Healthy Brain Development Helps Kids Start Strong!

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brain development, child development, children's museum, Children's Museum of New Hampshire, Children's Museum of NH, CMNH, family learning, how chiildren learn, parent-child relationships

Statistics from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University show that in the first few years of a child’s life, 700 to 1,000 new neural connections are formed in the brain every second! At the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, our goal is to create an experience-rich environment for children, giving them the opportunity to start strong. The impact of early experiences on brain development is critical because 85% of the architecture of a child’s brain is developed before age 5.

A vital aspect of early childhood development is the presence of “serve-and-volley” relationships – or back-and-forth communication between children and adults. These interactions happen when adults respond to children’s questions, pose their own questions, identify items that a child is pointing at and engage in back and forth conversation, even when the child’s “conversation” is smiling, pointing, reaching or babbling.

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is designed to encourage serve-and-volley exchanges. Sharing, playing or simply being exposed to new materials and activities through our programs and exhibits all help nurture healthy brain development.

This year, as you designate your charitable giving, please consider supporting the Museum’s Start Strong Fund, enabling us to continue building healthy brains right from the start.

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Creative inspiration for all at Dover Mini Maker Faire on August 24

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art, change, child development, children, children's museum, Children's Museum of NH, creativity, Dover, education, experimentation, family learning, fun, kids, Maker Faire, makers, making, nh, problem solving, science, technology

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is on a strategic path to inspire kids to think big and think different. Our Mission Statement puts it right up front:

We exist to ignite children’s creative potential through enriching experiences that tap into their talents, stretch them beyond perceived limits, and build strong, joyful relationships.

This focus on igniting children’s creativity and getting them excited about learning is what has inspired us to host New Hampshire’s first-ever Maker Faire event. We’re ecstatic to share that more than 50 makers from around New England will be joining us for Dover Mini Maker Faire on Saturday, August 24th! Check out the list of makers who will be here, along with a quick preview of what they’ll be sharing with attendees of all ages.

UNH Luna Cats:  design & build a Lunabot vehicle

Open Org of Lockpickers – Southern ME chapter:  learn about locks, how to pick them and reuse them

UNH College of Engineering & Physical Sciences:  build a STEM compass

Screen print a t-shirt

Port City Makerspace:  screen printing of Dover Mini Maker Faire logo

Art Lab for Kids:  make art using a recycled map

McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center:  make & launch paper rockets

Bike Part Art:  creative projects related to physics, engineering

Giants In The Woods – band that mixes traditional instruments with electronics like cell phones, tablets to create electronica music performance

Get MESY (Math, Engineering, Science & You, program by NHPTV:  hands on engineering challenges

Emily Drouin art

Emily Drouin:  comic book art

JesterType:  open source Arduino-based human interface device that converts gestures into text

Marissa Vitolo Glass/Ceramic Accessories:  create earrings, brooch, pendant, ring

New England Model Engineering Society: learn about making working models of steam engines, gas engines, Stirling engines and more

Steampunkinetics

Steampunkinetics:  display of Steampunk art & design

TDB Monsters:  making monsters w/recycled art

Air Rocket Glider:  building & launching rockets

Squirrelcat Designs:  face and body art

Nathan Walker:  demonstrating how to make large-scale recycled metal art

GTR Kit Car

GTR Kit Car:  Roe Cole will be displaying sports car custom-built from a kit

New Heights Stilt Troupe:  demo of stilt making and stilt walking

New Heights:  Makey Makey demo

Olde Englande Ironworks: Demonstration of traditional blacksmithing techniques

Sea Perch Tank

SeaPerch:  attendees can drive Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles in a 1000-gallon tank

Corky’s Projects:  variety of DIY tech projects

Tiny Little Room:  making hand-sewn creatures

Jean O. Hearn Fiber Creations:  felting demonstration

Mad Science of Southern NH & Northern MA:  Science Exploration Station

Port City Makerspace:  demonstrating a variety of projects

Cris & Company:  making hand-crafted gifts, some with recycled materials

TRACIMOC comic art

TRACIMOC:  transforms comic books into wearable art, will have DIY station to make pin/keychain/zipper pull

Michael Lang:  30-minute workshop on how to tell a story; the art of storytelling

Anabean Designs:  childrens/infants tutu’s & dresses

Iron Pour:  melting cast iron into molds – make a resin mold

One Story Houses:  doll houses and miniatures

3-D Printing Demo:  demo of Maker-bot THING-O-MATIC 3-D printer

Rolling Owl Stools

Owl Furniture:  ergonomic designed furniture

Hottie Biscotti Bakery:  gluten-free & vegan baked goods

RepRap Prusa 3D Printer:  demo of open source 3D printer

Raspberry Pi Projects for Evil Genius:  robot car and radon detector controlled by Raspberry Pi

UNH Engineering & Physical Sciences Dept: Make a STEM compass & learn about STEM careers

Tribey Hybrid

TRIBEY:  bicycle/snowboard electrically powered hybrid demo

Paint for Fun:  kids can make plaster art

Lone Oak of Rochester:  ice cream making demo & samples

Ikibuku Hooping Co:  make a hula hoop

Pam Tyson:  demo of making quilted art

PolyRecovery

Poly Recovery:  sustainable plastic recycling demo

Assistive Technology:  iPad solutions made with corrugated plastic & Loc-Line, demo of mini McGyver tape kits

Discovery Toys:  demo of learning toys and sets

Steven Abbadessa:  demo of Wood Gassification process, taking wood chips and converting them to synthetic fuel gas, same as used in Victorian days

UNH Interoperability Labs: learn how to control lights using simple programming

Being Green: It’s more than the right thing to do

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best practices, child development, construction, green, learning, mission

This year we were honored to be awarded Best Revitalization Project by Building NH at their annual awards ceremony.  This week we hosted a breakfast for members of the NH chapter of the US Green Building Council.  These events have gotten us thinking more about being green, and have motivated us to go back 4 years to review how and why we made the decision to go after LEED certification in the first place. The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire was the first LEED certified museum in the state of New Hampshire.  What is somewhat surprising is that it remains one of only:

• 20 LEED projects in New Hampshire
• 8 LEED Silver projects in the state
• 14 LEED children’s museums in the country
• 6 LEED Silver children’s museums in the USA

Many things that LEED certification encourages, or even requires, are good business practices and the right decision. For instance, there is a minimum required amount of construction waste recycled during building process. In our case that translated to over 54%, or more than 65 tons of waste that we kept out of landfill or the waste stream.

LEED also encourages using natural light and ventilation.  So we choose to open up formerly blocked windows including the two tall arched windows in the South wall. Natural light reduces our reliance on utilities and lowers operating costs. A high performance heating and cooling system, as well as double-paned, energy efficient operable windows, help reduce our need for air conditioning .

Some of the decisions we made when thinking about LEED also resulted in delightful and impactful visitor experiences.

Finished Cocheco Systems exhibit

Rear extension during construction

 

Adding the glass extension to the back of the building brought in light and allowed us to create an exhibit about the social and natural history of living on the River which is on the River and allows children to make connections between their play and the real thing.

As in all construction projects we had to put money into infrastructure, such as our 2,000 gallon cistern which captures rain water and eliminates all use of potable water for irrigation.  This is not something visitors will ever see. It can also be hard for visitors to appreciate the low-key landscaping done with New England Conservation Wildlife Mix which is designed to maintain native vegetation, increase biodiversity and wildlife habitat and reduce water usage.

Monarch Butterfly Teacher’s Network conducts butterfly release in Museum’s “back yard”

You probably have taken notice of our-low flow faucets and dual-flush toilets – did you know they save us an estimated 43% in water use, reducing our water consumption from 127,642 gallons per year to 72,721 gallons per year?!

That is just the infrastructure!  We have cabinetry built of fast-growth bamboo and natural plant fiber cellulose used for insulation and acoustic damping.  There is recycled content in the rubber and cork floor tiles, the bathroom countertops, and the carpet tiles.  And we choose low-voc paints throughout the museum, as well as non-volatile finishes on floors.

Here are some fun facts:

The diner furniture came from a diner in Gardner MA that went out of business, and the Panelite ramp railing and the classroom wood flooring panels were reclaimed from a furniture showroom in Manchester, NH

Our exhibits were also done as “green” as possible. To us this meant reuse, repurposing, upcycling, being local, and making sure we used real things.

Here are some examples:

sea life murals were painstakingly removed, restored and re-installed in our new museum

Submarine portholes and hardware salvaged from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in our Yellow Submarine

Bench seating and passenger counters in the Trolley came from real, retired, equipment.

Bobbins, spools, looms, and the carder are all reused from discarded factory equipment.

Mill machinery called adjustable warp beam heads used as part of donor signs throughout the museum

I have talked about the importance of being green for the Children’s Museum before, and each time I say being green is not just the right thing to do, it is mission-driven for us. After all, the Children’s Museum is about the foundational skills kids need for success over their lifetime.  Sustainability and stewardship are part of that. They are part of our overall health and wellness, how we relate to the land and built environment, as well as how we relate to one another.  We believe that it is our responsibility to set a living example, and to model our values of responsibility and good citizenship.

The environment of the Museum is also designed for learning – that is our expertise.  It is a best practice to provide a non-toxic, safe, and sustainable environment for kids to explore.  A significant portion of our visitors are physically on or close to the floor, might put something in their mouths, and their brains are still developing.  Kids learn in multisensory ways and we don’t want them to feel inhibited about exploring something through all their senses.  We want them to have an environment which best supports their development.  It is respectful of kids to be green.

“With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to USGBC’s vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation . . .The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement.”  – Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC

Top 3 Toddler Development Questions

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child development, children, family, learning, nutrition, parents, potty training, questions, speech development, toddlers

Guest post by Alison Leighton, Child Life Specialist at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, and Seana Hallberg, Family Resource Coordinator for Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth’s clinic at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital

Seana Hallberg (left) and Alison Leighton (right) visited the Children’s Museum recently to answer parents’ child development questions.

In our work with children and parents at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, we get a lot of questions. Each day, we meet with families who are dealing with pediatric medical issues and try to help in any way we can, from answering questions and acting as a sounding board to connecting them with community resources and specialist care.

No matter who we meet or where we go, we find we get a lot of the same questions about child development. We recently spent time at the Children’s Museum of NH’s Toddlerfest and took questions from new parents and it was no exception. Their concerns were typical of what we are asked most often.

So here are our Top 3 Toddler Development Questions, along with the answers we can practically give in our sleep!

1.) “My child has used certain words before but when prompted, he does not want to mimic. Is this normal?”

Children who are typically learning to speak are also seeking “mastery” of their new skills. This often involves practicing the skill repeatedly, but on their own terms. A general rule of thumb is by 12 months of age a child should use simple gestures as a way to communicate like waving, or simple signs. You can begin modeling simple signs as early as five months and doing hand-over-hand with your children to model the sign. Children as young as nine months are seen making approximations of simple signs. What’s most important is that your child is moving forward in her communication skills — using his sounds, gestures and facial expressions in increasingly complex ways. If you have concerns about where your child is developmentally, you should speak with your pediatrician.

2) ” My child is resistant to being potty trained. What do I do?”

Our general feeling surrounding this issue is that children need to show signs of readiness before we begin the stages of using the potty. Often a child will tell you that they are about to go, or after they have gone, they begin to hide when voiding, or they are dry at night. This shows they are beginning to have bladder/ bowel control. Every child gets to this place at different times. It is important to remember to make potty training exciting by reading books about potty training, talking about the potty, practicing sitting on the potty. Rewards can work wonders (such as giving a sticker for each time they go). If a child isn’t ready, it often becomes a source of anxiety and stress for the entire family and they do not gain the sense of accomplishment or mastery of an important new skill.

At the museum’s FoodWorks events, children are invited to sample colorful fruits and veggies they may not have tried before.

3) “I feel like my child only eats particular foods and I worry she isn’t getting all of the important vitamins and nutrients she needs. What should I do?”

As we all know, children can be extremely picky. Toddlers love to turn their noses up at the food we often want them to eat and those meals we slave over. It is important to remember to expose your child to a variety of foods beginning at a young age. Don’t assume your child may not like something … give it a chance. If your child does not like the food initially, they will begin to try if it is offered repeatedly. Children are more likely to resist if they are forced to do something. Try to be creative when making foods. Make smoothies with ingredients that they will not eat raw. Make fun snacks, etc. using cookie cutter shapes. In the process of making food, involve your children as they will be much more likely to try something they created.

– About Alison Leighton, Child Life Specialist, Wentworth Douglass Hospital:  As a child life specialist, I ease the stress and anxiety for families in the medical environment using the child’s method of communication, play to teach, learn and cope.

– About Seana Hallberg, Family Resource Coordinator for CHaD at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital:  As a Family Resource Coordinator, I am able to support families with the stressors of a child’s medical diagnosis and can assist families in finding socializing opportunities, educational and financial information and behavioral counseling. 

Books We Love for Family Learning

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babies, books, child development, children, children's books, children's museum, Children's Museum of NH, Dover, education, families, family learning, how chiildren learn, Kathleen Thorner, learning, library, nh

There is no better feeling than that of spending time happily engaged with a child. And we know from emerging research into brain development that children get more out of the time and attention adults spend on them than previously believed.

You may have heard the phrase “parents are a child’s first teacher.” This idea that the primary adults in a child’s life are their most important influence is true not simply about learning language or how to hold a spoon, but also in establishing lifelong values. When an adult includes a child in activities they enjoy – whether music, drawing, reading, building, or anything else – the child associates that experience with the shared good feeling.

Intrigued? Museum staff and Dover Public Library‘s Children’s Librarian Kathleen Thorner have compiled this reading list to help you make the most of family learning experiences.

These books peek inside the developing brain to help us better understand just what babies know, when they know it, and how they learn:

Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn – And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less by Kathy Hirsch-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff with Diane Eyer. 2003

The Scientist in the Crib: What Early Learning Tells Us About the Mind by Allison Gopnick, Andrew Meltzoff and Patricia K. Kuhl. 1999

Eager to Learn: Educating our Preschoolers, the National Research Council, National Academy Press. 2000.

Here are some resources to help you plan outdoor adventures with your family:

Best Hikes with Kids. Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine by Cynthia Copeland, Thomas Lewis & Emily Kerr. 2007

New Hampshire Off the Beaten Path 8th: a guide to unique places by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers. 2009

These books are packed with ideas for how to feed the imagination and spirit of the children who share your home:

Winnie the Pooh’s Rainy Day Activities by Sharon Harper. 2002

Kitchen Science by Peter Pentland. 2003

I’m a Scientist: Kitchen by Lisa Burke. 2010

I’m a Scientist: Backyard by Lisa Burke. 2010

Festivals, Family & Food by Diana Carey. 1996

The Nature Corner by M.V. Leeuwen. 1990