main St, Sat 10:30 a.m., Sat-Sun 1 p.m. $10. 723-6080
YMCA Camp Arrowhead Saturdays:
winter wonders, ages 5-10, 10-11:30 a.m.; snow survival, ages 8-14, 12:30-2
p.m. | Wed, Jan 19, nature center open house, 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. | 20 Arrowhead
Rd, Pittsford, 383-4590, www.ymcacamparrowhead.org
Banana saves humanity
Woe to those who pray
but who are oblivious of their moral duties; who dissimulate and withhold
things of common use. — Al-Ma’un 4-7, The Qur’an
So you take a banana, place it in front of your kid, and ask
where it came from. Trace a path back from the kitchen table, through Wegmans,
truckers, ports, ships, docks, plantations, pickers, planters, and all the
rest, and it becomes clear that many souls had a hand in the delivery of that
banana.
Try it again with any other product or service in or around
your house.
Do the same with every educated idea in your kid’s head.
Where’d you hear that? What book? What author? Who taught her? How’d he
determine that?
Repeat as necessary, and before you know it you have
cultivated in your family an awareness of inter-dependence — there is no such
thing as a self-made human being. Soon the concept of our own bootstraps, “the
greatest nation on earth,” and any other status-related assertion this side of
God is rendered meaningless. All are woven together in a sustaining fabric of
existence. Every clump of dirt is sacred ground.
In the aftermath of the tsunami in southern Asia, the world
AIDS crisis, and the fighting in Iraq, Sudan, and God-knows-where-else,
humanity knows suffering of nearly unfathomable magnitude. The pain of the most
remote extremity is known throughout the body. When a baby cries in Kuala
Lampur or Fallujah, we should all find the changing table.
We are the human being.
— Rev. Corey Keyes
This article appears in Jan 12-18, 2005.
