Minnesota Renaissance Festival: 10 Tips for Families
Huzzah! It’s the season of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival! We’ve got some tips if you’re thinking about bringing the family.
STEM Fun: 8 Places for Hands-on Science with Kids
Wondering where to take your small fry to experience STEM fun through hands-on science? Here are seven ideas of places that offer education programs for a wide range of ages, many of them ongoing, and two upcoming events you won’t want to miss!
Upcoming Events featuring STEM Fun
Thursday, August 22, 2019 • STEM Day at the State Fair • 8am-5pm • More than 30 exhibitors with hands-on activities and interactive demonstrations. Visitors can drive robots, watch a Physics Force show, try computer coding, explore bioremediation, build model rockets and celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, construct a model that survives an earthquake simulator, and more.
Sunday, August 25, 2019 • Minnesota Lynx STEM Fest • 10am-2pm • Join The Minnesota Lynx at The Target Center to explore the connection of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and basketball at the annual Minnesota Lynx STEM Fest. Stay after to enjoy STEM Night with the Lynx as they take on the Las Vegas Aces at 6:00PM. Your ticket to STEM is your entry into the game. • Great for all ages. • Discounted $10 tickets with promo code SNAPOLOGY! and includes admission to STEM Fest and Lynx Game. (Snapology is a FFTC Partner company)
Tuesday, August 30, 2019 • Family Fun Night: The Science of Me • 6:30pm-9pm • The Bakken • Hang out with a heart expert, buddy up with a blood scientist, or dive into digestion with leading scientists and engineers who know all about the science of YOU! Hear about what they do, try out activities, and ask questions. This program is sponsored by GSK and offered in partnership with The Franklin Institute. Children Free; Adults Regular Admission
Friday, September 6, 2019 • Star Party: Gas Giants • 8:30pm-10pm • Bell Museum • Learn more about Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and enjoy hands-on activities with the Minnesota Astronomical Society. Galleries are not open during Star Parties. • FREE, Advance registration required. ($5 donations requested)
Saturday, September 28, 2019 • Amazing Animal Robotics Workshop • 1pm – 4pm • Snapology Discovery Center • Build a robotic zoo featuring models with working motors and sensors! Work in teams under guided instructions to build and program LEGO® models. We’ll build 2 different animals as well as their habitats! Great for ages 6-12. • $30 (Snapology is a FFTC Partner company)
Increase Your Child’s Success in School with these 10 Simple, Budget-Friendly Habits
According to a 2012 School Readiness Study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Education, parental income is a major factor in a child’s school success. Interestingly, parental education, primary home language, and race/ethnicity were not found to be statistical indicators. Girls tended to perform better than boys.
Increase your child’s chances in school with these 10 simple habits.
“The odds of reaching the 75 percent standard for a student whose household income was at or above 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG) are two times as great as compared to a student whose household income was less than 250 percent FPG when holding all other variables constant. The odds of reaching the 75 percent standard for a student whose household income was 250-400 percent FPG are more than one and half times as great as compared to a student whose household income is up to 250 percent FPG. These results are statistically significant.”
— 2012 School Readiness Study – 12/11/13 Developmental Assessment at Kindergarten Entrance – Fall 2012
If you are not sure where your household falls statistically, I’ve included a chart at the end of this article1.
As a friend of mine so aptly said, “BS. It depends on the kid.” This is true. Statistics aren’t rules, but odds are odds and my income leaves my children with a statistical vulnerability I wasn’t expecting.
The good news is that there are various ways within my control to increase my child’s chances of school success. None of my findings will likely surprise you, but doing this research renewed my commitments to focus on these areas of our family life. I originally wrote this article in 2014, but I keep coming back to it. These tactics still ring true for me today. Here are the 10 things I’ve found and where to find budget-minded opportunities in the Twin Cities: Read More