Famously Hot, but Keeping It Cool

Discover How the Animals at Riverbanks Beat the Summer Heat

What: The animals at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden may be famously hot, but they will be Keeping it Cool this Saturday at the summer enrichment encounter.

Discover how the residents of Riverbanks beat the summer heat. Aside from the natural water features in their exhibits, sprinklers, fruit-flavored ice blocks and watermelons help do the trick!

Enrichment is the process of providing stimulating surroundings for zoo animals. These settings should allow the animals to demonstrate species-typical behavior, let them exercise control, provide them with choices and enhance their well-being.

Public enrichment encounters allow Riverbanks to educate guests about the importance of animal enrichment. They also provide great opportunities to watch animals interact with their environment…something you might not see on a typical visit to the Zoo.

Guests will have the opportunity to get a temporary tattoo to show their love for animal enrichment. The tattoo station will be set up in the Aquarium Reptile Complex.

When: Saturday, July 18, 2009
10:30am – 3:30pm

Who: 10:30am – Lions with ice blocks and a sprinkler
11:00am – Meerkats with ice blocks
11:30am – Gorillas with ice blocks and watermelons
2:00pm – Alligator feeding
2:30pm – Grizzly bear ice blocks and a sprinkler
3:00pm – Elephant fire hose fun
3:30pm – Meerkats with ice blocks

Where: Riverbanks Zoo and Garden
500 Wildlife Parkway
Columbia, SC 29201

Tickets: Events are free with paid admission to Riverbanks.

Columbia Museum of Art Presents Déjà View Day: Rediscover The Museum Collection

The Museum proudly unveils its art collection in newly re-installed galleries for the first time since 1998. Experience 1,000 years in a new light! Enjoy gallery talks, slide-illustrated lectures, new cell phone tours and hands-on art projects for the family!

10:00 a.m. - Ribbon Cutting and Opening Words from elected officials and executive director Karen Brosius
10:30 a.m. - Passport to Art open studio drop-in for families
11:00 a.m. - American Art lecture by Dr. Todd Herman, chief curator and curator of European Arts
12:00 p.m. - Gallery Talk: Highlights from the Collection (paintings) by Dr. Todd Herman,
chief curator and curator of European Arts
1:00 p.m. - Gallery Talk: Highlights from the Collection (decorative arts) by Brian Lang,
associate curator of decorative arts

WHEN:
Saturday, July 18 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

WHERE:
Columbia Museum of Art
1515 Main Street in downtown Columbia

Additional Information:
· Déjà View Day and Sunday, July 19 are FREE to the public.
· Admission to galleries, lectures, gallery talks and Passport to Art is free.
· Photography and filming permitted.
· The re-installation of the galleries is made possible by a leadership gift from the City of Forest Acres, with additional funding provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
· Lectures are part of the Humanities American Lecture Series sponsored by the Humanities Council of South Carolina.

Historic Columbia Foundation Hosts Family Day: Constructing the Past

Historic Columbia Foundation invites aspiring architects and their families to a day of fun and hands-on historic home restoration projects during Family Day: Constructing the Past on Saturday, July 18 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Robert Mills Carriage House, 1616 Blanding St.

Children can participate in hands-on activities, play games and take a Hard Hat Tour of the Woodrow Wilson Home, currently undergoing Phase I of a rehabilitation project. They will also construct a sun-dried brick to take home as a souvenir.

Saturday’s Family Day, for youth ages 9-13, is presented in conjunction with a series of Woodrow Wilson Family Home Rehabilitation Workshops for homeowners or anyone interested in historic preservation. During the workshops, architects, contractors, and Historic Columbia Foundation staff will provide valuable insight into the rehabilitation work at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home. Workshops will be held on July 18, August 8 & 29. For more information or to register for workshops, please visit www.HistoricColumbia.org.

Reservations are required to attend Family Day. Admission is $5 for non-members, free for accompanying adults, and free for members. For more information please call 803.252.1770 ext. 33.

###

Historic Columbia Foundation was founded in 1961 by a group of preservationists determined to save the Ainsley Hall House, known today as the Robert Mills House. More than four decades later, Historic Columbia Foundation manages four historic house museums and their associated artifacts, and tells the stories of people, places and progress in Columbia and Richland County. For more information, please visit www.historiccolumbia.org.

Columbia Museum of Art Has New Hours

In an effort to maintain a quality experience for visitors, the Museum is raising the admission price for the first time since 2001. The Museum's monthly free day is changing to Sundays, with extended hours, to accommodate the busy weekend schedules of families. Extended Friday hours have been changed to the first Friday of every month and will have a greater emphasis on dynamic programming on these evenings.

WHEN:
Free Sundays begin July 5, 2009
New Hours and admission begin July 19, 2009

Museum Hours:
Wednesdays - Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
First Friday of every month 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (until 5:00 p.m. in December)
Sundays noon - 5:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and major holidays.

Admission:
$10 adults, $5 students, $8 military, $8 senior citizens (ages 65 and over).
Every Sunday is free courtesy of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.
Free for museum members and children ages 5 and under.

Museum Shop Hours:
Open during Museum Hours and Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The Columbia Museum of Art is located at 1515 Main Street in Columbia, SC.

Cure for Summertime Blues Found at State Museum

The first exciting weeks of summer have passed and mothers across the state are starting to hear those dreaded words, “Mom, there’s nothing to do!” Open seven days a week during the summer, the South Carolina State Museum has the answer to those “boredom blues” with fun new additions, activities and recent acquisitions designed to entertain and educate visitors of all ages.

Seven giant wooden toys recently have been added to the science gallery’s collection of entertaining and educational hands-on exhibits. “These toys prove that fun and education go together,” said Director of Science and Outreach Tom Falvey. “Children absorb scientific principles while playing with these oversized versions of classic toys.”

Flip a smiling wooden acrobat and learn about gravity, torque and momentum through his gymnastic maneuvers. Push a lever and a large pig teeters across a rope demonstrating the physics principle known as the center of mass. Turn a wheel on a seven-foot Jacob’s Ladder to see how gravity and a double-acting hinge create the toy’s cascading motion. Potential energy, kinetic energy, friction and perpetual motion are all demonstrated through the simple mechanisms of toys that have delighted children through the ages.

Along with scientific wonders, the Museum has a new natural wonder on display as well. A dazzling 118-pound cluster of amethyst crystals, the state gemstone, recently was added to the Prehistoric South Carolina gallery on the second floor. Discovered at Diamond Hill Mines in Antreville, S.C., the largest crystal in the cluster is an impressive 14 inches long!

After touring the Museum’s galleries, guests can take a break while they watch one of the free summer movies offered daily at 2 p.m. in the auditorium. Expanding on the blockbuster exhibit Powers of Nature, selections this summer include “Hurricane Katrina: The Storm that Drowned a City,” “Hunt for the Supertwister,” “Lightning” and “Hurricane.”

The Museum also is hosting several special events for children and adults this summer. Fables, fairy tales and other stories come to life at JulyFest on July 25 as the members of the S.C. Storytelling Network practice their craft for fascinated audiences. Enjoy a special showing of “Night at the Museum 2: Battle for the Smithsonian” followed by a flashlight tour of the Museum’s exhibits on Aug. 7. See, buy or trade toy soldiers and military miniatures from various historical periods at the Southeastern Toy Soldier Show on Aug. 8.
For more information on these and other activities at the State Museum call
(803) 898-4921 or visit www.southcarolinastatemuseum.org.

Summer “Road Show” Returns to State Museum

So you found an oil painting at an estate sale or finally got interested in the antique silver tea service left to you by great-aunt Mildred, and you want to find out more.

Curious guests will have their chance to learn about all kinds of artifacts, antiques and heirlooms Saturday, July 11 as the South Carolina State Museum presents the second summer edition of one of its most popular events — the Museum Road Show.

Inspired by PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow,” the program will offer informal (verbal) appraisals of a variety of objects from 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Experts will be available in the fields of fine art, silver, pottery, furniture, books, jewelry, textiles and dolls, decorative arts as well as war artifacts. State Museum curators also will be available for general discussion, but will not give appraisals.

“Offering a second Museum Road Show last year to celebrate the museum’s 20th anniversary was so well-received that we’re very pleased to offer it once again this summer,” said Meika Samuel, director of education and programs “This event gives guests the opportunity to learn more about that heirloom they inherited or that antique item they found in a flea market. There’s a real curiosity about the history of these items as much as appraisal value. We hear some great stories!”

Tickets are $15 for the first item to be appraised ($12 for Museum members), $25 for two appraisals ($20 members), $30 for three appraisals (($25 members) and $35 for four appraisals ($30 members). There is a limit of four appraisals per person.

Participants are responsible for moving objects from their vehicles to the museum’s atrium (where the event will occur) and back again. The museum assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to any object.

For more information on the summer edition of Museum Road Show, call

(803) 898-4952 or email publicprograms@scmuseum.org. To pre-register, call (803) 898-4999.
Information also can be found on the Museum’s Web site, southcarolinastatemuseum.org.

Finlay Park Presents Summer Movie Series

Finlay Park in downtown Columbia will host a summer movie series for the family. Movies will begin around 8:00 p.m. and free popcorn and drinks will be available. The movie schedule is as follows:

June 12 Bedtime Stories PG
June 19 Tale of Despereaux G
June 26 Hotel for Dogs PG
July 3 High School Musical 3 G
July 10 Horton Hears a Who G
July 17 Confessions of a Shopaholic PG
July 24 Paul Blart: Mall Cop PG
July 31 Monsters vs Aliens PG
August 7 The Soloist PG-13
August 14 Race to Witch Mountain PG