Kids Bowl Free

Here's a fun summer activity that might be available in your area. Click here for bowling alleys participating in Kids Bowl Free in Kansas.

If the whole family likes to bowl, there is apparently a family pass available at a very reasonable rate.

The Family Pass was created to allow for adult family members to enjoy bowling throughout the summer as well. The Family Pass costs $23.95 (except Royal Pin Leisure Centers, $29.95) and includes 2 GAMES PER PERSON PER DAY. The Family Pass is $23.95 and covers up to 4 adult family members. If you have 1 or 4 for family members on the pass, it is still $23.95 for the entire summer. This one-time payment covers up to 4 adults for the entire summer.

And if you are from somewhere other than Kansas, just click the 'home' link to find out which bowling centers are participating in your state.

Thanks, Roxie, for the link.

RoboMaster Camps & Classes

RoboMasters was founded in 2005 with the goal of teaching children engineering principals through working with Lego Mindstorms Robotics kits.

For summer camp information, Wichita area, click here.

HANCK Art Show

Update: April 2

Unfortunately, the HANCK art show has been post-poned until further notice. We'll post the notice again if they are able to reschedule.

Wichita Gem and Mineral Society

Dear Educator,

A unique opportunity for a first hand encounter with the world of geology, rocks, minerals, craftsmanship and art is offered each year by the Wichita Gem and Mineral Society. Their 56th annual show will be held at Cessna Activity Center, 2744 George Washington Boulevard, on April 24, 25 and 26, 2009. Since education is one of the primary purposes of our society, we wish to again invite educators to plan field trips to the show. Classes of all ages, accompanied by adult leadership will be welcome at no charge all day Friday. We do limit you to a maximum of one free adult for each child attending.The theme of the show is Great Plains Treasures. The show will feature gemstones, jewelry, crystals, beads, agates, polished stones, minerals and meteorites.

Every year we have skilled craftsmen that demonstrate a variety of lapidary arts such as arrowhead making, faceting, cabbing, rock tumbling, beading, wire wrapping and sphere making. Educational displays of rocks, minerals and fossils are a key part of our show. This year we will again have representatives from the Kansas Meteorological Society.

On "Sid the Science Kid Education Day" Friday we offer a special education program for children. It is a hands-on lesson in rock and mineral classification. We will discuss the difference between rocks and minerals and use scientific inquiry to determine the identity of 6 rocks and minerals. Participation in this program is by reservation only. Reservations are taken on a first come, first serve basis. Once the slots are full we will have waiting lists to fill in for cancellations. You can make a reservation at www.wgmsks.org, click on the Educators link and fill out a Reservation Form.

You can also make a reservation with Carolyn White (see contact information below). Include your name, school, grade level, the number of children in your group and an email and/or mailing address. We will start taking reservations January 15th. Reservations are not required if you just want to attend the show. In addition to the displays and demonstrations mentioned above we will have available:

• Grab Bags @ $1.50. Each bag contains a necklace, a shark tooth, a polished stone, an identified fossil and 6 identified mineral specimens.
• Junior Rock Pile @ 50 cents. Students 6th grade and under will have the opportunity to fill a sack with specimens of their choice
• Dealers will have many items available for students to purchase.
• Identifying Rocks and Minerals book @ $1.00
• Identifying Fossils book @ $1.00
• There will be a snack bar available.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions that you have.

Carolyn White
educ@wgmsks.org
2225 N. Fountain
Wichita, KS 67220
(316) 250-6182

Kansas Day: January 29th

From the Library of Congress:

Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861. About two hundred years earlier the French Jesuit priests, Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, were among the region's earliest European explorers. A map drawn by Marquette in 1673 indicated that the Kanza, Ouchage (Osage), and Paneassa (Pawnee) tribes dominated the area that would become Kansas.

The United States acquired Kansas in 1803 from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase. During its early years as a U.S. possession, the area was part of Indian Territory and was used by the federal government to relocate tribal peoples. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed the residents to decide if theirs would be a free or slave state.

Some activities for Kansas Day...

Kansas Day at the Museum
Kansas Museum of History, Topeka
9 a.m. — 3 p.m. Thursday, January 29, 2009
Free Admission


Kansas Day at the Museum
Smokey Hill Museum, Salina
Saturday, January 31, 2009


Sunset Zoo, Manhattan
Kids visit for free the entire month of January!


Kansas Day Celebration
Santa Fe Trail Center, Larned
Sunday, January 25, 2009


Lecompton's Bleeding Kansas Program Series
Sundays, January 25 - March 1, 2009
Free Admission
Constitution Hall State Historic Site


Celebrate Kansas Day!
Kauffman Museum, Newton
Sunday, January 31, 2009
1:30-4:30 p.m.

Kansas Day Celebration
Butler County History Center & Kansas Oil Museum, El Dorado
Sunday, January 31, 2009

If you know of more, please send them!

Salina Area Not Back to School Day

When: July 14
Where: Lakewood Park in Salina

There will be lots of fun activities for the kids plus information for new or upcoming homeschoolers about homeschooling and unschooling. Everyone is welcome to come. Kids can play at the park, explore the nature trails and create their own lapbook.

For more details email.

Science and Computer Camp - Hesston, KS

Weeklong science and computer camp scheduled May 14-18

Faculty members from the science and computer departments at Hesston College will host its third annual science and computer camp for high school homeschooled students May 14-18.

Details can be found here.

HANCK (Homeschool Activity Network - Central Kansas)

HANCK (Homeschool Activity Network - Central Kansas)

Coordinator: Cindy Conrad

Email List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hanck/

HANCK is a very informal network of Wichita area homeschooling families interested in creating and sharing group activities. Any homeschooling family can join HANCK. The only requirement is that you either already know someone in the network, or that you get up off your couch and actually meet someone in the network within one month of joining. This requirement exists because there are a few scary people lurking around on the internet. We want to make sure that those reading posts about where our children will be are real homeschooling families we've really met in real life. Really. Any HANCK member can organize activities for the group or a subset of the group. The rules, fees, and other details of any activity are determined by the member or members providing it. You may also use HANCK to advertise your own homeschooling organization.