Category Archives: Science

Wildwood Park gets greener, brighter due to Earth 7 AmeriCorps team

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Wildwood Park partnered with nine talented and hard-working Earth 7 AmeriCorps team members for several months. They made such a positive impact on the landscape here. Among their many accomplishments, Earth 7 planted more than 1600 bedding plants, removed 800 pounds of weeds, distributed 60 cubic yards of mulch, planted 16 new trees, rewired the Park’s pavilion, revamped the Cabe Theatre’s lighting inventory, restored 11 benches, and worked on 2 miles of trails including the new Wild 40 and the Ruth Allen Dogwood Trail.

NCCC AmeriCorps teams are groups of young people ages 18 – 24 who provide one or more years of volunteer service to nonprofits and communities in need across the United States. Thank you for your awe-inspiring help, Amy B. Stewart (Team Leader), Jillian Kelly (Assistant Team Leader), Daniel Bracamontes, Kara Churchill, McKenzie Dunlap, Jessica Faylor, Thomas Moore, Mike Mwrigi, and Gabriel Pope.  While in Little Rock, they worked with Michael Drake, the City of Little Rock’s Chief Service Officer and Lauren Faehl, the City’s AmeriCorps coordinator.

Alongside them were Wildwood’s Grounds Manager David Pickens, Facilities Manager Kevin Thompson, and some very fine volunteers including Tom Bruce, Pulaski County Master Gardeners, Bill Toland, members of Central Arkansas Master Naturalists and Central Arkansas Trail Alliance, Jim Patterson, and John Cooke of Stageworks.

According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, these individuals are among 62.6 million volunteers who last year gave 7.7 billion hours of time across the country to make our communities better places to live. At the Park in 2014, volunteers provided upwards of 4000 hours of service to assure that Wildwood is thriving and fulfilling its mission to enrich the lives of Arkansans of all ages by creating community through nature and the arts.

The various volunteers bring to life Wildwood Park for the Arts’ green spaces, performances, and programs like Art in the Park and the Wildwood Academy of Music & the Arts. From the gardens to greeting guests, from administrative tasks to the woods, your every hour counts and is deeply appreciated!

No need for Jurassic World, See Dinosaurs around the World at Clinton Center

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Clinton DinosIf Jurassic World has put you in the mood for more dinosaurs, the Clinton Presidential Center has just what you need.  Through October 18, it is featuring Dinosaurs Around the World through October 18.

Dinosaurs Around the World takes you back in time on a dinosaur adventure and a tour of an Earth very different from today – a time before the continents as we know them existed, when lush landscapes covered Africa and greenery was the norm in Antarctica! With 13 life-sized animatronics, a multi-layered narrative, fossils, authentic casts, cutting-edge research and immersive design elements, you’ll experience the Age of Reptiles as it comes to life!
Dinosaurs Around the World invites you to grab your prehistoric passport to Pangea and discover how continental splits driven by plate tectonics, land bridges revealed after sea level fluctuations, and new landforms created by volcanic activity allowed dinosaurs to disperse to all corners of the globe. These left each of the seven continents with its own unique selection of these giant reptiles. During their 172 million year reign, dinosaurs adapted into a variety of forms including enormous long-necked herbivores, the mighty T. rex, and more.
“We are thrilled to host the global premiere of Dinosaurs Around the World and look forward to sharing this interactive and scientific exhibit with our visitors,” said Stephanie S. Streett, executive director of the Clinton Foundation. “Our summer exhibits are highly anticipated by the community because they are specifically designed to appeal to the entire family.”
In addition to advanced animatronics, Dinosaurs Around the World also features information about the geologic time scale, geology, geography, and climatology. The exhibition questions how the dinosaurs lived on each continent, how they interacted with each other, how geography impacted their behavior and diets, and what the continents were really like at the time.
The exhibit also features an area that chronicles the accomplishments of four U.S. Presidents who worked to preserve the fossil-rich areas in North America where dinosaurs once roamed. Exhibit artifacts include items from the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman. This display includes a dinosaur skull replica on loan from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, an area that President Clinton designated as a national monument in 1996.
Dr. Gregory M. Erickson, a world-renowned dinosaur paleontologist, is the Senior Scientific Advisor for Dinosaurs Around the World. Dr. Erickson received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Washington, a Master’s degree from Montana State University, and a Ph. D. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and conducted post-doctoral research at Stanford University and Brown University before joining the faculty at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Dr. Erickson is currently the curator for the Florida State University Museum and holds research appointments with the American Museum of Natural History in New York, The Field Museum in Chicago, and University of Alaska’s Museum of the North in Fairbanks. Dr. Erickson is working with Imagine Exhibitions as an advisor, writer, and editor of the paleontology copy for the Company’s Dinosaurs Around the World exhibition.
Dinosaurs Around the World is open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, through October 18, 2015. Tickets are available to purchase at the Clinton Center.

Today at the Zoo, Hiland Dairy Dollar Day!

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Zoo Hiland Dairy 2015Today is the annual Hiland Dairy Dollar Day at the Little Rock Zoo. Admissions will be $1 all day long.

Guests can enjoy several special keeper chats and other activities that will go on throughout the day.  The Zoo’s Animal Ambassador Show at the Civitan Amphitheater will happen at 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The Zoo will also add additional food vendors, security officers, and emergency medical technicians to ensure everyone has a fun and safe day.

Hiland Dairy is an annual sponsor of the Zoo and over the last five years has committed more than $250,000 to the Zoo in the form of cash sponsorships and in-kind product donations.  Formerly Coleman Dairy, Hiland Dairy is proud to sponsor the annual Dollar Day at the Zoo to bring family fun to all Arkansas families.

The Last admission to the Zoo is 4:00 p.m. and the Zoo will close at 5:00 p.m.  The Zoo will also sell Hiland products for only $1 including cold tea and other beverages.

“Hiland Dairy is excited to support one of the state’s largest family attractions, the Little Rock Zoo, and provide a fun day for the families of Arkansas,” said Walt Coleman of Hiland Dairy.

Little Rock Zoo Director Mike Blakely added that the Zoo is excited to host another Hiland Dairy Dollar Day and is looking forward to offering this special discount.

“It is only through the generous financial contribution of Hiland Dairy that the Little Rock Zoo is able to offer this special discount day to the public, and for that, we are very thankful. Hiland Dairy has a strong commitment to the Zoo and wants every Arkansan to experience this family attraction that provides engaging experiences to inspire people to value and conserve our natural world,” said Zoo Director Mike Blakely.

In addition to providing a sponsorship for the discount day, Hiland Dairy has also provide the Zoo with in-kind product donations for Café Africa and for special events at the Zoo, and has also provided free advertising opportunities for the Zoo on its milk cartons.  The annual sponsorship totals more than $50,000 and 2015 marks the sixth year in a row that Hiland Dairy has made this commitment.

Hiland Dairy Dollar Day will run all day on Saturday.  Gates will open at 9:00 a.m. and last admission will be at 4:00 p.m. with the Zoo closing to the public at 5:00 p.m.  The Animal Ambassador Stage will have two shows at 11:00 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. at the Civitan Amphitheater and other special programs are scheduled throughout the Zoo during the day.

The Little Rock Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.  Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and a better future for all living things.  With its more than 200 accredited members, AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats.  For more information, visit www.aza.org.

Museum of Discovery unveils new musical bi-polar Tesla coil today

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11659315_10153372349360138_6462500919140238842_nThe Museum of Discovery unveils a word record treat for the eyes and ears today with the new Guinness World Record musical bi-polar Tesla coil!

Also, on July 4, active and retired military can be admitted free to the museum and can bring up to three additional people for free.

 

The tesla coil – named after its inventor Nikola Tesla, the developer of the alternating current system of electricity used today – is a device that creates high-voltage electricity at a high frequency visible to the eye.  The Museum of Discovery’s coil emits electrical discharges to a variety of songs and will share the record for the world’s largest bi-polar tesla coil with the coil at the Hands On Regional Museum in Johnson City, Tennessee.

The device, which can produce 200,000 volts of electricity, was built by Goodchild Engineering in Arizona and donated to the Museum of Discovery by Richard Mathias, founder and president of Tesla Coil Museum Exhibit Program, LLC, through a matching grant program from the General Electric Foundation.

“This world-record tesla coil will literally illuminate the work of this pivotal inventor and help the Museum of Discovery successfully fulfill its mission of igniting a passion for science, technology and math in our very interactive, hands-on environment,” said Kelley Bass, museum CEO. “We are grateful to Richard Mathias and the GE Foundation for making this opportunity possible for our museum and our visitors.”

The coil will is housed in a new theater in the museum’s Discovery Hall.

There will be a $2 additional fee to experience the show in the Tesla Coil Theater. Through the end of July, it will be free for members.  After that, members will pay an additional $1.

Free Admission to Clinton Center for Independence Day

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CPC july4Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4, the Clinton Presidential Center will feature free admission to the exhibits.

Explore the Clinton Center’s newest exhibit, “Dinosaurs Around the World,” as well as our permanent exhibits. Acoustiguide audio tours narrated by President Clinton are also free.  The Clinton Center is open from 9am to 5pm on Friday and Saturday.

Dinosaurs Around the World takes you back in time on a dinosaur adventure and a tour of an Earth very different from today – a time before the continents as we know them existed, when lush landscapes covered Africa and greenery was the norm in Antarctica! With 13 life-sized animatronics, a multi-layered narrative, fossils, authentic casts, cutting-edge research and immersive design elements, you’ll experience the Age of Reptiles as it comes to life!

The permanent exhibits include:

The Science of Superheroes tonight at the Museum of Discovery

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SAD Superhero Promo 3Each month the Museum of Discovery hosts “Science after Dark” for adults aged 21 and up.  This month’s theme is “Science of Superheroes.”

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, IT’S SCIENCE AFTER DARK! Learn what makes superheroes so super with hands-on activities and demos (we’ll give you a hint; it has to do with science.)

Grab your favorite cape and pair of tights (tights are optional) and enjoy a night of pizza, beer and superhero science!

The program runs from 6pm to 9pm. Cost is $5, FREE for museum members. (Go ahead and get a membership, it will more than pay for itself within a year!)

The Science of Space tonight at the Museum of Discovery

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science spaceIn space, no one can hear you scream!

But they can hear you have fun learning about the Final Frontier tonight at the Museum of Discovery.

Tonight offers a great lineup for May’s Science After Dark! The Central Arkansas Astronomical Society will be there with telescopes and more, a planetarium will be set up downstairs, Kevin Delaney will present ‪#‎thespacestrugglesarereal‬ and more!

Plus don’t forget to bring cash for Damgoode Pies and Stone’s Throw Brewing!

Science After Dark is only for those kids who are aged 21 years and up.  Admission is $5, but is free for Museum members.