In 1912, the people of Japan sent 3,020 cherry trees to the United States as a gift of friendship. First Lady Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese Ambassador, planted the first two trees on the northern bank of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., and the rest were planted around that inlet, along […]
So, what’s the deal with Pluto? You probably know it’s not a planet anymore. This I learned from my oldest daughter when she was in kindergarten a few years ago. And that was as much as I could tell you about it…until we took a field trip to the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and […]
Until Max and Mae Merriweather hit the scene, Harrison Ford’s depiction of heart-throb archaeologist Indiana Jones was pretty much the coolest (or only) archaeologist in pop culture. I think it’s worth mentioning, though, that Archaeology is so much more than a costumed celebrity. Yes, the inquisitive heroes of history may wear a khaki top now […]
We often get asked about how Brain Chase can fit into existing summer plans. Whether you’re traveling overseas, visiting areas without wifi, or sending your kids to an ever-memorable sleepaway camp, Brain Chase is custom-built to fit your sense of adventure. It’s all based on the model of the program; we incorporate flexibility into every step […]
Have you ever wondered how potato chips are made? Sure, you slice a potato and fry it. That’s an easy one. But how about pretzels? Or tea? Guitars? Motorcycles? Crayons? Baseball bats? They’re all made the same way: in a factory. Last year one of my friends took her family on a factory-and-museum road trip up the east coast. […]
As a dedicated prankster in my youth, I made sure to plan my April Fools’ pranks weeks in advance. Setting my siblings’ alarms for 3:30 AM? Totally. Flour in the hairdryer? Old hat. Wearing…clothing backwards? Yep, I was that kid. Eventually, I grew out of the dime-store pranks and settled into online trickery for my […]
Every once in a while, I’m stopped in my tracks while working or surfing online and I say to myself, “My kids have got to see this.” Something about the wonder of a video, the mind-blowing beauty of an image or sound, or the sheer coolness of a fact or graphic drives me to want […]
When one of my children comes to me with the inevitable, “Mom, I’m booored”, one of my go-to suggestions is, “Go build something.” When I say this, I’m thinking inside the box: blocks. Or Legos. Tower…maybe a house. This is as far as my multi-tasking mom brain goes. But when a child hears “build”, to […]
Sometimes we all need a jump start. A leap into the right direction, or any direction at all. That’s just where I was when I came across a mystical little book enticingly titled “How to Be an Explorer of the World.” Big promises, right? I was skeptical myself…and then I looked inside. The word “book” […]