Our Creative Connections programs include one-day and overnight hands-on learning experiences for students and parents at prestigious museums, science and nature centers, and aquariums. Program structure varies at each site, but every event includes activities designed to provide a stimulating environment in which families can learn together and discover fascinating new interests. The Creative Connections Series includes one-day and overnight programs. Schedules for all programs, as well as meals provided, vary from site to site. Detailed information specific to each Creative Connections program is provided after registration. Hurry to register now! We anticipate that these programs will fill quickly. We look forward to welcoming our youngest students and their parents to the CTY family! A note about our overnight programs: Unless otherwise indicated, families will spend the night in the host institutions. It is highly recommended that you plan on bringing sleeping bags, foam pads, and pillows to these programs. Please join us for these unique programs specially arranged for CTY students and their families. See below for registration information. Cost: Varies by site; see below. New program announcement:
Historic St. Mary's City, Saturday, July 10, 2010 | Location | 2009 - 2010 Dates |
San Diego Museum of Man – San Diego, CA
During this exciting exploratory day, you will trace the evolutionary history of primates and the various ways they adapted to their environments; examine the first primates that existed sixty-five million years ago, as well as monkeys, apes, prosimians, and humans that exist today, as you “monkey around” in Primate Hall; learn, through hands-on activities, what all primates have in common and what makes each primate species unique. In a lab session, you will use tools and methods of anthropology to measure primate bones, including skulls, in order to investigate primate adaptation. Come to this amazing, unusual program at this very interesting museum!
Cost: $65 per person | Saturday,
November 14, 2009 |
Pacific Asia Museum – Pasadena, CA
Come join us for a hands-on exploration of Asian art and culture at this renowned museum. With guidance from the museum’s knowledgeable artist-instructors, learn about the important role of animals in Asian art and then create your own stylized animal drawings. Learn both Chinese and Japanese characters in an interactive calligraphy and sumi-e (ink painting) workshop and then create your own scroll to take home. Enjoy a guided tour of the museum’s galleries and courtyard, and discover one of Pasadena’s architectural treasures. It’s all sure to evoke inspiration, and the Southern California Haiku Study Group will help you capture the day with your own unique haiku. This will be a special experience—discover Asia close to home!
Cost: $65 per person | Sunday,
February 7, 2010 |
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology – Philadelphia, PA
Join us for an uncommon experience at this classic Museum to investigate the story of the Lenape Nation. Take a guided tour of this exhibition which draws from oral histories, family heirlooms, and photographs, as well as archaeology, historical, and ethnographic research. Learn the unique history of this tribe through fun and interesting hands-on activities. By talking with members of this tribe you will gain a greater appreciation of different histories and cultures.
Cost: $85 per person | Saturday,
April 17, 2010 |
Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk – Norwalk, CT
Come to Norwalk for an exciting, educational day at this lively Aquarium which is filled with exhibits of sea turtles, sharks, otters, jellyfish, and more. Activities could include: an interactive talk by a guest speaker with the possibility of a book signing; a behind-the-scenes tour of the fish kitchen and above the shark tank; hands-on workshops in the intertidal animals classrooms; and an IMAX movie. This is a day that will keep you informed and entertained all at once!
Cost: $65 per person | Saturday,
April 24, 2010 |
Walters Art Museum – Baltimore, MD
Real or fake? How do you know? Come to the Walters Art Museum and become an art detective as you discover the mysteries behind works of art. Discover what hidden stories are revealed when conservators clean, x-ray, and analyze works of art. You will also get a chance to become an archaeologist as you travel back in time and discover the artifacts of ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Near East. What do these treasures tell us about the past? You will experience art with your eyes as well as your hands, and also enjoy a dynamic performance by an artist!
Cost: $65 per person | Sunday,
April 25, 2010 |
Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center –
Virginia Beach, VA
Submerge yourself in the underwater environment of this amazing institution which has sandtigers, sharks, stingrays, and other ocean dwellers. Experience such wonders as a sea turtle aquarium, a sea turtle hatchling laboratory, jellyfish and octopus aquariums, and even a life-size model of a humpback whale. Students will be engaged by hands-on workshops, behind-the-scenes tours, a tour of the new gallery, Restless Planet: A Journey across the Planet that Brings You Closer to Home, and an Imax movie. Observe bottlenose dolphins in their natural habitat and learn about their behaviors during our exclusive dolphin-watching cruise on Sunday morning.
Please note: Virginia Aquarium requires all children be at least 8 years old to participate in this program. Cost: $145 per person | Saturday,
May 1 –
Sunday,
May 2, 2010 |
USS Constellation Ships: Taney, Torsk,
and Chesapeake – Baltimore, MD
Welcome aboard Coast Guard Cutter Taney, United States Submarine Torsk, and Lightship Chesapeake for a unique overnight program designed specifically for CTY families. An experienced sailor will guide your exploration of these three different ships on which you will participate in hands-on activities that might include learning about Morse code, navigation, periscopes, and steam power. Become an honorary member of the United States Navy and Coast Guard, eat dinner and breakfast and sleep aboard Taney, and have an experience you are sure to remember!
Cost: $145 per person | Saturday,
May 15 -
Sunday,
May 16, 2010
|
Newseum – Washington, DC
Explore how news spread 200 years ago, how it spreads today, and how it might tomorrow. From cave paintings to telegraphs, cuneiform script to television and twitter, the information we want and need spreads in a multitude of ways. Through an interactive workshop for students, a discussion about the future of news for parents, and an educator-led exploration of the Internet, TV, and Radio Gallery, you will come to understand the many ways technology enables, constrains, and alters a message. You will also have time to explore, on your own, more of the fascinating galleries at this significant, innovative, and compelling museum. You will look at news much differently after spending the day at the Newseum!
Cost: $85 per person | Saturday,
June 12, 2010 |
Monterey Bay Aquarium – Monterey, CA
Come to the Aquarium for an experience that truly takes you under water! Begin the day by taking part in private feedings as you learn how more than 30,000 plants and animals are cared for. Join the Underwater Explorers Diving program where students will get a fish eye view of the Great Tide Pool. Students will don masks, regulators, and dry suits for a surface SCUBA experience. The Aquarium’s certified dive staff will assist you in the water and introduce you to the animals that live along the rocky shore. Top that with a special discovery lab experience and free time on your own to explore the galleries and exhibits, and you will have a day of marine discovery like no other!
Please note: Monterey Bay Aquarium requires all children be at least 8 years old to participate in this program. Cost: $155 per person | Sunday,
June 27, 2010 Sunday,
August 22, 2010 | Historic St. Mary's City – St. Mary's City, MD The Historic St. Mary’s City Commission and CTY invite you to an exciting day of historical discovery. Through engaging demonstrations, hands-on activities and crafts, and problem solving exercises, colonial Maryland will come to life for CTY students and their families. Join a simulated deer hunt, learning the hunting practices of the Yaocomaco Indians in the 17th century. During this activity you will process river cane into darts similar to those used by the Yaocomaco to hunt deer. Examine different species of plants, draw them in a journal, and discover which plants were used to cure illnesses of early Maryland settlers. Participate in an archaeological dig (weather permitting), sifting through the dirt for historical artifacts. Finally, use a compass, chip log, and quadrant to experience how sailors of the 17th century navigated their way across the Atlantic. By the end of the day, participants will better understand and appreciate the life ways, technology, and culture of those living in Maryland in the 1600s. Cost: $65 per person | Saturday,
July 10, 2010 |
Ocean Institute – Dana Point, CA
Begin the day in the Ocean Institute lab exploring the facts and fiction about whales along with the book The Snail and the Whale. You will use microscopes to look at plankton and krill as you explore the diets of marine mammals; sort mammal and non-mammal artifacts; listen to whale sounds; and look at fascinating whale “hitchhikers.” Go to sea on the 65-foot research vessel, Sea Explorer, in search of marine mammals and study what the whales might eat in plankton and mud samples. This is the season when blue whales, the largest animals on earth, along with dolphins and sea lions, are often seen. Back at OI, you will travel back in time to experience the life of a tall ship sailor in the 1830s during an imaginary voyage aboard the brig of the Pilgrim. Work together and learn how to hoist a cargo barrel, raise a sail, and row a longboat as you help the captain and crew make history come alive!
Please note: Ocean Institute requires all children be at least 8 years old to participate in this program. Cost: $105 per person | Sunday,
July 25, 2010 |
Registration Information
At least one parent or guardian must register and attend with the student(s). Siblings will be admitted only if they have been registered for the event, and, in general, only if their age is within two years of the program grade limit. Registration is strictly limited, and participants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. These are popular events, and locations fill up quickly. Please watch this website for the most up-to-date information of program details and site closings. You may register for the above programs by Registering Online or by submitting our Registration Form via fax or mail. Payment Information
Payments submitted will be processed automatically upon receipt. However, your family’s reservation is secured only when you receive your written confirmation. In the event that the program is filled, you will be issued a complete credit and put on a waiting list. Please do not purchase non-refundable airline tickets or hotel reservations until you receive your registration confirmation. Please note that all past due balances (for any CTY program) must be paid prior to registration for a Family Academic Program. All payments will be applied to past due balances first. Cancellation Policy
For cancellations made 30 days or more prior to the event, registrants will be charged a processing fee of $25 per family for one-day events and $50 per family for overnight programs. From 29 to 15 days prior, registrants will be charged one-half of the total amount paid. There will be no credit for any cancellations received less than 15 days before the event. Logistics
Specific information pertinent to your location, including exact times and directions to the event, will be mailed to you prior to the program date. Information about lunch will be provided in the confirmation materials. Parents! We need your support to volunteer at our events. Fill out this form for more information on how to help. Questions? Please call 410-735-6115, 8:30-5:00 EST, or e-mail ctyfam@jhu.edu back to top |
