The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
to host
Let’s Read. Let’s Move.
Event
The Children’s Museum
of Atlanta will host
event addressing literacy and childhood obesity
ATLANTA,
May 28, 2013 – In partnership with the Mayor’s office,
Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, First Book, Jumpstart for
Young Children, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, The
Children’s Museum of Atlanta will host a Let’s Read, Let’s Move event on June 1, 2013 to kick off the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club.
This event is also part of the First Lady of the United States Michelle
Obama’s summer initiative to create opportunities for Americans to use service
as a tool to promote physical activity, healthy eating, and to prevent losing
academic ground during the summer.
Let’s
Read. Let’s Move. will
offer several opportunities for guests to participate in kid-friendly movement
activities as well as exciting book readings. Guest appearances will include Mayor Kasim Reed as he reads the brand new book Amari’s Adventure. Miss Gail and her Crazy Cartoon Band will perform a dancing,
singing, moving, and jumpin’ show for the children. Local Chef Damaul Mitchell
will demonstrate healthy cooking ideas for children and their caregivers. The
festivities will continue with a reading of The
Monster Who Ate My Peas by Imaginator Jerry G. White, a reading of Don’t Go Out in Your Underwear by
children’s author and storyteller Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz, and a fun,
interactive lesson in gardening and healthy foods from Truly Living Well. Children
attending the event will receive a free, age appropriate book (while supplies
last).
This unique event is a remarkable
example of strong collaboration among partners at the federal, national, state,
and local levels to leverage resources that promote and celebrate literacy and
movement for all children. This significant event increases public awareness of
the importance of reading and exercising while showing kids that reading and
healthful living is fun.
Museum hours: Monday through Friday
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Admission is $12.75 plus tax for ages
1 – 100; children under 1 receive free admission. The Children’s Museum is
located in the Lucky Marietta District at 275 Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW.
The Children's Museum of Atlanta
The
Children's Museum
of Atlanta is a smart
place to play and a non-profit organization offering a family-friendly space
filled with interactive, educational exhibits and programming for children ages
eight and under. The Museum’s mission is to spark imagination and inspire
discovery and learning for all children through the power of play. The Museum’s
four permanent learning zones consist of bright, creative, hands-on exhibits
that are designed to give children an opportunity to learn through play. The
Children’s Museum
of Atlanta also offers
parties, memberships, field trips, summer camp, and private events.
For
more information or to support The Children's Museum of Atlanta,
visit their website at www.childrensmuseumatlanta.org or call 404.659.KIDS [5437].
About
The Mayor’s Summer Reading Club
The Mayor’s Summer Reading Club is a new
program for all children ages birth to eight and their families that will take
place in locations throughout the city of Atlanta
this summer. The Mayor’s Summer Reading Club partners are working with
targeted programs to distribute copies of the books at no cost to children, and
we will urge schools and early education programs to introduce the story to
children. Then the fun begins! Throughout the summer, libraries, summer
programs, museums, farmers’ markets, and other institutions in Atlanta will hold “club
reads” to model research based methods of reading books with children and will
host enrichment events based upon the stories. The books will come to
life as children enjoy arts and crafts activities, drama exercises, and other
hands on activities designed to make the language in the stories meaningful to
children.
About Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students
The Georgia
Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS) was established in
2010 to help business, civic and government leaders maximize the economic
return on the state’s investments in early care and learning. Guided by a
growing body of research documenting the high-dollar return on investment
associated with early learning and care, GEEARS is working to position Georgia
as a national leader in ensuring that all children enter kindergarten prepared
to succeed and on a path to read to learn by third grade. GEEARS is an
independent successor group to the United
Way’s Early Education Commission chaired by Dennis
Lockhart, the Head of the Federal Reserve of Atlanta and Beverly Tatum, the
President of Spelman College.
About
the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
CNCS is a federal agency that helps more than
5 million Americans improve the lives of their fellow citizens through service.
Working hand in hand with local partners, CNCS taps the ingenuity and can-do
spirit of the American people to tackle some of the most pressing challenges
facing our nation. CNCS staff and
volunteers work and invest in thousands of nonprofit and faith-based groups
that are making a difference across the country. CNCS includes AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, the Social Innovation Fund, the George H.W. Bush Volunteer Generation Fund,
and more.
About First Book
First Book has distributed more than 90
million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving
children from low-income families throughout the United
States and Canada. By making new,
high-quality books available on an ongoing basis, First Book is transforming
the lives of children in need and elevating the quality of education. For more
information, please visit them online or follow their
latest news on Facebook and Twitter.
About Jumpstart
Jumpstart is a
national early education organization working toward the day every child in America
enters school prepared to succeed. Jumpstart delivers a research-based and
cost-effective program by training college students and community volunteers to
serve preschool-age children in low-income neighborhoods. Through a proven
curriculum, these children develop the language and literacy skills they need
to be ready for school, setting them on a path for lifelong success. Jumpstart
is also a proud member of the AmeriCorps national service network. Learn more
at www.jstart.org.
