We’ve been enjoying lots of local food from The Charm Farm and baked goods from Bailey Falls in early 2025! Our STEAM events have included activities from local practitioners Jerod Caligiuri, John Merrill, and Chuck Trautwein. We are looking forward to The Whalemobile on April 14th, Clay2Go exhibits on April 28th, planting onions in the community garden on May 12th, art with Emilee Goodman on May 19th, and robots with Chuck Trautwein on June 2nd!
Modeled on the dream of our 2022 National Youth Science Camp Alum of the Year, Dennis Schatz (CO 1965), we are proud to announce the second year of our local program, Monday Night Science! Email Associate Director Nathan Sams for more information. Dates are also posted on our Calendar of Events. A huge thank you to the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation for sponsoring this program, and to our partners at the Tucker County Family Support Center for helping to make these events possible!
We had SO MUCH FUN learning about local geology and collecting fossils at Horseshoe Recreation and Campground Area! Check out some photos below!
Another big “THANK YOU!” to Tucker County Family Resource Network for leading our Buddy Build event in June with hoagies and birdhouses! Participants enjoyed art activities with Ben Nelson and Elizabeth Bohon in July, as well as a nature walk led by Frank Gebhard with local flora in bloom. Our first year of programming wrapped up this past August with a presentation by local herbalist Nicole Spencer on August 5th on our Davis Campus, followed by a cookout, fossil hunt, and rock painting party at Camp Horseshoe near Parsons on August 19th.
During May we prepared our community garden with raised beds for local families. Parents helped to assemble the beds on May 6th while other participants enjoyed a wetland tour led by Frank Gebhard.
Our eclipse event on April 8th was a tremendous success with over 450 attendees, followed by a spaghetti dinner and a talk on DarkSky International from folks at Blackwater State Park in the evening. On April 22nd, we celebrated Earth Day with a walk on the Heart of the Highlands trails around our campus led by biologist Frank Gebhard.
In early March we celebrated Dena L. Beckner’s book A Wild & Wonderful West Virginia Alphabet. The local parent, author, and illustrator joined us for a book signing with copies of the book provided by Tucker County Family Resource Network. We highlighted several letters in the book with STEAM activities and tables – including local elderberry jam, honey (with Mat Cloak on beehives), sugar maple syrup, quilt squares, and zucchini seeds. The local Parents as Teachers group made pepperoni rolls and Charm Farm provided local greens for a delicious salad. Two weeks later, we premiered our promotional video by Verglas Media featuring Monday Night Science families! In addition, Jerod Caligiuri of Davis & Elkins College led a planetarium show plus activities on dark skies and light pollution after a wonderful dinner prepared by Sheena Williams using her grandmother’s recipe for corned beef and cabbage with Irish soda bread. Beef, carrots, potatoes, and onions were all from Charm Farm in Beverly, WV.
We enjoyed activities where science and art intersect with Emilee Goodman and Frank Gebhard on February 5th, 2024!
For the month of December (4th and 18th) we enjoyed game nights with a focus on community bonding, math, strategy, and problem-solving skills in our fun learning environment. Thank you to locals Jason and Angie of The Adventure Guild Game Shop in Thomas for joining us on December 18th!
Check out our weather station!
Thank you to Frank Gebhard of Friends of Blackwater, Jerod Caligiuri of Davis & Elkins College, Pablo Velt of the WV Science Public Outreach Team (SPOT), as well as to Beth Henry-Vance and Callie Cronin Sams of the WV Department of Environmental Protection for joining us in November for our local water/wetlands programming!
Todd Ensign and Autumn Gleydura from the NASA Katherine Johnson IV & V Education Resource Center in Fairmont joined us in October. On October 9th, they led activities with a portable dome planetarium and infrared camera. On October 23rd, they focused on rockets, drones, and robots!
