The President’s Committee on Child Care Options (PCCCO) is partnering with another University Circle institution to provide Case Western Reserve families a new option for President’s Day this year. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History will offer children of faculty, staff and students the opportunity to participate in a full-day program that includes sessions with wild animal ambassadors, visits to the Smead Discovery Center and Perkins Wildlife Garden and craft-making, among other activities.
The program, open to children in kindergarten through sixth grade, will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday, Feb. 17, at the museum. Enrollment is capped at 25 and pre-registration is required. Those interested should complete the form available online. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 17; the museum will provide snacks but children should bring their own sack lunches. Those with questions can call the museum at 216.231.4600, ext 3214.
The museum is led by Evalyn Gates, who earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees from Case Western Reserve and has been working with campus leaders to increase and deepen connections between the museum and the university. While most of those relationships center on scholarly activities and community outreach, this initiative offers additional opportunities for interaction.
“Dr. Gates and everyone else at the museum have been wonderful as we explored ways to extend this partnership to university families,” said PCCCO chair Eileen Anderson-Fye, Robson Assistant Professor of Anthropology. “And President Barbara R. Snyder yet again has demonstrated her extraordinary commitment to university families with her generous support of this initiative.”
Among the other activities children will be able to pursue are a hunt for fossil shark teeth (including the opportunity to take a few home), an introduction to the museum’s dinosaurs and a planetarium presentation.
Cost for the program is $45. As with other initiatives the committee has launched during winter and spring breaks, the Office of the President again is providing financial assistance to families with household incomes of $50,000 or less. Families with questions about financial assistance and their eligibility can contact Human Resources Manager Amy Sheldon at amy.sheldon@case.edu or 216.368.5000.