CWRU offering child care option at natural history museum for President’s Day holiday

young child playing with a magnifying glassThe President’s Committee on Child Care Options (PCCCO) announced today that the university again is partnering with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH) to provide Case Western Reserve families a unique option for President’s Day.

“Health and Medicine” is the theme for this year’s collaboration, designed to provide campus parents an educational, fun and conveniently located program for their children during the upcoming school holiday Feb. 16. Among many other activities, participants will get to extract DNA, learn about the organs in their bodies, and study teeth from both fossils and living animals.

“This event marks our third collaboration with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History,” said PCCCO Chair Eileen Anderson-Fye, the Robson Associate Professor of Anthropology, “and our families could not be more appreciative of the museum’s staff and leadership. We also continue to be grateful for President [Barbara R.] Snyder’s support of these programs.”

The PCCCO has organized and sponsored child care programs during school holidays and breaks since spring 2013, when the committee offered one weeklong camp on campus with the Music School Settlement and another with the Mandel Jewish Community Center. The first program with Cleveland Museum of Natural History took place on President’s Day in 2014, followed by another this fall on Rosh Hashanah, when several area school districts were closed.

This year’s President’s Day program is open to students in kindergarten through sixth grade. All activities—including drop-off and pick-up—take place at the museum (1 Wade Oval Dr.). It runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with check-in beginning at 8:30 a.m. CMNH will provide snacks, but children should bring their own sack lunches with a drink.

Enrollment is capped at 25 and pre-registration is required. Those interested in participating should complete the form, available at cmnh.org/event?id=7313.

The cost is $50. As with the committee’s earlier offerings, President Snyder’s office will provide financial assistance to families with household incomes of $50,000 or less. Those with questions about financial assistance and their eligibility can contact Human Resources Manager Amy Sheldon at amy.sheldon@case.edu or 216.368.5000.