Friday, May 9, 2014

Imagine Station ... Together Let's Imagine the Possiblity



When the boys were younger, my world was a much simpler place. Our daily routine revolved around playtimes, snack times, naptimes, meal times, and bedtimes. During that time I remember always looking for things to do with the boys, and there were a few favorites which stand out:


-the Georgia Welcome Center (which was under construction). We would sit on a park bench with our morning snack and watch all the construction vehicles -- front end loaders! bulldozers! graders! dump trucks!
Watching construction vehicles at the Georgia Welcome Center

-the Augusta Museum of History (at least once a week). The highlight of the visit was always the train depot with the real train, and the boys would climb up the train stairs, walk the length of the passenger car while waving to me through the windows, and meet me on another set of stairs near the caboose. They did this over and over, each time choosing a different destination -- the North Pole! Italy! Nonna & Nonno's house!


Destination: North Pole ... or Nonna & Nonno's house ... or ...
-the Morris Museum of Art. Carrying a special notebook and some crayons, we would walk around the museum looking at the art until we found a favorite. Then we would sit on the floor with our notebook and crayons and color/draw our own interpretation (the museum curator was always very kind and supportive).


-Fort Discovery (so sad when it closed). The bullet list for our visits included the giant, indoor jungle gym, the lightning demonstration, the Crayola marker pendulum with the giant pads of paper, the floor keyboard (think Tom Hanks in Big), and a visit to the museum store where they got to pick out a prize -- a shiny rock! a pressed penny! a lollipop!


Of course, activities also included Library Story Time, canal walks, sprinkler days (exactly what it sounds like ... a sprinkler and our back yard), day trips to the zoo, and those hang-around-and-do-nothing-but-watch-Thomas the Tank Engine-kind-of-days.


It wasn't until I was thinking back on those simple days that I realized how much of our time involved museums, and despite the fact that we didn't live in a big city with a museum on every corner (New York, Chicago, Atlanta), we really took advantage of the ones we did have.


Which is why I was excited when Valerie Mirshak contacted me about plans for Imagination Station, a co-op style children's museum in the Hickman Park Community Center. Plans for the museum include a pre-literacy room with library and puppetry theater, an art room, an engineering station with activities focused on mechanics and design, and a sensorimotor station for babies.


Folks, we need this in our community. Dr. Seuss once said, "Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try." So just imagine what Imagination Station can offer the children of Augusta.


HOWEVER. Imagine Station needs to raise $8,000 by May 23 to get the project up and running. The individuals behind this project are energetic, goal-oriented, and dedicated to the vision of offering a wonderful place where children, parents, and families can learn, grow, and come together as a community.


You can help by becoming a member and/or making a donation pledge.


For more information on the project ...


Valerie's blog, which explains the project in detail:  http://kiddingaroundaugusta.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/fundraising-and-membership-drive-for-imagination-station-has-begun/


The Imagination Station web site:
http://imagineaugusta.org/Imagination_Station/Home.html


The article in the Augusta Chronicle:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2014-04-22/hickman-park-community-center-could-be-site-new-childrens-museum


NBC news affiliate, WAGT:
http://www.nbc26.tv/story/25313120/new-museum-in-the-works-for-hickman-park


Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ImagineAugusta




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