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______________________________________________________________
Date: January 17, 2008
Re: Tree House Project
For Immediate Release:
Raven Hill Awarded Grant to build Tree House
Raven Hill Discovery Center is extending an
invitation to submit drawings to be used in the design of a
Tree House that will be built this spring as a part of a grant
from Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the
National Endowment for the Arts. The Tree House Project will
create an arboreal space that incorporates the science of sound,
light, motion, simple machines and nature, as well as the art
of glass, clay, metal, wood, fiber and stone. The Raven Hill
Discovery Center Tree House will be built on a platform that
is suspended by cables between four trees about 8 feet above
the ground. The tree house will be approximately 15’ x
15’, but not necessarily square or rectangular.
Art classes or individuals can participate at three levels:
1. Teachers, students of any age and the community
are invited to draw (and label or describe) their own fantasy
tree house. Submitted drawings will become the property of Raven
Hill Discovery Center and be reviewed for the feasibility of
the designs. As many ideas and elements as possible will be
incorporated into a final tree house design to be created by
Andre’ Poineau of East Jordan. In 1995, Poineau Woodworkers
designed and constructed the Tree House in the 4-H Children’s
Garden at Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan.
2. The Tree House walls will be constructed of panels approximately
4’ x 6’ in size. Art teachers and their students
may submit a design for a wall panel. Upon acceptance of a class
design, a panel will be delivered to the school, where students
will embellish their panel by painting, staining, wood burning,
carving, insetting, etc.
3. High school juniors and seniors will be invited to work with
Poineau Woodworkers at Raven Hill Discovery Center to assemble
the tree house on May 21, 2008 (rain date: May 22).
Please call Cheri at 231.536.3369 to sign up
for one or more levels of participation, for more information
or if you have any questions.
Dates:
February 14, 2008 Tree House drawings due
March 14, 2008 Tree House panel designs are due
April 14, 2008 Panels delivered to schools for embellishment
May 14, 2008 Finished panels returned to Raven Hill Discovery
Center
May 21, 2008 Assembly of Tree House at Raven Hill Discovery
Center
May 22, 2009 Assembly of Tree House (raindate)
_______________________________________________________________
Date: December 2, 2007
Re: 2007 Winter Holiday Events
For Immediate Release:
Raven Hill Opens for Special Winter Holiday Hours
Raven Hill Discovery Center has scheduled FUN for this holiday
season. If you are looking for a creative way to make holiday
gifts for loved ones this year, look no further. Raven Hill
Discovery Center is hosting an Art Across the Ages “Make
& Take” Weekend on December 8, 2007 from noon to 4
pm. Bring the whole family for an exciting day of gift making.
Stations will include Shibori, an ancient dyeing and folding
technique that yields beautiful scarves, Hot Glass Beads, working
with a torch to create your own glass beads for those 10 or
older, copper planishing, using a hammer stone & fire to
make a pendant, needle felting, plus several other Arts &
Crafts stations. General admission is $7 per person. To participate
in the “Make & Take” stations, there is an additional
$5 charge. Participants can make multiples of any art or craft
project for the cost of individual materials. For example, those
who choose to create larger silk Shibori scarves will pay $6
per scarf. There will also be a do-it-yourself gift-wrapping
station available. As always, visitors may decide to spend all
their time exploring the museum & animal rooms.
Then celebrate the Winter Solstice on Friday, December 21,
2007 with a trip out to Stonehenge in Raven Hill’s very
own Ancient World. The trek will begin at 5 p.m. Participants
can snowshoe or cross-country ski an illuminated trail and are
asked to bring goodies to share. The entire family will have
great fun. Be sure to plan time to play in the museum and see
the animals afterward while you warm up.
The Center’s 17th annual Holiday Open House is scheduled
from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, December 28th, so stop by on your
way home from work to help us celebrate the holiday season.
And a New Year’s Eve Overnight from 6 p.m. on December
31, 2007 to 9 a.m. on January 1, 2008 will entertain the kids
and keep them safe, while you celebrate with them or on your
own. Registration is limited, so book a spot for your children
soon by calling Cheri at 231-536-3369. Cost is $100 per child
and kids must be between 4 and 12 years of age.
Alternatively, just treat yourself and your family to an afternoon
of fun and exploration at Raven Hill Discovery Center this holiday
season. Located between East Jordan & Boyne City, just off
C-48 at Pearsall Road, the Center helps visitors build connections
between science, history and the arts in an interactive learning
environment. In addition to the hands-on museum and exotic animals,
visitors can dress for the weather and spend time in the one-room
schoolhouse, explore the Time Tunnel, see the geologic history
of the earth on the Exploring Beyond Jurassic Park outdoor exhibit,
and snowshoe or cross country ski around the Taxi Trail and
to the Ancient World outdoor exhibit. Raven Hill will be open
every day from noon to 4 p.m. from Saturday, December 22nd through
Wednesday, January 2, 2008, except for Christmas Day and New
Year’s Day.
______________________________________________________________
Date: June 15, 2007
Re: 2007 Summer Programs and Events
For Immediate Release:
Summer Happenings at Raven Hill Discovery Center
Summer classes are already in full swing at Raven
Hill Discovery Center. Classes are available for children and
adults. They take place every week day, both morning and afternoon
or other times by appointment. Classes feature lots of new experiences
for children from four to fourteen and for adventurous adults.
Favorites include art classes like Shibori, batik, marbled fabrics,
hot glass beads, stained glass, copper smithing, jewelry, printing
and graphics, papermaking, felting, pysanky, welding, and raku
pottery, as well as African spirit masks, playing school, frog
catching and survival. Kids and adults gain new skills as they
experience all areas of science, history and the arts. Everyone
can also take full advantage of Raven Ridge Nature Preserve
with its boardwalk, trails and overlook platform. Other outdoor
activities include spending time exploring Michigan’s
geologic history in Raven Hill’s Beyond Jurassic Park
exhibit or learning about Michigan’s trees while hiking
the Taxi (Taxonomic) Trail. Sign up for summer classes to fit
your schedule by calling Raven Hill Discovery Center. Choose
the day, time and class that fits the best. Cost for classes
is $16 per hour for adults and $8 per hour for children. Participants
can bring a sack lunch and for attend both morning and afternoon
classes. Professional Development classes for teachers are also
scheduled throughout the summer. Graduate credit for classes
is available through Central Michigan University. In addition,
the Center is open daily to the general public: 10 to 4 weekdays,
12 to 4 Saturdays and 2 to 4 Sundays. Admission price is $7,
which includes the museum, animals and newly expanded outdoor
exhibits like the Ancient World, Jurassic Park, Schoolhouse
and Taxi Trail. For more information on any of the programs
or to register, please call 231-536-3369 or toll free 877-833-4254.
Special events include celebrating the Summer Solstice on Thursday,
June 21, 2007 with a trip to Stonehenge in Raven Hill Discovery
Center’s Ancient World. June 21st marks the beginning
of the summer or growing season and the day is celebrated by
many cultures around the world. As in ancient times, Raven Hill’s
Summer Solstice will be celebrated traditionally with food,
games, and a large bonfire, which was believed to give a boost
to the sun's energy so that it would remain potent throughout
the rest of the growing season and guarantee a plentiful harvest.
The festival will mark the longest day of the year. Anyone wishing
to attend should call 231.536.3369 to register. Families are
welcome and everyone should bring finger foods to share, a piece
of firewood to keep the bonfire burning and a flashlight to
find their way back to their car after the bonfire! The festivities
will begin at 7 p.m. and participants can drive to the Ancient
World or park at Raven Hill Discovery Center and walk to the
Ancient World over the Wetlands Boardwalk.
AND, the Center’s 5th annual fundraiser, Summer Magic
2007: A Nite at the Museum is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. on
Friday evening, July 20th. Interested adults are invited to
spend an exciting evening at Raven Hill Discovery Center to
celebrate sixteen years of science, history and art connections.
Please join us and enjoy fun, food, and friends in support of
Raven Hill. A $20 per person ticket purchase and the proceeds
from a silent auction will benefit Raven Hill Discovery Center
programs and facilities for the coming year. Please call 231.536.3369
by July 18th to reserve tickets or for additional information.
_______________________________________________________________
Date: March 4, 2007
Re: 2007 Vernal Equinox
For Immediate Release:
Raven Hill Celebrating the Spring Equinox
Raven Hill will celebrate the Vernal (Spring)
Equinox on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 with a bonfire at Stonehenge
in Raven Hill’s Ancient World Exhibit. The event will
start at 7 p.m. Participants can walk, snowshoe or cross-country
ski depending on the weather and are encouraged bring food to
roast and share. If the skies are clear, a telescope will be
set up to observe the moon, planets and stars.
As befits Ancient Cultures, several traditions
will honor the ending of the dark and the beginning of the light.
A turtle rock will be dedicated and placed facing east for the
spring season. Cornmeal will be sprinkled to bless the raised
crop beds for the new growing period. Food will be placed in
the bonfire to honor the spirits. Finally a tree will be planted
to symbolize the renewal of nature, the balance between day
and night and the coming of spring.
The entire family will have great fun. Be sure
to plan on playing in the museum and seeing the animals afterward.
Please call Cheri at 231.536.3369 to register, for more information
and to confirm the event in case of inclement weather. There
is no charge, but donations of fruits and vegetables for the
tortoises or birdseed for the wild birds or cash to help with
operating expenses will be gladly accepted.
___________________________________________________________
Date: January 15, 2007
Re: AAA: Art Across the Ages Fiber Workshops Offered
For Immediate Release:
Raven Hill Announces Fiber Workshops for January and February
The winter sessions of Raven Hill Discovery Center’s
AAA: Art Across the Ages series explores the history of fiber,
as participants make and decorate fiber objects from various
time periods. The Fiber I sessions start at 4 pm on Friday,
January 19th and run Friday through Sunday for two weekends.
The Fiber II sessions start at 4 pm on Friday, February 16th
and run Friday through Sunday for two weekends. The AAA: Art
Across the Ages Fiber Workshops will explore the history of
making and decorating fibers from the Neolithic Age through
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Pioneer and Modern times. Participants
will explore the various time periods by creating representative
hands-on fiber projects, as well as connecting the science to
the art and history of the times. The workshops will help participants
build a wealth of connections between the science, history and
art of fiber. From neolithic rope making and mat weaving to
paper making to weaving on and off loom to basketry to modern
synthetic fibers and from staining and natural dyes to indigo
dyeing to Shibori to batik & French Serti painting designs
on fibers, these two fiber workshops will present new links
to fiber art for everyone involved.
The AAA: Art Across the Ages series of workshops invites anyone
interested in fibers to register for either of the workshops
to be held at Raven Hill Discovery Center this January and February.
Participants can be high school students, college students and
interested adults, as well as teachers of any grade level. Everyone
will create their own fiber works of art in the various traditions.
In collaboration with Central Michigan University’s Off
Campus Programs, the Center is able to offer three hours of
graduate or undergraduate credit for each of the two fiber workshops.
Those taking a workshop for college credit pay tuition directly
to CMU. Those auditing the workshops pay a per day tuition of
$50 to Raven Hill. Each workshop is limited to ten participants.
Call Raven Hill Discovery Center at 231.536.3369 for more information
or to register for an hour, a day or the entire workshop.
_______________________________________________________________
Date: November 15, 2006
Re: Holiday Hours Announced for 2006
For Immediate Release:
Raven Hill Announces Holiday Hours for 2006
Raven Hill Discovery Center will be open from noon to 4 p.m.
for family visits during both Thanksgiving and Winter breaks.
Hours include, Friday, November 24th through Sunday, November
26th, as well as Saturday, December 16th through Wednesday,
January 3rd, with the exception of Thanksgiving Day, Christmas
Day and New Year’s Day. Visitors can always explore the
museum and animals. Special activities include pioneer crafts
in November and a variety of activities in December, including
the 2nd annual Make and Take Arts and Crafts Festival on Saturday,
December 2nd, including Shibori, an ancient dyeing and folding
technique that yields beautiful scarves, Hot Glass Beads, working
with a torch to create your own glass beads, marbled paper,
leather pouches, aluminum repose, plus several other Arts &
Crafts stations. There will be a do-it-yourself gift-wrapping
station available.
Raven Hill will also celebrate the Winter Solstice on Thursday,
December 21, 2006 with a trip out to Stonehenge in Raven Hill’s
very own Ancient World. The trek will begin at 5 p.m. Participants
can snowshoe or cross country ski an illuminated trail and are
asked to bring a goody to roast on the fire and a piece of firewood
to keep the fire burning. The entire family will have great
fun. Be sure to plan on hot chocolate and playing in the museum
and seeing the animals afterward. Snowshoes will be available
to borrow for those who do not own any.
The Center’s annual Holiday Open House is scheduled
from noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday, December 28th, so come early
and play or stop by on your way home from work to help us celebrate
our 16th holiday season. Finally, a New Year’s Eve Overnight
from 6 p.m. on December 31, 2006 to 9 a.m. on January 1, 2007
will entertain the kids and keep them safe, while you celebrate
with them or on your own. Registration is limited, so book the
Center soon by calling Cheri at 231-536-3369.
Plan on treating yourself and your family to an afternoon
of fun and exploration at Raven Hill Discovery Center this holiday
season. Located between East Jordan & Boyne City, just off
C-48 at Pearsall Road, the Center helps visitors build connections
between science, history and the arts in an interactive learning
environment. In addition to the hands-on museum and exotic animals,
visitors can dress for the weather and visit the one-room schoolhouse,
explore the Time Tunnel, see the geologic history of the earth
on the Exploring Beyond Jurassic Park outdoor exhibit, and snowshoe
or cross country ski around the Taxi Trail and to the Ancient
World outdoor exhibit.
~~__________________________________________________________~~
Date: November 4, 2006
Re: Jurassic Park Revisited
For Immediate Release:
Raven Hill Announces New MCACA Grant Award
The Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural
Affairs (MCACA) has awarded $10,500 to Raven Hill Discovery
Center for JURASSIC PARK REVISITED. The 2007 grant award will
give Raven Hill the chance to expand the Center’s established
outdoor exhibit, “Exploring Beyond Jurassic Park: The
Geologic History of the Earth”, while simultaneously providing
career experiences for high school participants and expanding
visitor understanding of the Earth’s past. JURASSIC PARK
REVISITED will emphasize earth’s history that is still
dynamically changing, constantly growing and developing, as
man learns and applies new techniques and technologies to make
more discoveries. The grant will add more sculptures of extinct
species to the outdoor exhibit and provide middle & high
school students the chance to experience bronze casting as they
cast leaves and other objects for “textural signs”
along the pathway. Visitors will be able to feel and see real
fossils, bronze leaves of ancient plants, as well as skeletons,
skulls and teeth up close along the trail. The grant needs to
be matched 2:1, so let us know if you are interested in helping
out with a donation. Call Cheri at 231.536.3369 for more information.
______________________________________________________________
Date: October 4, 2006
Re: AAA--Art Across the Ages CLAY Workshop
For Immediate Release:
Raven Hill Discovery Center Offers History of Clay Workshop
Raven Hill Discovery Center is offering a series of fall and
winter workshops entitled AAA: Art Across the Ages. The first
session explores the history of clay and pottery. It starts
at 4 pm on Friday, October 20th and runs for two weekends. The
AAA: Art Across the Ages Clay Workshop will explore the history
of pottery from the Neolithic Age through Ancient, Medieval,
Renaissance and Modern times. Participants will explore the
various time periods with representative hands-on clay projects,
as well as connecting the science to the art and history of
the times. The workshop will help participants build a wealth
of connections between the science, history and art of clay.
From the very first pottery that was probably a basket lined
with clay accidentally getting burned to the modern polymer,
Sculpy clay, this workshop will present new links to learning
for everyone involved.
The AAA: Art Across the Ages series of workshops invites anyone
interested in clay, metal, glass and fiber to register for any
and all of the workshops to be held at Raven Hill Discovery
Center this fall and winter. Participants can be high school
students, college students and interested adults, as well as
teachers of any grade level. Everyone will create their own
works of art in the various traditions. In collaboration with
Central Michigan University’s Off Campus Programs, the
Center is able to offer three hours of graduate or undergraduate
credit for each of five workshops: clay, metal, glass and two
fiber sessions. Those taking a workshop for college credit pay
tuition directly to CMU. Those auditing the workshops pay a
per day tuition of $50 to Raven Hill. Each workshop is limited
to ten participants. Call Raven Hill Discovery Center at 231.536.3369
for more information or to register for a day or the entire
workshop.
______________________________________________________________
Date: September 6, 2006
Re: AT&T—Ancient Techniques & Technologies Fall
Open House
For Immediate Release
Explore the Ancient World at Raven Hill Discovery Center’s
Fall Open House
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to create something
like the Ancients did? Come to the fall open house on Sunday,
September 24, 2006 at Raven Hill Discovery Center’s Ancient
World Outdoor Exhibit and see for yourself. Participants in
the Center’s Ancient Techniques & Technologies grant
workshops will be there from noon to 4:00 to share their experiences
of indigo dyeing, hot glass beads, primitive pottery, copper
planishing and flint knapping arrowheads. See the newly set
obelisk and the ancient factory work site with its Roman clay-straw
and Nigerian top-loading kilns, ancient glass making and beading
furnaces, and copper smelter. Talk with the artists, who “worked”
in ancient times this past summer and live those times through
their eyes.
Raven Hill Discovery Center was awarded the Ancient Techniques
& Technologies (AT&T) grant for 2006 by the Michigan
Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The grant has helped
students and teachers explore techniques used by ancient cultures
to create works that have become important historically and
as art. In April, approximately 120 northern Michigan middle
and high school students and their teachers participated in
invitationals and explored ancient techniques in glass, clay,
metal, fiber, wood & stone while creating small artworks.
This summer, workshops allowed participants a chance to actually
create and use ancient tools, techniques, and technologies.
Workshops included wood, fiber, glass, clay, metal and stone
art. Both spring and summer workshops brought artists-in-residence
to Raven Hill Discovery Center where they worked with teachers
and students interested in art, science and history. Summer
participants created the ancient factory site and used ancient
techniques to create artworks that will be permanently displayed
in Raven Hill Discovery Center’s ever-evolving Ancient
World Exhibit. All participants created their own smaller works
of art in the various art mediums.
This year’s open house occurs in the Ancient World Exhibit.
In addition to the artwork, there will be art and craft demonstrations,
hands-on opportunities, and refreshments. The Wetlands Boardwalk
connects Raven Hill to the Ancient World and to Raven Ridge
Nature Preserve, so visitors can walk the Boardwalk to the Ancient
World or they can drive past Raven Hill and park at the beginning
of the Ancient World Exhibit. Staff and volunteers will be available
to lead tours or visitors can explore on their own. The hands-on
museum & animal room will be open only from 2 to 4 pm. Visitors
can sign up for memberships and classes, including ancient art
techniques like Shibori or hot glass beads or copper planishing.
Date: September 1, 2006
Re: CMU Letterpress Printing and Bookbinding Intensive
For Immediate Release
Become a Published Author at Raven Hill
Central Michigan University Off-Campus Programs is partnering
with Raven Hill Discovery Center to offer credit options for
the new 2006-07 Connections Series Workshops, where participants
will have hands-on experiences in connecting various art media
with science and history. September will begin the series of
twelve workshops with a printing and bookbinding intensive,
where participants will learn the entire process of making a
book. The workshop is worth two credit hours.
Chad Postotnik of Deep Wood Press in Mancelona is the artist-in-residence
for this first workshop, which is scheduled for the last two
weekends in September. Each participant will come equipped with
their own original haiku and a desire to learn this 500+ year
old means of printing and even more ancient form of binding.
The class will be making a finished book in a edition of 22,
each student will go home with a book, one donated to the Raven
Hill library, one for the Deep Wood archives and 10 will be
available for purchase with the proceeds going to a local scholarship
or charity to be determined.
The workshop begins with an overview of the Japanese stab binding,
which will be used to familiarize the students with the letterpress
terminology, tools and the type case from which they will be
setting the words for their haiku. Students then are introduced
to the concepts of rudimentary book design and will come to
a consensus regarding various issues of “style”.
Work begins in earnest as words are set and impressed onto paper
as printing commences. Pages are collated, binding begins, title
selected and applied and everyone involved can congratulate
each other on becoming a published author and possessing another
exquisite title for their home library.
All of the Connections Workshops are designed to bring science,
history and art teachers together to build links that connect
curriculum for students of all ages. The workshops are appropriate
for art, science and history teachers, as well as high school
and college students interested in art, science and history.
Coming workshops include the science, history and art of glass,
clay, metal, fiber, wood and stone. Raven Hill is working with
Central Michigan University’s Off Campus Programs to make
three hours of graduate or undergraduate credit available for
each of the additional eleven workshops. Those taking a workshop
for college credit will pay tuition directly to CMU. Each workshop
is limited to ten participants. Call Cheri at 231.536.3369 for
more information or to register for a workshop, either for CMU
credits or as an audit.
Date: June 9, 2006
Re: AT&T—Ancient Techniques & Technologies FIBER
Workshop
For Immediate Release
Fiber Workshop Scheduled at Raven Hill Discovery Center
Fiber in the ancient tradition will be the subject of a workshop
at Raven Hill Discovery Center during the week of June 19, 2006.
The six-day Ancient Techniques & Technologies (AT&T)
Fiber Workshop will cover a wide range of fiber arts, including
spinning yarn with a drop spindle, book binding, indigo and
natural dyes. The intensive will give participants a chance
to actually experience ancient materials, methods, tools, techniques,
and technologies with fibers and with a few modern conveniences
thrown in for good measure!
Bethany Schaltz will share her expertise in spinning yarn on
a drop spindle with participants on Monday, June 19th. Chad
Postotnik of Deep Wood Press will work with participants on
Tuesday, June 20th to give them experience in the ancient art
of bookbinding. Participants will explore at least four different
book structures in this introduction to bookbinding, create
them, and then take them home as finished works and samples
to make more. Wednesday, the 21st through Friday, the 23rd of
June, Joann Condino of Three Pines Studio will facilitate indigo
dye processes. Indigo is among the oldest dye plants known to
Eurasian civilizations and will allow participants to work in
a range of pure, colorfast blues. Locally found natural dyes
on Saturday with Cheri Leach will round out the week’s
workshop.
Date: May 23, 2006
Re: Memorial Day Weekend and Summer Hours
For Immediate Release
Raven Hill Opens for 15th Summer Season
Treat yourself and your family to an afternoon or a day of
fun and exploration at Raven Hill Discovery Center this weekend
and this summer. Located between East Jordan & Boyne City,
just off C-48 at Pearsall Road, the Center helps visitors build
connections between science, history and the arts in an interactive
learning environment. Visitors can spend time in the one-room
schoolhouse, walk the labyrinth, explore the Time Tunnel, see
the geologic history of the earth on the Exploring Beyond Jurassic
Park outdoor exhibit, and wander through the Center’s
new outdoor exhibit, The Ancient World. In addition to the hands-on
museum, the exotic animals and the outdoor exhibits, visitors
can register for science, history and art classes. Classes are
available for children 4 to 14 and for adults.
Raven Hill will be open every day over Memorial Day weekend
from noon to 4 p.m. from Saturday, May 27 through Monday, May
29, 2006. On Tuesday, May 30th, summer hours will go into effect
and the Center will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through
Friday, as well as noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 2 p.m. to
4 p.m. on Sundays. Summer hours last through Friday, September
1st. Raven Hill is also always open by appointment.
Date: April 20, 2006
Re: At&T Grant
Raven Hill Discovery Center has been awarded a sixth grant
by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. Ancient
Techniques & Technologies (AT&T) will help teachers,
students and visitors explore techniques used by ancient cultures
to create works that have become important historically and
as art. As the first component of the grant, approximately one
hundred twenty northern Michigan middle and high school students
and their teachers will participate in Invitationals on April
25th and 26th and use techniques in glass, clay, metal, fiber,
wood & stone to create small artworks.
Raven Hill Discovery Center is a regional science and technology
center. It is located on 157 acres in a rural area of northwestern
Lower Michigan next to the Little Traverse Conservancy’s
Raven Ridge Nature Preserve. It is also a cultural, historical
and art center. The overall goal of the Center is to build lifelong
connections for children and adults that link science, history
and the arts in a hands-on learning environment.
