University of Michigan Museum of Natural History

The week of my kids' Spring Break from school was dreary filled with cold and wet weather conditions, so we looked for something indoors to do that would get them out of the house for a bit.  Our family accomplished that goal by taking an afternoon road trip to the city of Ann Arbor to check out the University of Michigan's Museum of Natural History.  The facility is open Monday through Saturday 9am - 5pm and on Sundays from Noon to 5pm.  A very attractive aspect of this museum is that admission is FREE.

The University of Michigan's Museum of Natural History is located in a 1930's era building located on the college's campus.  Walking into the Ruthven Museums Building is like stepping into a scene from an Indiana Jones movie as you make your way into its entrance rotunda.  Visitors head up a set of stairs to make their way to three upper levels of exhibit halls.

The second floor houses The Hall of Evolution which is full of fossils, models and dioramas featuring prehistoric life.  As you first walk into this display area you are greeted by the skeletons of two huge mastodons.  For my kids though the highlight of this area, and our visit overall, were the fossils of dinosaurs on display here.

While this area has some impressive dinosaurs on display, you can also view the fossils of other prehistoric creatures including a saber tooth tiger and giant lizards while exploring the Hall of Evolution.

The building's third floor is a Michigan Wildlife Gallery devoted to showcasing a collection of taxidermy mounts consisting of native Great Lakes amphibians, birds, mammals,and reptiles.  This area also showcases a long line of mastodon tracks that had been preserved and fossilized in mud which is the largest such display in the world.

Of course they have a wolverine on display!

The fourth floor has a variety of exhibits that allow scientific hands-on experiences plus hosts a geology display of various local rocks and minerals. While we were visiting the museum, my kids agreed to help out with the Living Lab program where they were interviewed for a psychology study being done by college students and earned a small toy for their participation.  They were shown cartoons of various types of robots and were asked survey questions regarding their impressions of the video being shown.  The goal of this study is to determine ways new smart technology can be designed to make it user-friendly for children. My kids felt very important to be able to contribute to this experiment which they talked about quite a bit during our car ride home.

A planetarium is also located on the upper floor of the museum.  It provides a 45 minute show several times per day.  Tickets are a flat rate of $5 per person to take in the planetarium show.

We had a nice time exploring the museum and I'd recommend if you are ever in the Ann Arbor area making some time to check it out.  There is an underground parking deck located a block north of the building that charges $1.40 per hour which isn't bad when you consider admission to the museum is free.  Click here for directions on getting to the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History and information on parking when you get there.

If you want to check out the pre-WWII architecture of the museum building don't wait too long for a visit.  The university is building a new state-of-the-art facility next door to house its Biological Science department where the museum will also be relocated to upon its completion in 2018.

Odd Squad DVD: Dance Like Nobody's Watching

** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**

My daughter's favorite television show is ODD SQUAD on PBS Kids and she wants to rush home from school everyday so she won't miss an episode.  Now I have to say that this is an applaudable selection not just because of ODD SQUAD'S educational focus but also because its episodes are so witty and well written that my wife and I will often find ourselves regularly joining our kids in watching the show because we also find it amusing and enjoyable to watch.  So our entire family was excited to receive the new ODD SQUAD dvd "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" which is now available to purchase on the Shop PBS online store and at various other retailers.

This dvd will let our kids watch some of their favorite ODD SQUAD episodes whenever they want.  "Dance Like Nobody's Watching" features 6 episodes from ODD SQUAD that all have a mathematical themed story and each feature musical numbers:

“Soundcheck”
Olive and Otto must figure out how and why things are disappearing around town when all Otto wants to do is listen to a song by his favorite band, Soundcheck.

“Soundcheck Part Deux”
When the members of Soundcheck go missing, Otto and Olive must bring them back together in time for their big concert. Otto uses his special superfan closet to help collect data to solve the case.

“A Case of the Sing-Alongs”
When Mayor Macklemore catches a case of the Sing-A-Longs, Olive and Otto must discover the cause before the Mayor sings his way out of his job!

“O is Not for Old”
The agents throw a surprise party for Ms. O and are having trouble making decisions about the details. They send O’Malley to delay Ms. O by various means while they try to figure them out.

“Mystic Egg Pizza”
With the help of Odd Squad, Delivery Debbie and Delivery Doug must figure out why their food is disappearing.

I have to warn you that my kids have memorized the songs from these episodes and you could find yourself humming these tunes, like "Take Away 4" in the car or at work.  My kids favorites are the ones sung by Soundcheck.  Hmm I wonder if it is ODD that my kids are such big fans of a fictional boy band when they really don't care for the real musical performances?  Anyway the musical numbers are actually pretty catchy, especially the big Sing-Alongs episode finale, and reinforce educational math concepts which is definitely a good thing.



Geared for children ages 5-8, ODD SQUAD follows two young agents, Olive and Otto, who are part of an agency led by Ms. O that seeks to save the day using math when odd things happen.



PBS has also created a free augmented reality app for iPads and iPhones to go with the DVD.  As they release additional ODD SQUAD dvds, you will be able to scan each individual package to unlock a unique gadget with its own special abilities. For this particular dvd, the musical changeinator is made available from the ODD SQUAD laboratory to play around with.

Open the app and scan the back side of the dvd package.

Ms. O's favorite thing in the whole wide world will appear - a juice box.

Shoot the juice box with the musical changeinator and it will start dancing to a soundtrack playing from your device and emitting special effects on the screen.

You can also move the juice box around utilizing the camera in your mobile device so that it can interact with your surroundings.

ODD SQUAD: DANCE LIKE NOBODY'S WATCHING gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval for not just being educational but also  also very entertaining.  It is a show which can bring the whole family together to enjoy and learn from it.  I'd recommend picking up a copy of this dvd to have handy for summer break, especially if you are looking to amuse some kids during a long car trip and have an in-vehicle or portable dvd player to take along for the ride.

For those of you interested in joining the ODD SQUAD here is a badge that can can personalized courtesy of PBS Kids:

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS: You Read - I Read Books

If you have a beginner reader at home, I'd recommend picking up the new "You Read - I Read" books from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS.  These soft cover books filled with great photos of wild life and natural settings take a co-read approach that encourages parents and children to explore reading together.  These books are setup so "you" the parent reads a page followed by "I" the child reading the next.  Reading through these books together provides a sense of working together in developing a child's reading abilities rather than him or her just listening to you read or your sitting back monitoring a child's independent reading.  My kids often whine about a book being too long or too hard when they are supposed to be doing their twenty to thirty minutes of reading homework each night.  By partnering with my kids in reading these books I found them more confident to delving into the pages and more open to asking for help with pronouncing or understanding a difficult word.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS currently has two Level 1 "You Read - I Read" books available for kids who are just beginning to read on their own.  Day and Night explores how as the sun rises and falls its impact on animals, fish and plants in the environment.  Follow Me! Animal Parents and Babies shows how even animals in the wild need to learn lessons from their parents when it comes to surviving in the world. Both of these books are filled with wonderful photography that enhances the reading experience and helps maintain the interest and attention of young readers.

On each page of these books is a bolded word that is meant to be a point of focus for helping a child build their vocabulary.  For every two pages the same word will be bolded on both the "You Read" and "I Read" pages.  All of the bolded words in each chapter of a book will have a similar theme.  For example in Day and Night all of the bolded words in Chapter 1 relate to times of day while in Chapter 4 they are all action words. Parents are encouraged to engaged in an expanded discussion at the end of each chapter on how each of the bolded words relate to one another and to the topic of the chapter.  At the end of each chapter there is also an activity to do together that reinforces that chapter's educational message. For instance in Chapter 3 of Follow Me! Animal Parents and Babies readers match pictures of animals, birds and fish to photos of their homes.  I really appreciated how these books expanded beyond just being an exercise in reading to provide an enhanced educational experience.

With photographs and interesting trivia that will capture a child's attention and educational elements that will enhance  children's reading and vocabulary skills, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS "You Read - I Read" books get A Geek Daddy's nod of approval.

To help you sustain your child's excitement about reading after going through the "You Read - I Read" books together, I'd recommend enrolling in the free NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KiDS SUPER READER program.  Parents can download and print out a poster based upon a child's reading level that is filled with images of appropriate National Geographic children's book that are available at book stores or public libraries.  As kids read these books the images can be checked off the poster to earn specially designated prizes like stickers, bookmarks and fun fact cards. The SUPER READERS website also includes free learning activities, educational games and other fun stuff!



A Geek Daddy is a member of the National Geographic Kids Insider blogger program.  Insiders get a behind-the-scenes look at National Geographic’s resources, activities, content and projects for kids and families. They also review copies of books, magazines and toys, and are offered interviews with authors, explorers and editors. I do not receive any financial compensation for my participation as a National Geographic Kids Insider.

The 12 Notes of Christmas

To celebrate the 400th year of Shakespeare's legacy in 2016, Numbers Alive! will release at noon each day between December 26, 2015 and January 6, 2016 a free-to-view animated video featuring the Numberopolis Players performing a festive mash-up of the 12 Days of Christmas with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.  Embarking on a journey around the globe -- from Europe, to Australia, Africa, Asia and the Americas -- the Numbers 0 - 9 will explore historic musical instruments and local traditions in the countries they visit.

Each of these videos is under 2 minutes and will culminate with the creation of the ultimate Christmas band to serenade Shakespeare at the opening of Twelfth Night.  Did you know that 2016 has been dubbed "The Year of Shakespeare" to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death in 1616 and there will be a connected series of activities, events, and performances to recognize his artistic contributions to the world?  Learn more about the legacy celebration at www.shakespeare400.org.



In addition to the tie-in to Shakespeare, "The 12 Notes of Christmas" will provide children with fun trivia about instruments and cultural traditions tied to how various  countries around the world celebrate this holiday season.  These educational videos also reinforce learning numbers and counting with their use of the Numberopolis Players.  Whether you have a preschooler who is around the house all the time or elementary school aged children at home from school for winter break, take a moment each day until January 6th to start of the new year instilling a bit of art and culture with the kids in your life having some learning-fun courtesy of the folks at Numbers Alive!.

The videos are available to view at NumbersAlive.org or on the Numbers Alive! youtube channel. 

After more than thirty years or working with and teaching about numbers, Dr. Rebecca Klemm, "The Numbers Lady", founded Numbers Alive! as a way to demystify numbers and math for children.  Her line of award-winning Numbers Alive! educational learning products capture children's attention and help them explore the relevance of mathematical concepts.

Family Game Nights Can Be Educational & Entertaining

 ** A Geek Daddy was provided the featured products for free to review**

Making time for Family Game Nights is a great way for parents and children to spend some quality bonding time together and unwind from the stresses that careers, school and life can throw your way.  In addition to having fun, sometimes parents can also use a Family Game Night to provide their children with a learning opportunity as well. Utilizing fun activities to get children to associate education with problem solving, competitive challenges and entertaining play will hopefully help them develop a life long appreciation for learning. We recently enjoyed an educational and entertaining evening playing the games Create-a-Maze and High Seas ADDventure provided to our family by Learning Resources to try out.

Create-a-Maze, which was a Creative Child Magazine 2015 Game of the Year award winner, encourages strategic thinking, puzzle solving and helps promote hand-eye coordination skills.  Each player is provided a game ball. Then players can either build a maze based upon the layouts presented on 10 included activity cards or make a creation entirely from their own imagination on the game board.  Two goals are positioned on the board with the game's included 17 maze pieces used as obstacles.  Players must tilt the board so that a ball leaves one goal and enters the other in the shortest amount of time.  Get a stop watch ready and let the game begin!

Create-a-Maze is recommended for 1 - 4 players with an age range of kindergarten and up.  My first graders really got into building the mazes and challenging each other to see which of them could create the hardest obstacle course for everyone else to tilt and twirl their game balls through.  There was a lot of trash talking and laughing going on as we raced to guide our balls through the obstacles and into the goals in the fastest time.  Our family had a really good time playing Create-a-Maze plus the kids were exposed to some engineering principles and had to use some puzzle solving and critical thinking skills in the process of playing the game which combined our leisurely entertainment experience with some great educational value.

We discovered High Seas ADDventure at just the perfect time for our first graders.  This game helps children use number combinations to add up to ten which is just where my kids are in their school lesson plans at the moment.  Instead of moaning about having to do math homework our twins dove right into this game with gusto.  The basic premise of the game is each player gets a hand full of numbered cards with the rest being flipped over one at a time from a central deck.  As the cards from the central deck are shown, the first person who can call out that cards in their hand can be added with the flipped up one to equal ten wins the round and gets to move up a space on the playing board towards the finish line on the beach.

For example a 1 was flipped over and my daughter had a 9 and my son had a 5 & 4 in their hands.  My daughter yelled out first 9 + 1 = 10 and her game piece got to move ahead a space.  The next round a 4 was flipped over.  My daughter had a 4 in her hand and yelled out 7 + 4 = 10.  Oops no back a space you go.  The next round a 3 was pulled up and my son with a 3 and a 4 in his hand jumped on that yelling out 7 + 3 = 10 and got to move ahead.  Go too slow and your opponent can beat you for the chance to move ahead, but if you go too fast and answer wrongly you move backwards on the game board.  Plus there are some mischief cards thrown in the deck to stir things up as well.  Draw a shark card and everyone has to trade their cards with another player.  Draw an octopus and one of the players has the chance to steal a card from another person's hand.

I really noticed as we played this game that my children were getting some good practice with their math skills and having fun while they were doing it.  They even asked if we could play the game again soon.  If only getting them to sit down and do their math homework from school were so easy! 

Create-A-Maze

High Seas ADDventure

Learning Resources focuses on providing educationally focused games, toys and teaching aides. For more information on Learning Resources whole catalog of products  visit www.learningresources.com. Based upon our positive experience with their products, Learning Resources gets A Geek Daddy nod of approval.

Augmented Reality App & Book Brings Dinosaurs To Life

** This post was made possible by Universal Pictures #TeamJurassic.  I was provided the featured products for free but all opinions expressed are honest and my own **

My kids and I have been having fun reading Carlton Books' #JurassicWorld: Where Dinosaurs Come To Life book and playing with the augmented reality app that allows the dinosaurs featured in the book to pop off the pages and come alive right before your eyes.  Augmented Reality is when digital data is incorporated into the camera image of a tablet or smart phone device to provide an enhanced interactive experience.  I always enjoy the experiences and photo ops this technology provides and have lots of fun with these types of apps with my kids.

Jurassic World: Where Dinosaurs Come To Life is the  official augmented reality book to accompany the record breaking summer blockbuster movie.  The book provides a tour of the Jurassic World theme park's layout and an overview of the amazing creatures it has on exhibit.  Once you've read through the book a free app can be downloaded for Apple and Android mobile devices that allow you to get a first hand view of the dinosaurs of Jurassic World.  Just open the app, point it at the designated activation pages and voila!

In single user mode the app generates a miniature dinosaur that can be moved around your field of view with an onscreen joystick.  Watch the dinosaur move around your environment, make it roar and take pictures of it exploring your living room, backyard or neighborhood park.  The app also has a duel user function where you can have two dinosaurs pop up on the screens of two devices with each person able to control one of the creatures.

 

After you've enjoyed checking out the dinosaurs from a miniature perspective use the Life-Size function to blow up the creature to the size it would have been in real life.  Walk around the dinosaur viewing it from multiple 3D perspectives to get an accurate feel and image of how huge these beasts would be if you could walk right up to one of them.   Then take a fun photo of you posing next to your pet dinosaur - wow that really puts their size into perspective!

 

At a suggested retail price of $12.95 this book/app combo can provide hours of entertaining and educational moments plus some goofy photos for your family to enjoy. We honestly had a ton of fun reading through the book and playing with the app. For more information on Jurassic World: Where Dinosaurs Come To Life, visit Amazon.com.

As I mentioned earlier, this book/app combo is tied to Jurassic World, this summer's blockbuster sequel to Jurassic Park.  Jurassic Park fell apart before it could ever be opened to the public, but John Hammond's dream didn't die. Twenty-two years after the events that transpired in the original movie, the park is now open for business! The theme park known as JURASSIC WORLD is owned by a huge business conglomerate called Masrani Corporation which bought Isla Nublar and the technology to create the dinosaurs when John Hammond's business went defunct after the events in Jurassic Park.  The initial public hype for Jurassic World is beginning to wane and Masrani Corporation is looking for a way to renew the popularity and profitability of the theme park.  When the park's operations manager takes some risks to increase its profitability by creating a hybrid dinosaur called Indominus Rex you just know that is going to lead to trouble!



Rated PG-13, JURASSIC WORLD roared into US theaters on June 12, 2015. If you haven't seen it yet don't worry about annoying lines or the show you want to go to being sold out, look for and buy your tickets online: unvrs.al/JWtix