The People You’ll Meet

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

The People You’ll Meet
One of the luxuries of semi-retirement is that you enjoy the gift of time and you can decide how you will use that time. Do you remember when “stop and smell the flowers” was a popular saying? Well, now I would say, “stop and enjoy the people.” In my mini-retirement job the thing I have enjoyed the most is meeting a greater variety of people.

Every day I am enlightened and surprised by the people that interact at Port Discover. An amazing array of folks come to both enjoy the benefits of the center and to contribute their talents to its mission.

Last year Port Discover had approximately 10,000 contacts which is about 200 per week. Most of the students are from ages one year to age 12. Some come with their parents and others come with school groups.

The students touched by the outreach education programs performed by the science educators is another big group. Students from Girls Inc., the Boys and Girls Club, La Casa, and the YMCA attend the monthly after-school programs. Birthday parties are held at the center and kids learn while they celebrate.

Parents of young children sometimes arrange play dates with friends so their children can enjoy the toddler section together. It is interesting to see the interaction between parent and child while they are both in the teaching-learning mode.

Grandparents are frequent visitors with their grandchildren. Often the kids are visiting, and the grandparent knows that Port Discover is a place where they can interact with a purpose. Both participants have a good time and leave feeling that the time was well spent.

Sometimes families who are taking extended trips by boat and are home schooling their children spend time using the educational resources available at the center. One family who visited the center had sold their home and business and had traveled down the Mississippi River and was on the way to Maine. They had spent a year on their journey and shared some of their adventures and observations about our area. Port Discover and the Museum were featured in their blog that week.

A family from Canada brought their year old son to experience the exhibits. They became so interested in the Kids Grow garden project that the father volunteered several hours laboring in the garden. Another family from Canada traveling by sailboat brought their children and spent the afternoon. The mother was a teacher of Eskimo children and was on a paid sabbatical leave.

Volunteers include students from ECSU, MACU, NHS, PHS, and NC School of Math and Science. Retired teachers, parents, grandparents, USCG members, Port Discover members, and other interested citizens volunteer their time to make the many activities at Port Discover happen.

If you’d like to be involved in helping kids broaden their horizons about science and education in general, come and join in on the fun. You’ll meet people who share your interests and are making their world a better place for today and tomorrow.

Finding The Energy

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Finding The Energy
Invention, innovation, and creativity power our country and have made the United States an example for the world to follow. Someone is reputed to have said in 1899 that “Everything that can be invented has been.” We now know that our world is limitless—except when it comes to energy to power our inventions. Now we’ve got to find more energy.

In our daily lives we have moved toward conservation and using renewable energy as much as possible. Alternative energy sources like wind and solar are constantly being sought. We’ve been here before as a county during the eighties, but we seemed to lose our motivation then. This time, there are so many countries competing for energy that our efforts must become more serious.

Here’s where the kids come in. Since they are natives in the world of technology, and adults are usually just visitors, we must educate them to explore the possibilities. Their knowledge and understanding of science will be critical in the creation of new sources.

Port Discover will offer several opportunities for kids to develop a vision of the energy world of tomorrow. On May 26 Dr. Althea Bluilett, assistant professor of physics at Elizabeth City State University, will teach a program on alternative energy. Students will observe simple motors and generators in action and work in groups to build an alternative energy motor for display.

In the new “Kids Grow Garden” behind the center, a watering system using rain water collected in barrels and powered by the sun has been installed by Solar Garden Sitter. The company based in Edenton and created by Gary and Joan Lee proclaims that it is the only solar powered programmable rain barrel irrigation system available.

Port Discover will benefit from this innovation as well as have an opportunity to teach visitors about the concepts involved. During a one inch rain more than 700 gallons of water runs off the average roof. That’s enough to supply 17 baths or 58 showers.

Kids can be focused when they want to be. When I wanted to create a habit of fastening my seatbelt, I told my young son he could have all the change in my purse if he caught me unbuckled. It didn’t take long for me to cultivate the habit.

If you want to get motivated about energy conservation and use, involve your children by having them do things like make energy posters reminding family members to conserve. Encourage them to be the switch police for the family, monitor the doors being closed, turn the water off when brushing their teeth, and take showers instead of baths.

Have them come up with their own ideas, and then see if the electric and water bill change. Put them in the position of responsibility and power. It could be a great authentic learning experience for the whole family this summer and a money saver too. They will learn about science and economics at the same time, and you will prosper from both.

Making A Difference In Your Own Backyard

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Making A Difference In Your Own Backyard
Raccoons, beavers, wild turkeys, squirrels, groundhogs, bobcats, birds, deer, geese, ducks, owls, hawks, great blue herons, night herons, opossums, foxes, river otters, turtles, and snakes make their homes in our backyard. That’s just the residents that I’ve seen. I’m sure there are more.

To put it mildly, our yard is critter friendly. When we built our home on a canal and next to a swampy area, I knew it would be wild, but not this wild. The grandchildren and visitors love it. We put in a sidewalk so I wouldn’t step on a snake walking down to the pier. My husband laughed at me, of course.

Last Christmas my sister and brother-in-law gave us one of the most cherished presents that we’ve ever gotten. They took the time to go online and complete the application for our yard to be registered as a wildlife habitat with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). I knew about the program, but I’d never taken the time to complete the process. We were thrilled with the whole idea.

When the application is completed and the $20 is sent in, you receive a personalized certificate that recognizes your yard as a NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat. Along with that comes a free NWF membership which includes a year’s magazine subscription, 10% off catalog purchases, and a free subscription to the e-newsletter, HABITATS, full of tips and information on gardening and attracting wildlife.

In addition, the owner’s name is listed in NWF’s National registry of certified habitats in recognition of the contribution to the well- being of wildlife. You can also purchase a yard sign that shows your commitment to conserving wildlife. In completing the application you certify that you have elements from certain areas:

• Food sources: native plants, seeds, nuts, berries, nectar
• Water sources: birdbath, pond, stream
• Places for cover: thickets, rock pile, birdhouses
• Places to raise young: dense shrubs, vegetation, nesting box, pond
• Sustainable Gardening: mulch, compost, chemical free fertilizer

Right now the organization is trying to reach a goal of 150,000 wildlife habitats by December 31, 2011. If you are interested in participating, go online to www.nwf.org and do a search for the wildlife habitat application.

Putting yourself and your children in close contact with nature and wildlife brings immeasurable rewards. We used to have a fish pond in our backyard, and one summer our youngest daughter, age 10 at the time, decided to keep a wildlife journal. All of her daily observations and drawings were carefully entered into that journal. It was quite a learning experience, and it didn’t cost a thing.

PBS recently broadcasted a beautiful documentary on the life of John Muir, a Scottish born American (1838-1914), who was an activist for the preservation of wilderness areas. He founded the Sierra Club which today is one of the strongest conservation organizations. He spent his whole life studying the natural world, and he truly made a difference. You too can make a difference for wildlife right in your own backyard.