Page 16 - 2018 Mar-Apr Art-i-facts

Parachutes to Playdough -

A Day of Play in Downtown Lakeland

By Kerry Falwell

April 7. From parachutes to playdough, kids will be
able to show their grownups what they know and
come together to play as a community.

Child Fest will feature live performances, science
demos, art and design projects, and so much more.
New this year is Museum Members are free and
General Admission is only $5 per person.

This year Child Fest lines up with Week of the
Young Child, a national advocacy week for high
quality early learning experiences spearheaded
by the National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC). Across the country at
preschools, daycares, museums, and libraries,
educators and caregivers are working together
to share the importance of the early years with
community leaders and create plans for equal,
quality access to education. The architecture for
your brain is complete by the age of five making
it that much more important to instill critical
executive function skills in children as early as
Being a kid is a hard job. Big people tell you what to wear, what to possible. Explorations V has the unique ability to
eat, where to play, and when you can play. You have to learn how use its community platform to not only advocate
to be a friend and you fall down a lot. The lessons you learn as a for quality early learning opportunities but to offer
kid set your path in life and influence your day-to-day decisions as a its galleries and experiences as a place to do this
grownup. That’s a lot to ask of someone who can’t tie their shoes, important growth while exploring art, science,
yet! Explorations V Children’s Museum’s mission is to make this math, and so much more.
tough job a little easier with a safe and encouraging place to play,
provide an incubator for curiosity, and be a window into the world Explorations V will host more low-cost learning
around us. opportunities leading up to Child Fest including
reduced-price after-hours Friday Night Live the
Every year, Explorations V’s Child Fest brings families together to first Friday of every month and free Family Yoga on
celebrate the fun part of growing up. This year, Child Fest is taking Fridays at 4pm. For a full calendar of events, visit
over Munn Park and Kentucky Avenue in downtown Lakeland on explorationsv.com or call 863.687.3869.

Photos provided by Explorations V Children's Museum.

16 Art-i-facts • March-April 2018 • www.polkarts.org