Saturday Soil Delivery! Volunteers & Shovels Needed, Please!

The soil for the PS 29 Children's Garden will be delivered early this Saturday morning, April 12th. Please bring your shovel or just yourselves to Super Science Saturday, or even earlier in the day, to help fill the garden beds and get them ready for the children to plant next week!!

Also, the Food & Farming Initiative seeks a person to chronicle the birth of the garden and the kids' hands-on learning opportunities in it. The goal is a scrapbook/journal. Plenty of pictures already exist, but someone is needed to take the helm on this project. Please contact Caroline Petersen if you are interested!

To help with other Super Science Saturday activities, please contact Elizabeth Kiem!!

Thank you!!

Ticketing Now Available Online for Super Science Saturday!

Don't miss Super Science Saturday on April 12th, 12 noon-4:00 PM! Recommended donation per family is $7, which you can make right now to avoid lines and help the PTA plan in advance. Many helping hands are needed to make this event happen. If you can volunteer, please contact Elizabeth Kiem.

Activities will include:

• The American Museum of Natural History's Moveable Museum,
  Dinosaurs: Ancient Fossils, New Discoveries. In the newest Moveable Museum, families will explore an array of interactives to understand dinosaur evolution and the possible causes of the mass extinction 65 million years ago. They will examine dinosaur nests and trackways to interpret social behavior and investigate the latest feathered dinosaur fossils from Liaoning, China, which reveal the connection between dinosaurs and modern birds. This walk-in, hands-on exhibition will be parked out on Kane Street from 1:00-3:00 PM.
  
• The Prospect Park Audubon Center's Birds of Prey.
• Mad Science's spectacular "Fire and Ice" extravaganza: Discover the cool chemistry in the states of matter and learn the basics of air pressure. Scissors will unexpectedly sizzle and carbon dioxide bubbles will pop as the chilling properties of dry ice are revealed. Be amazed when a ball is suspended over the audience and marvel at the strength of your own lungs with these radical air-pressure experiments. One show only, from 2:00-3:00 PM in the auditorium.
• A Greenmarket to help inaugurate the new PS 29 Children's Garden (an official GreenThumb site);
• Plenty of hands-on experimentation with hot-air balloons, periscopes, oobleck, volcanoes, rain sticks, obstacle courses, skyscrapers, and marble runs;
• A collective recyclable sculpture!
  

Please click the ticket button to make your family donation today, so we can get an advance headcount! (Please note that if you are unable to attend, you can still support the event by making a tax-deductible contribution through the ticket link to help the PTA defray our costs.)

The PS 29 Children's Garden Is a Reality!

The much-anticipated PS 29 Garden Day on Saturday, March 29th was an enormous success! The PTA extends a gigantic
thank-you to all of the members of the Food & Farming Initiative - a true collective of parents, teachers and administrators - for coming together on a bright, sunny day to build four 4'x24' garden beds for the new PS 29 Children's Garden, which also now has official designation as a GreenThumb Garden! (The GreenThumb program provides materials, technical assistance and educational workshops for the volunteers who manage 600 community gardens around New York City.)

Special thanks go to:

• John Ameroso, Cornell University Cooperative Extension Associate, Emerging Initiatives, for designing the beds and leading the building process;
• Stephanie Manske for securing the lumber (below cost);
• Emmanuelle Chiche and her restaurant, Korhogo 126, on Union St., for the generous donation of the lumber;
• Anne Townsend for successfully writing the Independence Community Foundation grant application;
• Independence Community Foundation for the generous Community Quality of Life grant, which will go towards garden materials;
• PS 41 for tools and seeds;
• Sarah Poten for successfully pushing through our GreenThumb application;
• Kamco Supply Corp. for the discounted lumber;
• Amy Sirot for baking the fabulous muffins for the hungry Garden Day workers;
• PS 29 building manager Anthony Acevedo for being amazing every step of the way;
• Caroline Petersen and Alison Cohen for steering, from the parent side, the many facets of the project;
• Nancy Henry and Tina Reres, our science teachers, for not only an extraordinary job coordinating the many components that went into making the day a reality, but, most importantly, for their upcoming work with our kids in our brand-new garden!
• And, of course, principal Melanie Raneri Woods for having the vision and determination to create a school farm in Brooklyn!

Super Science Saturday Is April 12th!!

Please mark your calendars for Super Science Saturday on April 12th, between 12 noon and 4 PM! Here's a taste of what's in store:

• The American Museum of Natural History's Moveable Museum, a walk-in, hands-on AMNH exhibition housed in a converted recreational vehicle, parked right out on Kane Street!
• Prospect Park's Audubon Center's Birds of Prey in the kindergarden rooms! (By the way, check out the Center's great list of kids' science sites.)
• Mad Science Special Event in the auditorium!
• Farming in the brand-new PS 29 vegetable garden!
• Recycling Sculptures in the gym!
• And, of course, perennially crowd-pleasing Do-It-Yourself Experiments in the cafeteria!

How can we bring all this great, fun enrichment programming to school? With LOTS of volunteers! Please contact event organizer Elizabeth Kiem to sign up for a shift! Admission: $7 per family.