Children of members of the Case Western Reserve community can check out some “amazing species” next month as part of a President’s Day camp offered at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Coordinated through the President’s Committee on Child Care Options (PCCCO), the session will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 20. Since 2014, the university and museum have collaborated more than a half dozen times to offer programming on days when schools are closed but the university is open.
The sessions regularly sell out—in some cases so quickly the museum has created additional slots to try to accommodate more campers.
“The museum has been an outstanding partner in our efforts to provide convenient and enriching opportunities for children of our faculty, staff and students,” said PCCCO Chair Eileen Anderson-Fye, an associate professor of bioethics. “We truly appreciate this ongoing collaboration, which benefits children, parents and both of our University Circle institutions.”
Next month’s event again features hands-on activities and a planetarium show, along with a visit to the Smead Discovery Center.
What’s new this time is “Amazing Species: Life at the Limits,” an exhibit organized by New York’s American Museum of Natural History that opens Feb. 18 at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The exhibit includes such unusual examples as the spot-fin porcupine fish, which not only features spines akin to quills, but also can make itself appear much larger by swallowing water. There’s also the orchid bee, which uses an exceptionally long tongue to capture nectar, and the waterfall climbing cave fish, which has neither eyes nor skin pigment—but big fins that help it hold on to rocks when water rushes over it.
The museum’s President’s Day camp costs $50 per child and includes a morning and afternoon snack. Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. at the museum’s entrance at 1 Wade Oval Dr., and children are expected to bring their own sack lunch. Families can register children for the President’s Day Camp at account.cmnh.org/auxiliary/Reserve.aspx?p=18374.
The university president’s office provides financial assistance for PCCCO camps to families with household incomes of $50,000 or less. Those with questions about financial assistance and their eligibility can contact Case Western Reserve’s Human Resources Manager Amy Sheldon at amy.sheldon@case.edu or 216.368.5000.