Education - Children's Museum Offers Summer Programs

The Children's Museum at Saratoga has plenty of mind stimulating activities that will both inspire and stimulate children.

Opening in 1990, the Children's Museum aims to inspire curiosity, spark imagination and nurture discovery in young minds.

"It is important to allow children to have time to lead the play and build confidence to explore and find out what their interests are and what they want to do," Director of Education Chris Stack said. "Sometimes that doesn't happen in schools and we hope that children and parents can find that here."

Stack, who joined the Children's Museum of Saratoga in January, said it has been very rewarding to meet families who are local and those who are just traveling through town.

"It's nice to know so many people enjoy what we do here," she said.

The museum has both in-house activities as well as school outreach programs for children of all ages. Most of the activities are educational and introduce children to new things.

"What Can You Do With a Dollar?" is an activity for both children and their parents to discover new skills and activities with items that can be found in a dollar store. Some of the items include sponges, straws, funnels, buttons, clothes pins and Frisbees. Using these items, parents can help children learn coordination, how to build sculptures, measurement and countless other fun and useful skills.

"Having fun and making crafts doesn't have to be an expensive project," Stack said. "We hope to show that these products can me more than just their intended use."

"Tuesdays for Tots," a popular thematic activity focuses on introducing the youngest visitors and their family to new sights, sounds and feelings.

"This is a very exploratory activity that allows toddlers to experience new things," Stack said. "The point is to give them new exposures."

In the past, Tuesdays for Tots has explored sea shells, different textures such as sticky and smooth, and an activity called "fun with feet," which led the children through a maze with odd foot working.

In order to stimulate the creative mind, the museum has many activities dedicated to art, such as craft making, working with patterns and paper, painting and drawing. The creation station inside the museum allows children and parents to create unique art with various supplies. In the past, local artists have led art classes to introduce children to new ways to be creative and help to allow children to appreciate art at a young age.

"Children get to work with an actual artist and learn from a professional. It's a great experience for anyone," Stack said.

A very popular activity takes place on Wednesdays and is called Katie's Kitchen. This cooking program allows preschoolers to learn the basics of cooking by mixing ingredients, rolling dough and learning how to measure.

"Overall we want the community to see the Children's Museum as a place to explore, play and enjoy children," Stack said.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, please call the museum at 518-584-5540 or visit www.cmssny.org.