With the COVID pandemic limiting accessibility to the wonderful Smithsonian Institute museums in Washington D.C., IDW PUBLISHING wants to bring these places home to you. They've released two new coloring books that let people explore two of the Smithsonian's most popular museums through the pages of these publications while having fun with art. Learn about the dinosaur exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History or the airplanes within the National Air & Space Museum.
You can purchase print editions of these books online at idwpublishing.com or at local bookstores and comic book shops. IDW is also hosting a coloring contest and giving away a copy of each book to the winner. To enter, download and color one of the coloring pages shown below fromDinosaurs: A Smithsonian Coloring Book or Airplanes: A Smithsonian Coloring Book. Then, share a picture of your artwork on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram tagging @IDWPublishing on the post. Entries must be submitted before December 15, 2020. One winner will be selected from all entries.
CLICK HERE to download the Dinosaurs: A Smithsonian Coloring Book art sheet.
CLICK HERE to download the Airplanes: A Smithsonian Coloring Book art sheet.
With this exquisitely designed coloring book, aviation lovers of all ages can soar through the skies with some of the most recognized and revered airplanes from the collection at the National Air and Space Museum. Guided by museum experts and the thrilling artistry of John Pirtel, meet the 1903 Wright Flyer, the Lockheed Vega 5-B, Northrop Gamma Polar Star, McDonnell F-4S Phantom II, Concorde, and many more. These detailed pen and ink illustrations invite you to strap in and experience thrilling scenes of these aircraft in action, which fans of airplanes, coloring books, and aviation history can unlock with their own creativity.
Dinosaur lovers of all ages can explore millions of years of animal wonders, guided by experts from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the artistic wizardry of Rachel Curtis (The Princess Bride: A Storybook to Color). These lush pen and ink illustrations invite you to step into captivating scenes featuring the herbivorous Stegosaurus, the sea-dwelling Hesperornis, the giant sauropod Camarasaurus, the mighty Tyrannosaurus, and many more. Fans of dinosaurs, coloring books, and natural history will find an enchanting world to unlock with their own creativity.
The Michigan Science Center (MiSci) is bringing the Smithsonian’s Spark!Lab
experience to this year’s North American International Auto Show
(NAIAS). This educational and interactive space
– one of only five in the United States – promotes invention and
innovation, making it the perfect family activity for NAIAS guests.
Spark!Lab
activities will be located in the “Future Innovators” space in the Ford
exhibit at Cobo Center. Branding itself as both an automotive and mobility company,
Ford is focused on the technologies that
are essential to the freedom of movement we all enjoy. The theme of this year's NAIAS is Automobili-D focusing on how the automobile industry doesn't just build vehicles but also produces a variety of products that help people and technology with mobility. In this spirit
of innovation, Spark!Lab guests will
design
innovative mobility devices that they can take home. MiSci staff will
be at Ford's NAIAS exhibit to facilitate activities and conversations about the future of mobility. They will also use small
demonstrations featuring hand-crank generators, energy tubes, AirZookas
and more to bring science to life.
Spark!Lab
opened in April 2016 as a new space within MiSci. MiSci is a hands-on museum that inspires curious
minds of all ages to discover, explore and appreciate science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) in a creative, dynamic learning
environment.
The Science Center features five theaters, including Michigan’s largest
screen at the Chrysler IMAX® Dome Theatre; the Dassault Systèmes
Planetarium; the Toyota Engineering 4D Theater; the DTE Energy Sparks
Theater; the Chrysler Science Stage; a 9,800 square-foot
Traveling Science Hall for special exhibits; hands-on exhibit galleries
focusing on space, life and physical science; Kids Town just for
pint-size scientists; along with, education and outreach programs.
MiSci's Spark!Lab was established in
partnership with Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of
Invention and Innovation and with support from Ford Motor Company.
MiSci is the fifth location in the country to house Spark!Lab, the
Smithsonian’s flagship invention education program. Spark!Lab provides
visitors with the opportunity to become inventors as they explore and
engage with hands-on activities, interact with facilitators,
and learn from local innovators.
For more information about Spark!Lab and the Michigan Science Center, visit mi-sci.org
** A Geek Daddy received the featured products for free **
We enjoyed a nice family movie night this weekend watching the newest animated movie in the ICE AGE franchise called COLLISION COURSE which became available on October 11, 2016 for Blu-ray and DVD viewing. In this ICE AGE adventure, the unlucky, mischievous squirrel Scrat while trying to bury an acorn accidentally activates an abandoned alien vessel that launches him into outer space. As he travels through the solar system he unwittingly sends several asteroids on a crash course with Earth. Can Manny the woolly mammoth along with his friends and family that makeup The Herd do anything to avert their following the same path to extinction as the dinosaurs? As they discover the danger of the pending asteroid collision, The Herd rediscovers an old ally from one of their past adventures who just may hold the key to saving the planet from a scrat-tastrophe!
Since we were watching an ICE AGE story, it was only fitting to stock up on acorns for our special movie watching treat. We had a whole plate full of tasty snacks to share that would have truly made that acorn chasing squirrel Scrat envious. They weren't real acorns of course because thosewouldn't be very appetizing but rather a combination of Hershey's Kisses, mini Nilla wafers, and chocolate chips.
Our ICE AGE acorns are actually fairly easy to make and they really taste great as a family movie night treat. Count out the number of acorns you'd like to create and place that number of mini Nilla wafers on a plate. Measure out a 1/4 cup of chocolate chip cookies and place them in a microwave plate. Heat up for a minute in the microwave and stir up to create a paste. With a knife spread enough paste along the bottom of each Nilla wafer to secure a Hershey's Kiss to the bottom of the cookie. Then place a small dab of paste on the opposite side of the Nilla Wafer to glue a chocolate chip in its middle. Don't dwadle because you need to secure all the parts of the acorn together while the chocolate paste remains hot. Let your acorns cool for a few minutes once you've attached all the pieces together and voila you have a snack that would drive Scrat wild! Though unlike the real deal, these acorns are nut-free which is very important for this dad with kids who have peanut and tree nut allergies. Always look at the labeling on packaging to make sure an item is contamination and ingredient free for the particular food allergies you may be concerned about.
To share our family's movie night fun with A Geek Daddy's blog readers and social media followers, in addition to sharing our diy recipe for a delicious snack, I also have a copy of the movie to giveaway. To be eligible for this giveaway you must follow
@Geekdad248 on Twitter and retweet our original contest tweet
embedded below before October 21, 2016 @ 11:59 pm EST.
Must be a US
resident over the age of 18 to participate. No P.O. Boxes allowed for
delivery of the prize. One entry per person and winner will be selected
from all eligible entries. Fox Home Entertainment
will be responsible for the delivery of the prize to the selected
winner. Each household is only eligible to win once via blog giveaways.
If you have won this movie on another blog, you will not be eligible to
win it again and the prize will be forfeited. Winner is subject to
eligibility verification. By participating in this promotion you waive
any liability of any kind
against the publisher of this blog. A Geek Daddy is providing
this
giveaway contest as a benefit to our readers and social media followers
and has not been financially compensated for this promotion.
Our ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE family movie night was made possible courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment, Smithsonian and National Geographic. Fox Home Entertainment provided A Geek Daddy a #ScratinSpace fun pack that included the movie, a very nice #ICEAGE blanket, some Smithsonian products that included a launchable rocket, telescope and a planetarium projector. We also received a very nice book from National Geographic "Backyard Guide To The Night Sky."
After watching ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE, we enjoyed a planetarium show on the ceiling. The Smithsonian Planetarium Projector provides a rotating star pattern of the Northern Sky which can be combined with 24 high definition space images. Choose from planets, nebulae, moons, asteroids, a space shuttle and an astronaut to display among the stars.
After flipping through National Geographic's "Backyard Guide To The Night Sky," my kids also spent some time gazing through the Smithsonian telescope we were provided to check out the moon, see if they could glimpse of the International Space Station, and look for any other celestial objects that may be within their view.
Rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America, ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE is now available on Blu-Ray, Digital HD, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD. For more information about the movie, please visit iceagemovies.com
Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to Celebrate 50th Anniversary with Focus on Flag Day
I remember as a child my elementary school always made a big deal out of Flag Day. It would fall on the last week of school before Summer vacation and we'd have art projects and history lessons about the American Flag followed up with a big school assembly where the Boy Scouts would do a presentation showing the various flags from throughout our Country's history and than a choir would sing patriotic songs. I haven't heard much about Flag Day since those grade school days. This year it looks like Flag Day will be getting some national attention though as the Smithsonian Institute is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the opening of its National Museum of American History by promoting one of its most popular attractions, the original flag that flew over Fort McHenry in 1814 and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the song "The Star Spangled Banner" which later became the National Anthem of the United States, with a special event called Raise it up: Anthem for America.
In recognition of 2014 being the National Museum of American History's 50th anniversary and the 200th anniversary of the drafting of the Star Spangled Banner, the Smithsonian will host a special exhibition pairing the legendary Fort McHenry flag displayed side by side with Fransic Scott Key's original handwritten lyrics of the Star Spangled Banner, on loan from the Maryland Historical Society, from June 14 (Flag Day) to July 6. To kickoff this grand exhibit and celebrate these anniversaries, the National Museum of American History, is trying to set a new Guinness World Record for largest collective national-anthem performance on Flag Day. Raise it up: Anthem for Americawill feature a celebrity singer leading hundreds of members from American choruses joining in to support the event in singing the "Star Spangled Banner" on the Capital Mall in front of the National Museum of American History. Event organizers hope thousands of people will join in the event at the Mall to sing along, plus are helping millions more will join in by sponsoring tie-in events in their own local communities across the nation. The event will also be nationally televised live, probably on PBS, for tie-in events, or people who just want to participate on their own from home, during Raise it up: Anthem for America.
The Smithsonian hasn't released all the details yet and promises more information to come out this Spring. If you are going to be planning a trip to the Nation's Capital this summer or looking for a educational activity to organize for a student or community group this could be a fun and interesting event to get involved with. There is a registration form on the event's website, www.anthemforamerica.si.edu , where if you provide your email address they will get in touch with you about participating in Raise it up: Anthem for America.
FLAG DAY is on June 14 which is the date in 1777 that by resolution of the Second Continental Congress the flag of the United States was selected. National Flag Day was created by an Act of Congress in 1949, it is a national observance though and not a federal holiday. There is a National Flag Day Foundation that works to promote public participation in observing FLAG DAY and hosts a student essay contest each year with a patriotic theme.
Flag Day is a great opportunity, especially this year, to provide children with some historical lessons, instill some civic pride and engage in a fun family activity. There are lots of things you can do either independently or as a community to utilize this day as a teachable moment. With as politically divisive as our Nation has become, wouldn't it be nice if everyone could take a deep breath, put their partisanship and prejudices aside to come together for a collective moment of unity on June 14th by participating in an event like Raise it up: Anthem for America? So when was the last time you celebrated Flag Day? Are you going to celebrate it this year?!
