Los Angeles Times KidCity to Feature More Than 50 Interactive Exhibits and Science, Nature Demonstrations
14 July 2004 - 6:09AM
PR Newswire (US)
Los Angeles Times KidCity to Feature More Than 50 Interactive
Exhibits and Science, Nature Demonstrations Free Children's Event
July 17-18 at Rose Bowl LOS ANGELES, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The
second annual Los Angeles Times KidCity, a free two-day children's
educational adventure to be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 17-18
at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, will feature more than 50 interactive
literacy, arts, science and nature demonstrations, as well as
sports contests, games and recreational activities. The event's
five stages also will showcase a variety of children's and family
entertainment, interactive storytelling, celebrity readings, dance
and musical performances, and guest appearances by WB Looney Tunes
characters Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety. Admission
to all activities is free. Parking is $7. The official Los Angeles
Times KidCity event program, which appeared in the July 11 edition
of The Times, provides detailed information about event
participants, demonstrations and interactive sessions. Event
information also is available online at
http://www.latimes.com/kidcity. Interactive Demonstrations Literacy
* Meet a Newspaper Editor -- Mary Ellen Walker, editor of The
Times' Kids Reading Room Page, shares her secrets for creating the
weekly feature. * Be a Junior Journalist -- Create your own Los
Angeles Times' Kids Reading Room Page. * Imagination Station --
Illustration demonstrations and workshops by Kathryn Hewitt,
illustrator of "Lives of Extraordinary Women;" Calef Brown, author
and illustrator of "Tippintown;" Kadir Nelson, illustrator of
"Ellington Was Not a Street;" Gris Grimly, illustrator of 'Monster
Museum;" cartoon illustrator Scott Fresina; and artist Michael
Napoliello. Sing along with Bunny Hull and her music workshop,
"Dream A World." Readings by D.J. MacHale, author of the
"Pendragon" children's book series; Mary Ellen Walker, Kid's
Reading Room editor; and Lani Duke, director of Reading by 9, The
Times' literacy campaign. Learn to put together your own comic book
adventures with Geoff Johns, author of the "Teen Titans" series. *
Literacy Lane -- Reading experts will answer parents' questions
about helping their children learn to read. Sign up to become a
Reading by 9 volunteer. Science and Technology * Scuba Tour -- Take
a 10-minute scuba dive with real diving gear. Towels, wetsuits,
masks and air tanks will be provided. (Participants must be at
least 10 years old and 54 inches tall to participate, and have
written parental permission.) * TidePool Cruisers -- This
Windows-on-our-Waters exhibit follows the path that candy wrappers,
coffee cups and other trash take to local rivers, streams and
oceans and how it affects sea stars, mussels and other creatures.
Visit the General Store of the Sea -- a supermarket filled with
foods and other items with connections to the ocean. * JPL-NASA
Mars Exploration Exhibits -- A walk-through exhibit recreates the
Martian landscape and offers the latest news from Spirit and
Opportunity -- the two Mars rovers launched last June by NASA.
Learn how lightweight rovers work and how they were built. * STAR
Real Science Museum -- Take a guided tour through our galaxy and
discover other solar systems and planets. Learn how Earth's
inhabitants -- including people -- depend on each other. * Sky
Alert! -- Discover stars in the daylight and look at the sun -- the
safe way. Watch sunspots and solar flares through Griffith
Observatory's high-powered telescope and learn more about the stars
and planets. * "Build your own" workshops -- California Science
Center experts will help kids transform polymers into super slime
and build rocket stompers. Nature * Nature Exchange -- Get a sneak
peek at this new exhibit from the KidSpace Children's Museum
showcasing the local Pasadena environment. * Wild Winged Things
Craft Station -- Butterfly or moth? Create your own set of
butterfly or moth antennae. Get the chance to win prizes and
discount coupons to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County. * Wildlife Waystation -- Meet wild birds of prey on
Saturday and radical reptiles on Sunday. History & Culture *
Gold Rush Days -- Experience a piece of California history as you
learn how to pan for real gold nuggets * Una Ciudad Para Los Ninos
-- Future urban planners get their chance to draw an ideal city
just for kids at this exhibit, sponsored by the Museum of Latin
American Art. Sports * Los Angeles Kings -- Scrimmage on a
40-by-80-foot outline of an "ice" rink. Spin a wheel of fortune for
a chance to win Kings merchandise including hockey pucks, posters,
Frisbees, stickers and hats. * Los Angeles Sparks -- Test your
basketball-shooting skills for a chance to win team merchandise and
other prizes. * Rock climbing -- Instructors will teach students
how to scale the Sport Chalet Rock Climbing Wall. Take your turn at
scaling the 23-foot climbing wall from Jungle Gym Rock Climbing.
(Sign-ups and parental permission required.) * Oscar De La Hoya
Experience -- This custom-built, 75-foot big rig has been
transformed into a customized retail and entertainment showcase
featuring historic memorabilia highlighting De La Hoya's boxing
career. * Street Ball Sport Court -- Watch team demonstrations,
join "open play" games, practice free throws and compete for
prizes. The Arts * Los Angeles Family Magazine Craft and Activity
Station -- Meet Bob Baker Marionettes, Hollywood Reptiles and the
Lizard Boy. Make a take-home craft with My Child's Art or learn a
game with The Kid Spot. * Arts and crafts -- Make your own book,
Prairie Schooner, pin-on button or paper kite. Stages KidCity also
will feature five stages: * Heritage Stage -- African, Aztec,
California Indian, Indian, Japanese and Korean cultural
entertainment. American blues and Reggae. Lula Washington's Youth
Dance Ensemble. * Live Action Stage -- Australian pop star Samantha
Jade. Performances by A Hawaiian Experience, Anaheim Ballet, Arte
Flamenco, Culture Shock Los Angeles Dance Troupe, Los Angeles
Clippers Spirit Dance Team and Mariachi Fiesta Mexicana. Sing-along
with Strawberry Shortcake and Friends. Hip-hop by HYPE, KidStarz
and Off Limits with Johnny E. Martial arts demonstrations by Jun
Chong Tae Kwon Do and Mestre Boneco Brazilian Capoeira. * Reading
by 9 Storytelling Stage -- Two-time Emmy nominee Bryan Cranston,
co-star of the Fox Television series, "Malcolm in the Middle," will
emcee Sunday's Reading by 9 Road to Reading Adventure Awards
program. Celebrity readings by Pasadena Mayor William Bogaard;
actress and author Jane Seymour and actor-director James Keach;
Randy Jackson, "American Idol" judge, author and Grammy
Award-winning producer; Emmy nominee Kimberly J. Brown; and Los
Angeles Sparks guard Tamecka Dixon. Interactive storytelling by
Beethoven's Wig, The Imagination Machine, We Tell Stories, The
Chameleons and "200 Years of American Music" by Razzle Bam Boom. *
Mervyn's Stage -- The younger set takes to the runway as they model
the latest kids' fashions and accessories. Bryan Cranston emcees
the second annual Los Angeles Times Above & Beyond Awards
ceremony, which recognizes outstanding Southern California
youngsters. Celebrity readings by actors Holly Robinson Peete and
Arlen Escarpeta, co-star of the Emmy Award-winning NBC television's
series, "American Dreams." Shakespeare's comic masterpiece, "Much
Ado About Nothing," is re-cast in early California and set to
Mariachi music by the East L.A. Classic Theatre. Performances by
the Debbie Allen Dance Academy and Plaza de la Raza's mariachi and
ballet folklorico. * Nature Stage -- Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County presents "Albert the Bone Digger" and "Dino in my
Dinner." "Fun with Science" and "Snakes!" demonstrations by STAR
Eco Station environmental science education center. Animal
showcases by Wildlife Waystation Wild Works. The California
Wellness Foundation and Reading by 9 will present free children's
vision screenings, which will be conducted by the Los Angeles Eye
Institute. Scholastic Inc. will distribute free books to all
children completing vision exams. Sponsors KidCity title sponsor is
Mervyn's. Contributing sponsors are Borders and The California
Wellness Foundation. Media sponsors are Hoy, KCBS-TV/KCAL-TV,
KDIS-AM (1110), KIIS-FM (102.7), KRCD-FM (103.9-98.3), Univision 34
and Viacom Outdoor. About Reading by 9 Launched by the Los Angeles
Times in 1998, Reading by 9 is a multi-year initiative aimed at
helping Southern California kindergarten through third-grade
students read at grade level by the age of nine. The program is
conducted in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and
Ventura counties, and is supported by almost 50 business, civic,
education, media and philanthropic organizations. About Above &
Beyond Awards The finalists, ages 7-13, were nominated by parents,
teachers and community leaders who submitted 200-word essays
describing their nominee's contributions. A panel of judges --
composed of parents, educators and community leaders from Los
Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties --
selects the winners from each of those counties. Judging categories
are: Above & Beyond in my Community, Above & Beyond in my
Classroom, and Above & Beyond in my Cultural Heritage. Winners'
names will be published in a congratulatory advertisement to appear
in The Times. Each winner will receive an Above & Beyond Awards
statue, four annual passes to a local amusement park and an Above
& Beyond awards t-shirt. About the Los Angeles Times The Los
Angeles Times, a Tribune Publishing company, is the largest
metropolitan daily newspaper in the country and the winner of 35
Pulitzer Prizes, including five this year -- the second-largest
yearly total in the history of the awards. The Times publishes five
daily regional editions including the Los Angeles metropolitan
area, Orange and Ventura counties, the San Fernando Valley, and an
Inland Empire edition covering Riverside and San Bernardino
counties as well as a National edition. Additional information
about The Times is available at http://www.latimes.com/mediacenter.
DATASOURCE: Los Angeles Times CONTACT: David Garcia of Los Angeles
Times, +1-213-237-4715, Web site: http://www.latimes.com/kidcity
http://www.latimes.com/mediacenter
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