Build a terrarium, become an illustration, test your strength or take tea with Belle
“Be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you, opening new channels, not of trade, but of thought.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Cheer Special Olympians at Winter Games
“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
– Special Olympics Athlete Oath
It’s time to get our cheer on! The 2016 Special Olympics New York State Winter Games take place from Friday to Sunday, February 19 to 21, and the competitors need us to shout our support and encouragement from the stands. Events include Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating, Floor Hockey and Snowshoe, and they take place at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, Stewart Air National Guard in Newburgh and Holiday Mountain in Monticello. All events are free and open to the public. For more information or to register to cheer as a social volunteer, call (518) 388-0791 or visit https://specialolympics-ny.org/winter-games.
Middle-school girls register now for Math & Science Matter at DCCC
I hear such great things every year about “Math & Science Matter…Especially for Young Women,” so during this last week of registration, I hope you check out this event for your fifth-to-eighth-grade daughter. Math & Science Matter takes place on Saturday, March 5 from 8:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Dutchess County Community College. The cost is $10 and online preregistration is required by February 25.
Girls choose three out of the 22 hands-on workshops offered, which focus on science, technology, engineering and math. Parents are welcome to attend their own free optional workshop, Admissions & Financial Aid: Panel Discussion, held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and no preregistration is required.
Dutchess County Community College is located at 53 Pendell Road in Poughkeepsie. For more information or to register, call (845) 431-8545, e-mail zito@sunydutchess.edu or visit www.sunydutchess.edu/msm.
Anti-bullying art by kids at Hyde Park’s Wallace Center
More than just good art, student exhibits can inspire other youth to express their own creativity, and a show like this week’s display honoring Celebrate Kindness Week and No Name-Calling Week can help to heal and strengthen our communities. On Monday, February 22 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., come over to the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library for the opening reception of the 2016 Student Creative Expression Exhibit, showing works of Hudson Valley youth about bullying, kindness, understanding and respect.
This event is free and open to the public and includes refreshments and guest speakers. The show runs from Monday to Wednesday, February 22 to 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The FDR Presidential Library is located at 4079 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park. For more information, call (845) 331-5300 or visit www.glsen.org/nonamecallingweek.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus sideshow at Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck
Like watching people spin tops or plates or whirl machetes around? Then get your tickets now for Mr. Pennygraff’s Cirkus Sideshow Spectacle, taking place this Saturday, February 20 at 11 a.m. at the Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck. Performed by none other than the co-founder of the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus himself, Keith Bindlestiff, this show is a treat for all ages. Tickets cost $7 for children, $9 for adults and seniors.
The Center for Performing Arts at Rhinebeck is located at 661 Route 308 in Rhinebeck. For tickets or more information, call (845) 876-3080 or visit www.centerforperformingarts.org. To learn more about the performer, visit www.bindlestiff.org.
Hudson Valley Writing Project workshops at SUNY-New Paltz
Know any youth between the ages of 7 and 17 who love to write, or could use some supportive encouragement and experience? How about you? Feel like treating yourself to some Saturday-morning writing time? This Saturday, February 20 from 8:45 a.m. to 12 noon at SUNY-New Paltz, the Hudson Valley Writing Project offers writing workshops for all ages. Kids from 7 to 10 years can take “Characters Come to Life” and “Who Are You? What Makes You Tick?” Youth from 11 to 17 years can join “Let Your Imagination Go Wild” and “Headfirst into Poetry.” Adults can participate in “A Time for Writing.”
The cost is $25 for students, $20 for adults and $40 for a student and adult. Workshops take place in Room 1907 of the Old Main Building. SUNY-New Paltz is located at 1 Hawk Drive in New Paltz. For more information or to register, call (845) 257-2836, e-mail hvwp@newpaltz.edu or visit www.newpaltz.edu/hvwp/satworkshops.
Weird Science with Professor Sparks at Hudson’s FASNY Museum of Firefighting
Changing our fire and smoke alarm batteries twice a year to adjust to Daylight Savings Time is an example of supporting fire safety year round. Another way to engage kids in fire safety is to attend the family programming at the FASNY Museum of Firefighting! This Saturday, February 20 at 10:30 a.m., you and your kids ages 5 and up can catch Weird Science with Professor Sparks and her robot sidekick, Spot 2000. This interactive program mixes science, fire and fun.
Admission includes the Professor Sparks show along with entry to the museum and costs $7 for adults, $5 for children ages 3 and older, free for children under 3 and $20 for the family rate, which includes two parents and two children. Since this is a Super Saturday, families who live in Columbia County are admitted free, with proof of residency.
The FASNY Museum of Firefighting is located at 117 Harry Howard Avenue in Hudson. For more information, call (518) 822-1875 or visit www.fasnyfiremuseum.com.
Join the family! 
