Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life at ScienceWorks

BRAND NEW WILD MUSIC EXHIBIT PROVIDES A MUST-SEE, MUST-DO,
MUST-HEAR EXPERIENCE
Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life opens February at ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum
  1. Whales compose, bullfrogs chorus, songbirds greet the dawn, and people everywhere sing and dance. What do we all have in common? Visitors of all ages will find out in February, when Wild Music: Sounds & Songs of Life, a brand new, hands-on exhibit that explores sound and music in nature and in life, makes its debut at ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum located at 1500 E Main St. in Ashland, Oregon.
Wild Music invites visitors of all ages to expand their understanding of what makes music. Through whimsical, hands-on activities, they’ll not only hear the music that surrounds them every day, but they’ll see and even feel it too. They’ll discover that nature is filled with “musicians” that create distinct musical masterpieces to communicate with and relate to one another. And they’ll explore how human music is inspired by the music of other living creatures – from tiny insects to giant whales.
Highlights of Wild Music include:
  • Three different “soundscapes” that invite visitors to explore sound and music that comes from the ocean, the forest, and the city. Visitors will learn to interpret spectrograms, or “pictures,” of bird songs, learn what whale cries tell us about the animal’s life cycle, see samples of instruments from around the world, experiment with how sound travels underwater, explore how music influences memory, and more.
  • The Jamming Room, a soundproof practice studio where visitors can use pre-recorded audio soundscapes, animal voices, percussion instruments, and live vocals to compose their own songs.
  • The Bioacoustic Lab, where visitors can experiment with how the human voice works and how it compares to that of other animals, specifically birds. Here, visitors can explore a model of the human larynx and the bird syrinx, use an electrolarynx to “speak” without using their voices, and use a set of vibrating metal reeds to “feel” sound.
  • The Power of Sound and Music Theater, where visitors can sit back, relax, and experience sounds from around the world. The seven-minute, sound-driven video demonstrates – both visually and audibly – how animals use sound to identify themselves, communicate, and form and nurture social groups.
ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum is proud to be partnering with Rogue World Music and local organizations around the Rogue Valley to provide unique programming at the Museum for the exhibit’s duration (Saturday, February 2 – Monday, September 2). This exhibit is made possible by Richard and Elizabeth LeVitt, a Community Grant of the Oregon Community Foundation, Lithia 4 Kids, the Olsrud Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation, the Jackson County Cultural Coalition and Anonymous donors.
For more information please call 541-482-6767 or visit scienceworksmuseum.org.
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Pterosaurs Exhibit opens at ScienceWorks Museum in Ashland

Pterosaurs explores what a pterosaur is (and is not), when and where they lived, how they moved and ate, and how diverse the Pterosauria order is.

 

The exhibit is geared towards a 6th-grade reading level, but families with both younger and older children will find things to do. Compare yourselves against the scale model of the Quetzalcoatlus, the largest pterosaur known at 18 feet tall and with wingspan of 31 feet.

Examine the fossils of the more-commonly known Pteronodon and Pterodacytl species to see the variety of sizes and shapes that a pterosaur had.
For those looking for an interactive, virtual-reality environment, two stations are set up so that you can pretend to be a pterosaur, flying through the sky to catch your dinner of bugs, or to avoid being eaten for dinner yourself!

 

 
Release your artistic side with a third VR station that allows you to investigate the colors, feathers, skin, blades, bills and wings that pterosaurs had, and design your own! As the summer progresses, additional stations and options will be added to the exhibit, so be sure to visit more than once to see how the exhibit changes and grows.

 

Entry to the exhibit is included with the price of admission to the museum, and the exhibit will be open to the public from April 28th through December 31st. Starting in May, the museum’s days and hours will change to Tuesday-Sunday, 10AM – 5PM for both the academic year and summer months.
For more information 541-482-6767 or visit scienceworksmuseum.org

 

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Youth Programs at Rogue Rock Gym!

Rogue Rock Gym was founded in 2005 by Ashland resident Matt Lambert, who recognized the need for a modern indoor rock climbing facility in Southern Oregon. Rogue Rock Gym is Southern Oregon’s first full service indoor climbing gym with 30ft tall walls, over 6,000sq ft of climbing terrain, 33 rope stations, qualified instruction, youth programs, and fitness equipment. Rogue Rock Gym’s mission is to provide our community with an exciting and safe climbing environment while providing the highest standard of rock climbing instruction and coaching for youth and adults. This year we celebrate our 10 year anniversary and our proud to say that we have hosted over 30,000 individual climbers on our walls!
Exposing children to the benefits and joys of rock climbing is one of the primary focuses of Rogue Rock Gym. Indoor rock climbing is a fun, healthy activity for kids in a safe and controlled environment. They build strength and self-confidence on our walls, and when they achieve the top of a climb they garner a sense of accomplishment that is long lasting. Our staff is very experienced working with children through our host of youth programs including private instruction, birthday parties, summer camps, youth climbing club, and a competitive climbing team.
Our rock gym offers Auto-belay devices, which allow climbers access to our tall walls without requiring any previous instruction or training. Parents can bring their kids in and with a 2 minute orientation to the device can be clipping their kids in to scramble up the walls! The device does all the work of catching the climber and lowering them slowly and safely to the ground. Kids love them! These devices are safe and reliable and have become a standard in the climbing wall industry.

Kids looking to try climbing for their first time are encouraged to sign up for “Climb Time” which is a hour and a half long session with one of our staff instructors who coach and provide technique tips for the child while climbing. Group pricing is available for multiple climbers. Please call ahead to schedule.

Anyone is welcome to visit our gym at anytime, we are open 7 days a week! We offer a drop in daily rate for kids under 18, equipment rentals, and for climbers who frequent the gym we have punchcard and membership options.
A parental signature is required on our Waiver release form on a child’s first visit to the gym.
For more information about our Youth Programs and Parties, please inquire with us at the front counter or give us a call at 541-245-2665!
Or for more information or to obtain our Waiver please visit our website at www.roguerockgym.com
Happy climbing!
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BABY RHYME TIME

BABY RHYME TIME is at 11:00am on Thursdays!

Baby Rhyme Time a socialization group for new parents with very young children (newborn up to 24 months). The group meets weekly at the Grants Pass branch of Josephine Community Library.
The one-hour group provides opportunities for new parents and their babies to meet other families and to learn through sharing ideas and play. We start out singing nursery rhymes with the babies and toddlers for about 20 minutes. Singing nursery rhymes and reading to infants and toddlers enhances their early literacy skills and supports the growing bond between parent and child. The remainder of the hour is spent playing and socializing.
Baby Rhyme Time was designed to give new mothers a place to get together on a regular basis for socialization and support. One in four new mothers suffer from depression, anxiety or panic disorders before or after their pregnancy.  Symptoms may include trouble sleeping, crying, irritability or nervousness, changes in appetite, feeling fearful and lack of interest in the baby, family or friends. Many new mothers are socially isolated in the first few months after their baby is born, which can contribute to postpartum symptoms. Getting together with other mothers is a great way to alleviate social isolation. Dads and grandparents are welcome to come too. The group is free and meets every week.
Please NOTE:  Baby Rhyme Time meets prior to the opening of the library to the public. Participants must enter through the back door of the library (on the West side) and follow the signs to the children’s library.
Find us on Facebook at Baby Rhyme Time – Grants Pass.
For more information contact:
Kelly Carter, LPC of SOESD/Early Childhood Services, (541)956-2059 x 4726
Bo Alderton from the Family Support & Connections program, (541) 474-3101 x232.

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Hidden Secret in the Valley…Southern Oregon Figure Skating Club

I still hear people say to me, “We have an ice skating rink in Medford?”…Not only do we have an ice arena, we also have a figure skating club! There are about 35 members of the Southern Oregon Figure Skating Club (SOFSC) at the RRRink, located at 1349 Center Drive in Medford. These are skating enthusiasts between the ages of 7 and 77!

Some are recreational skaters and many are competitive skaters. These SOFSC skaters mostly skate at “Freestyle Sessions” held at the rink on weekday afternoons, when they practice their jumps, spins, and routines.

The club holds many social events for its members. It also hosts an “American Doll Party” in February, and presents three shows a year: exhibitions in May and September, and a Holiday Show the first Saturday in December, all open to the public.

In addition to the figure skating club, the RRRink offers many public sessions, a professional hockey team, Learn to Skate classes on Tuesday evenings, a Summer Camp for kids, a venue for birthday parties, and much more.

Check us out on our website at http://www.therrrink.com/ …click on SOFSC for club information. For more information about the Southern Oregon Figure Skating Club or private lessons, contact Donna Mills at 541-944-8855.                                                                                                                                        Come check us out……It’s the Coolest Place in Town!!

Written by Donna Mills. Vice President for SOFSC and private coach for over 30 years.
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