Creative Connection Series

Our Creative Connections programs are designed specifically to meet the needs of our youngest CTY participants. The imaginative and interactive programs include one-day and overnight 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 hands-on activities designed to provide a stimulating environment in which families can learn together and discover fascinating new interests. 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 spend the night in the host institution. It is highly recommended that participants bring sleeping bags, foam pads, and pillows to these programs as they will be sleeping on the floor.

Creative Connections Programs

Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum – St. Leonard, MD
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum is a place full of secrets waiting to be unearthed. Investigate the past by working alongside professional archaeologists. Explore native life at a recreated Indian village. Excavate at an eighteenth century plantation site on the Patuxent River. Work with conservators to analyze your findings at the state-of-the-art Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory. Through hands-on activities and real life examples, you will travel back in time and discover the stories behind the artifacts. Join CTY for a day of excavating, exploration, and excitement! This program begins around 9:00 a.m. and ends around 4:00 p.m. Continental breakfast and lunch included.
Cost: $95 per person. Register now 

Newseum – Washington, DC
Saturday, May 19, 2012
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, information has spread 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. This program begins around 8:30 a.m. and ends around 3:00 p.m. Continental breakfast and lunch vouchers are included.
Cost: $95 per person. Register now 

The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) – Bronx, NY
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Take a perspective walk through this very special “garden within a garden.” Explore the elements that inspired Claude Monet’s art while visiting a replica of his garden in France in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. Claude Monet was an avid gardener who famously attributed becoming a painter to flowers. His influences were colors, shapes, movement, and light found in his garden. Step into the shoes of a field botanist and use scientific observation to discover the uniqueness of the native plants and animals that comprise the exceptional environment of the Garden’s 50-acre native forest. Join a NYBG educator and create your own garden-inspired work of art! This program begins around 8:30 am and ends around 3:30 pm. Continental breakfast and lunch voucher are included.
Cost: $75 per person. Register now 

Beverly Hills Chess Club – Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Chess has been played and enjoyed by people around the world for over two thousand years. In this exciting new program, children and parents are exposed to the imaginative and logical sides of this ancient game. Participants review the rules to become masters of their own armies. You will be able to play against other CTY students and parents in slower games that develop patience or faster ones that develop coordination and enthusiasm. Participate in Siamese chess, a team version played with a partner. Learn to use geometry and logic to solve chess problems. Play against a chess master—you and other CTY participants will outnumber him 20 to 1. Instruction is provided by award-winning chess teachers, including certified master and expert players ranked by the United States Chess Federation. Whether you have played chess for a long time or are just a beginner, this program has something for everyone! This program takes place on the campus of the Windward School, beginning around 9:00 am and ending around 4:00 pm. Continental breakfast and lunch are included.
Cost: $95 per person.  Register now 

Monterey Bay Aquarium – Monterey, CA
Sunday, June 24, 2012  
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 the Aquarium cares for more than 30,000 plants and animals. Students will then have the opportunity to join the Underwater Explorers Diving program where they will get a “fish-eye” view of the Great Tide Pool by donning masks, regulators, and dry suits for a surface SCUBA experience. The Aquarium’s certified dive staff will assist students in the water and introduce them to the animals that live along the rocky shore. Finish the day with a special discovery lab experience and a behind-the-scenes tour of the galleries and exhibits, and you will have a day of marine discovery like no other! This program begins around 7:30 a.m. and ends around 3:30 p.m. Continental breakfast is included. Monterey Bay Aquarium requires all children be at least 8 years old and not older than 13 to participate in this program.
Cost: $125 per adult; $175 per student. Register now 

Ocean Institute – Dana Point, CA
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Begin the day in the Ocean Institute (OI) laboratory exploring the facts and fiction about whales. Use microscopes to investigate plankton and krill as you learn about marine mammals’ diets. Sort mammal and non-mammal artifacts, listen to whale sounds, and look at fascinating whale “hitchhikers.” Go to sea on the research vessel, Sea Explorer, in search of marine mammals. This is the season to see blue whales, dolphins, and sea lions. Study what whales might eat in the plankton and mud samples. Back at OI, go back in time to experience the life of a tall ship sailor in the 1830s during an imaginary voyage with hands-on activities aboard the brig, Pilgrim. Work together and learn how to hoist a cargo barrel, raise a sail, and row a longboat as the captain and crew make history come alive! This program begins around 8:30 a.m. and ends around 3:30 p.m. Continental breakfast and lunch are included. Ocean Institute requires all children be at least 8 years old to participate in this program.
Cost: $160 per person. Register now 

Mount St. Helens Institute – Amboy, WA *
Saturday, July 28 - Sunday, July 29, 2012
Join us for this overnight adventure to experience a volcano at night. Be introduced to the ever-changing landscape of Mount St. Helens and the fascinating geological discoveries being made there. Engage in hands-on scientific activities; take a night hike and learn about the constellations; and visit the Johnson Ridge Observatory where monitoring of this active volcano is ongoing. This “campout” in the Coldwater Visitor Center offers spectacular views of the crater and lava dome. Come join CTY and sleep on a mountain in a secret location with CTY families as your companions! This program is an overnight. It begins around 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and ends around 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, and includes dinner and continental breakfast. Participants should bring sleeping bags, mats, and pillows as you will be sleeping on the Visitor Center floor.
Cost: $160 per person. Register now 

Aquarium of the Pacific – Long Beach, CA *
Wednesday, August 1 - Thursday, August 2, 2012
Begin the day with a fascinating whale watching excursion. With the help of an Aquarium educator, you will search for migrating gray whales, dolphins, and a variety of wildlife. Upon arrival back at the Aquarium, learn about California’s unique kelp forests and wetlands habitats; discover why plankton make our waters so rich with hands-on exploration; observe sharks and rays; and learn more about local marine mammals. Relax with a 3-D movie before falling asleep right under the fish! The next morning, you will be greeted by playful seals and sea lions before heading out with the crew of the Long Beach Marine Institute on a research vessel to see another layer of biodiversity—in the mud! Have fun sifting through ocean sediment looking for animals while learning about their importance in the food chain. Don’t miss this opportunity to discover the ocean’s biodiversity. This program is an overnight. It begins around 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday and ends around 11:00 a.m. on Thursday. It includes dinner, a snack, and continental breakfast. Participants should bring sleeping bags, mats, and pillows as you will be sleeping on the floor of the Aquarium. Aquarium of the Pacific requires all children be at least 8 years old to participate in this program.
Cost: $160 per person. Register now 

Monterey Bay Aquarium – Monterey, CA
Sunday, August 12, 2012
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 the Aquarium cares for more than 30,000 plants and animals. Students will then have the opportunity to join the Underwater Explorers Diving program where they will get a “fish-eye” view of the Great Tide Pool by donning masks, regulators, and dry suits for a surface SCUBA experience. The Aquarium’s certified dive staff will assist students in the water and introduce them to the animals that live along the rocky shore. Finish the day with a special discovery lab experience and a behind-the-scenes tour of the galleries and exhibits, and you will have a day of marine discovery like no other! This program begins around 7:30 a.m. and ends around 3:30 p.m. Continental breakfast is included. Monterey Bay Aquarium requires all children be at least 8 years old and not older than 13 to participate in this program.
Cost: $125 per adult; $175 per student. Register now 

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