Winter Programs Planned for School Vacation Week

The Connecticut River Museum children's adventure programs are all about winter during the February school vacation week. Children aged 7 to 12 are invited to embrace the cold with science and art projects featuring ice, snow, and the big birds of winter.

On Tuesday, Feb. 21 the Winter Wonderland program will include a winter hike through town and a search for clues about what plants and animals do to survive the cold and snow. Back inside the museum, adventurers will create winter landscape paintings and conduct snow and ice experiments.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Raptors program will explore the big birds of winter that live in the Connecticut River Valley with bird-watching activities using binoculars and spotting scopes and a design-your-own raptor art project. Snow Science is the topic of the program on Thursday, Feb. 23, featuring experiments, a magic trick, and amazing art projects like making a glow-in-the-dark snowflake and hot ice sculpture.

Friday, Feb. 24 is Eagle Adventure day-kids will learn how an eagle's wing works, why eagles come to the lower Connecticut River Valley, and how to identify these amazing birds. They'll also draw eagles, create origami sculpture, and take an EagleWatch boat cruise up the river on the 65-foot modern research vessel Enviro-lab III.

Students may attend for a day or two, or for all four days. Each program runs from 9 a.m. to noon. A simple snack is provided, or students can bring their own. The non-member fee is $30 per day for Tuesday to Thursday, $40 for Friday, and $110 for the week. The member fee is $25 per day for the Tuesday through Thursday sessions, $35 for Friday, and $95 for the week. Advance registration is required. To reserve a space, download and mail in the registration form from the website www.ctrivermuseum.org or contact the education department at 860-767-8269, ext. 113 or jwhitedobbs@ctrivermuseum.org. The Connecticut River Museum is located on the Essex waterfront at 67 Main Street.