Register Now for Summer Fun Science Camp

Catawba Science Center, a nonprofit science and technology museum in Hickory, is taking registrations for its annual Summer Fun Science Camp, June 11 through August 24, offering 11 weeks of hands-on science learning for youth in grades pre-K through rising ninth grade.

Summer Fun science classes will be held Mondays through Fridays, from 10 a.m. until noon. atCatawbaScienceCenter. Extended day options are available for busy schedules.

 Pre-K through Sixth Grade

Participants can choose from 11 weeks of hands-on, fun-filled science classes designed for specific age groups in grades Pre-K to rising sixth-graders. Each week features a different class theme.

New classes include: Fish Tales and Diggin’ Dinosaurs (Pre-K & K), Rainforest Romp and A Buggy Lunch (first & second grade), Cretaceous Creatures and Body Language (third & fourth grade) Dino Discoveries and On the Brink (fifth & sixth grade).

Seventh through Ninth Grade

Summer Fun Science Camp also includes offerings for youth in grades seventh through ninth. Weeklong classes include: Chemistry Basics (June 11 – 15), Aqua Marine (July 16 – 20), Monkey Jr. Naturalist For a Week (July 23 – 27) and You Are What You Eat (August 6 – 10).

A full list of science classes, fees and registration forms are available for download at www.CatawbaScience.org on the Science Camps page. Registration is first-come, first-served by pre-payment.

For busy parents, CSC offers early arrival (7:30 to 10 a.m.) and Afternoon Adventures (noon to 5:30 p.m.) options for an additional cost.

Classes are filling up quickly. For more information, or to register, call (828) 322-8169 or visit www.CatawbaScience.org.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and North Carolina’s only marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays. A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder. Learn more at http://www.CatawbaScience.org.

CSC is funded in part by the United Arts Fund of Catawba County and is located in the Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley, on the SALT Block, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory. 

Learn about modern day dinosaurs during ‘Dino Family Day’

Are birds just modern day dinosaurs? Is Archaeopteryx no longer the oldest bird? Learn the answers to these and other questions during a special program Saturday, June 9 at Catawba Science Center (CSC) with Dr. Andy Heckert, associate professor of paleontology at Appalachian State University. The program Birds or Modern Dinosaurs will start at 2 p.m. in the Arts & Science Center choral room, and is included in general admission.

Dr. Heckert’s program is being held in conjunction with the second of CSC’s Dino Family Days, with activities from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. that Saturday. Walk in the tracks of dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles, and see how your family measures up when compared to actual sizes and lengths of these prehistoric giants. Families will also have the opportunity to make model fossils, create dinosaur crayon rubbings and a “Sculptasaurus” using colorful modeling clay.

Dino Family Day activities are free for CSC members and included in general admission, which is $7 for adults, and $5 for youth (3 to 18), seniors, college students and active military with current ID. Admission is free for children younger than 3.

 Another Dino Family Day is scheduled for August 18, where families will have the opportunity to participate in additional hands-on activities and programs related to CSC’s Dinosaurs exhibit.  

Dinosaurs features roaring, robotic dinosaurs and interactive opportunities for visitors to learn about the lives of dinosaurs and dig for fossils. The exhibit will be on display at CSC through Sept. 2. Dinosaurs is sponsored locally by George Foundation, Beaver Family Foundation, Catawba Valley Medical Center, Corning and Frye Regional Medical Center. WFAE 90.3 fm, WBTV-3, WNC Magazine and Kicks 103.3 fm are media sponsors.

For more information visit www.CatawbaScience.org or call (828) 322-8169.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and a marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays. A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder.

Discuss renewable fuel production during Science Café on May 14

Catawba Science Center (CSC) presents the Science Café  Farm to Fuel: A Decentralized Approach to Renewable Fuel Production at Crescent Moon Café on May 14. Enjoy dinner, drinks and discussion with biomass energy researcher Jeremy Ferrell. Learn about Catawba County’s EcoComplex biodiesel facility and operations to manufacture biodiesel from local resources in a closed-loop system. Ferrell will also discuss project goals for local economic development.

Ferrell researches biomass energy at ASU Energy Center and is Operations and Outreach Manager of the Biodiesel Research and Production Facility located at the Catawba County EcoComplex, the result of a partnership between Catawba County and Appalachian State University. Ferrell is also a Ph.D. candidate at North Carolina A&T State University, focusing on Distributed Biorefining Systems through Industrial Ecology Exchanges.

The Science Café is free, open to the public and starts at 7 p.m. Crescent Moon Café is located at 256 1^st Avenue NW in Hickory. Plan to come early, as seating is limited to 60. Patrons buy dinner and drinks.

Science Cafés are part of Science After Dark, a series of social, thought-provoking and curiosity-seeking programs for adults. Science After Dark is sponsored locally byFocus Newspaper, The Best of Beers, LLC and Crescent Moon Café.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and a marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays. A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder. Learn more at www.CatawbaScience.org.

CSC is funded in part by the United Arts Fund of Catawba County and is located in the Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley, on the SALT Block, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory. 

Explore active fossil dig site in Tennessee

Join Catawba Science Center (CSC) Naturalist Bruce Beerbower for a behind-the-scenes tour of an active paleontological dig site and fossil museum in Gray, TN on June 16, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Discoveries at the Gray Fossil Site include early mammals, such as tapirs, red pandas, short-nosed bears, shovel tusked elephants and a newly discovered badger, as well as the fossilized remains of alligators, snakes, turtles and lizards. The trip will also give participants the opportunity to observe paleontologists and their assistants at work excavating fossils.

The CSC van departs from the Arts & Science Center parking lot at 8 a.m. and will return at 6 p.m. Participants are asked to bring a lunch, drink and raincoat or poncho.

The trip costs $35 for CSC members and $50 for non-members. Cost includes van transportation and a special tour. Register by calling (828) 322-8169.

The day trip to the Gray fossil site will be followed by a weeklong excursion June 24 – 30, where participants will accompany Beerbower and chief paleontologist Dr. John Foster to explore the sites of the Great American West including Colorado National Monuments with canyons, buttes and mesas, Dead Horse Point and Arches National Park inUtah.

For program details, trip fees and registration information call Beerbower at (828) 322-8169 ext. 308, or e-mail naturalist@catawbascience.org.

These trips are special programs tied to the Dinosaurs exhibit, featuring roaring, robotic dinosaurs and interactive opportunities for visitors to learn about prehistoric life and dig for fossils. Dinosaurs will be on display at CSC through Sept. 2 and is sponsored locally by George Foundation, Beaver Family Foundation, CatawbaValley Medical Center, Corning and Frye Regional Medical Center. Media sponsors are WFAE 90.3 fm, WBTV-3, WNC Magazine and Kicks 103.3.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and a marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays. A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder. Learn more at www.CatawbaScience.org.

 

CSC invites you to enjoy a night of suds & science

Catawba Science Center (CSC) invites you to the Science After Dark event Intro to Beer on Thursday, April 5 at 7 p.m.

Beer enthusiast, home brewer and owner of Hops & Grapes, Bobby Bush will give participants a tutored beer tasting. Participants will learn about the different styles of beer from lagers and pilsners to ales, while sampling craft brews and enjoying light hors d’oeuvres.

This Science After Dark event is sponsored by FOCUS newspaper and The Best of Beers, LLC in Hickory. The event is for adults 21 years and older.

Tickets are $10 for CSC members and $15 for nonmembers. Space is limited. Purchase tickets now by calling (828) 322-8169.

CSC invites you to join the dino egg hunt

Catawba Science Center (CSC) invites you to participate in a dinosaur egg hunt on Saturday, April 7 at 10 a.m.

Participants will hunt for more than 600 eggs hidden amongst the Dinosaurs in Carpenter Hall and throughout CSC exhibit areas in the main building. Each egg has a treat inside. The lucky person who finds the golden egg will receive a special prize. Early check-in is at 9:30 a.m. in North Lobby.

The dinosaur egg hunt is a special event tied to the Dinosaurs exhibit, featuring six half-sized robotic dinosaurs and interactive opportunities for visitors to learn about the lives of dinosaurs and dig for fossils. The exhibit will be on display at CSC through Sept. 2.

The event is free for CSC members and included in general admission, which is $7 for adults, and $5 for youth (3 to 18), seniors, college students and active military with current ID. Admission is free for children younger than 3. For more information about the event visit www.CatawbaScience.org or call (828) 322-8169.

Do as the Romans do at the CSC’s 26th annual Italian Dinner & Auction

Support Catawba Science Center (CSC) and science education during the 26^th annual Italian Dinner & Auction at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 28 at Lake Hickory Country Club.

The Roman Holiday event is the single annual fundraising event to benefit CSC exhibits and programs.

Guests will begin the evening with a cocktail hour and games including the Guild’s signature Wine Wall and a “Heads or Tails” game for chance to win a Grove Park getaway. Following drinks and games, guests will be served a three course Italian meal with wine and enjoy a silent auction featuring original works of art, decorative items and designer furniture.

In addition, guests will have the opportunity to bid on live auction items featuring a Costa Rican adventure, vacation packages, behind the scenes experiences at CSC’s aquarium and a Fund-A-Cause to refurbish CSC’s traveling Dinosaurs exhibit.

Dress for the event is cocktail attire or toga wear in keeping with the theme Roman Holiday. The Guild invites all interested guests to model their togas for a chance to win a cash prize. After the auction, guests are encouraged to stay and dance away the night with DJ Rick Reynolds.

Event tickets are $75 each. Tables of 10 and sponsorships are still available. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Space is limited. Italian Dinner tickets can be purchased securely online at http://www.catawbascience.org/Guild.html or by calling (828) 322-8169.

Dinosaurs: a crash-course for grown-ups

Catawba Science Center (CSC) presents the science café “Dinosaurs: A crash-course for grown-ups” Monday, March 19 at Crescent Moon Café in Hickory.

Join a conversation with Dr. Andy Heckert, associate professor of geology at Appalachian State University, while enjoying dinner and drinks. Impress your kids, neighbors, family and friends. Find out everything you ever wanted to know about dinosaurs and the field of paleontology.

Heckert is a vertebrate paleontologist, who has excavated and published on Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs from the American southwest. He will also discuss his research on Triassic fossils originating here in North Carolina, and have some fossils on hand for patrons to get an up-close look.

The Science Café is free, open to the public and starts at 7 p.m. Crescent Moon Café is located at 256 1^st Avenue NW in Hickory. Plan to come early, as seating is limited to 60.

Science Cafés are part of Science After Dark, a series of social, thought-provoking and curiosity-seeking programs for adults. Science After Dark is sponsored locally by Focus Newspaper, The Best of Beers, LLC and Crescent Moon Café.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and a marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays. A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder. Learn more at www.CatawbaScience.org.

Special unveiling during Dino Family Day March 17

Be among the first to see a clutch of real fossilized dinosaur eggs during a special unveiling at Catawba Science Center (CSC) on March 17. The unveiling is being held in conjunction with the first of several Dino Family Days, with activities at CSC from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. that Saturday.

Walk in the tracks of dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles, and see how your family measures up when compared to actual sizes and lengths of these prehistoric giants. Families will also have the opportunity to make model fossils, create dinosaur crayon rubbings and color dinosaur drawings.

CSC Naturalist Bruce Beerbower will present a Dino Dig slideshow at 2 p.m. in the Arts & Science Choral Room. The slideshow will detail CSC’s upcoming Dinosaur Dig trip to Western Colorado and Utah from June 24 – 30.

Dino Family Day activities are free for CSC members and included in general admission, which is $7 for adults, and $5 for youth (3 to 18), seniors, college students and active military with current ID. Admission is free for children younger than 3.

 Other Dino Family Days are scheduled for June 9 and August 18, where families will have the opportunity to participate in additional hands-on activities and programs related to the Dinosaurs exhibit.  

Dinosaurs features roaring, robotic dinosaurs and interactive opportunities for visitors to learn about the lives of dinosaurs and dig for fossils. The exhibit will be on display at CSC through Sept. 2.

Dinosaurs is sponsored locally by George Foundation, Beaver Family Foundation, Catawba Valley Medical Center, Corning and Frye Regional Medical Center. WFAE 90.3 fm, WBTV-3, WNC Magazine and Kicks 103.3 fm are media sponsors.

For more information visit www.CatawbaScience.org or call (828) 322-8169.

Catawba Science Center is a nonprofit science and technology museum in the Western Piedmont with traveling exhibits, a digital planetarium theater and a marine touch pool with live sharks and stingrays. A community asset and regional destination, Catawba Science Center is dedicated to changing lives and inspiring learning through science and wonder.

CSC is funded in part by the United Arts Fund of Catawba County and is located in the Arts and Science Center of Catawba Valley, on the SALT Block, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory. 

Girl Scouts Invited to Camp-In at Catawba Science Center

Catawba Science Center (CSC) invites area Girl Scout Brownies to spend the night stargazing in Millholland Planetarium and exploring science through hands-on activities March 16-17.

Girl Scouts will have the opportunity to meet creatures that live behind the scenes, explore the saltwater and freshwater aquarium galleries and make crafts. The camp-in will include a rotation of four classes in the evening, one snack and breakfast.

The cost to register is $28 per Girl Scout and $5 for each accompanying adult. Registration forms are available at CSC and online at www.CatawbaScience.org.

Forms are due by March 9. Any registrations postmarked after the deadline will have a $5 late fee per Girl Scout. A minimum of 40 Girl Scouts need to register for CSC to hold the event.

Registration forms may be returned via fax to (828) 322-1585 or by mail to Catawba Science Center P.O. Box 2431 Hickory, NC 28603.