By Karen Bloom
They’re all part of the wacky and unique hands-on traveling exhibit at the Long Island Children’s Museum that explores gadgets and gizmos…with an alphabetical twist. Contraptions A to Z, has proven to be a fan favorite resulting in an extension of this popular exhibit through Sunday, May 18.
LICM visitors can experiment with playful mechanisms and fascinating interactives while exploring art, history, science, music, literature and language. (There’s even a kitchen sink thrown in for good measure.) Whimsical inventions, complete with plenty of buttons to push, levers to pull and wheels to turn, allow children to see the hidden mechanism that makes things work, but are often unseen by curious eyes.
“Contraptions A to Z is a wonderful complement to the Children’s Museum’s permanent exhibits,” said LICM Executive Director Suzanne LeBlanc. “Its multidisciplinary focus provides children and adults with a fun way to look at the world of mechanics and creative inventions.”
Contraptions A to Z is a series of whimsical mechanical devices. The hands-on exhibit offers 26 individual experiences, each of which embodies a letter of the alphabet in a unique, whimsical way. Invention names offer tongue twisting fun, which entices visitors to look, touch and learn, as they travel from the Beserko Bouncer Ball and the Frog Flings a Frypan to Quackers Quiz Don Quixote, the Undulating Umbrellas, up to Z is for Zebras Zooming Zanily in a Zoetrope. Museum-goers will find historic gadgets, references to great literature (Quackers Quiz Don Quixote on His Quest) and that kitchen sink.
Check out the hidden mechanisms that make things work but are often unseen. Laugh out loud at the imaginative creations that emerge from old stuff used in new ways. Enjoy the letter-filled, word-play fun of the invention names.
A variety of special workshops have been scheduled during the exhibit’s stay to continue the exhibit’s focus on inventions, as well as alphabetical fun. The schedule includes:
n Get a Move On – Visitors use spring motors and other parts to build your own moving mechanism.
• Ultimate Umbrellas – After examining Umbrella,” get ready to learn more about this ancient invention. Then design and paint your own umbrella to shelter you from the springtime sun.
• Zany Zoetropes – Zoetropes have been around for many centuries and serve as the earliest examples of moving pictures. Children create their own series of drawings, place it in the moving cylinder and watch the sequences become animated!
• P is for Puppets – Continue the letter play fun introduced in Contraptions A to Z; using your first initial as inspiration create a paper bag puppet pop-up create an Amy the artistic alligator or Peter the partying panther.
• Spirit of Invention – Learn how inventions are created through a combination of technology, problem-solving skills, and creativity. Use recycled materials to create your own futuristic contraption.
The traveling exhibit was designed by Clifford Wagner Scientific Interactives Inc. “Contraptions A to Z is a unique hands on exhibit that combines art, history, science, music, literature, and language,” explained Wagner. “It reveals the fascinating mechanisms that are often hidden in black boxes with a playful, humorous approach.”
Enjoy Your A To Z Tour With:
Antique Apple Peelers
Berserko Ball Bouncer
Cuckoo Cuckoo Clock
Drum Machine
Emu’s Egg Engulfs
Eggscales. Egads!
Frog Flinging Frypan Flips Flap
Jacks Faultlessly
Gear Gizmos
Hand Cranked Hedge Clippers
I Ball with Iris
Jitterbugs Jiving to a Jukebox
Kitchen Clutter
Loony Lawnmower
Mice Master Miniature
Machine Shop
Nervous
Nellie
Old Time Movies
Poetry In Motion
Quackers Quizzed Don Quixote on his Quest
Rope Thrower
Solenoid Stegosaurus
T-Rex Tools Take to the Theater
Undulating Umbrellas
Visible Violin Vibrations
Watchdog
Xylophone
Yakkety Yaks
Zebras Zooming Zanily in a Zoetrope
Contraptions A to Z at Long Island Children’s Museum
Museum Row,, Garden City. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Admission: $9 for adults and children over 1 year old, $8 seniors, free to museum members and children under 1 year old. Additional fees for theater and special programs may apply. (516) 224-5800.
From Mexico City to Garden City
LICM welcomes renowned Mexican Puppet Company
Area families have an opportunity to enjoy a unique cultural experience this weekend when the acclaimed Marionetas de la Esquina puppet company from Mexico City, Mexico visits Long Island Children’s Museum for four performances on April 18 and 19. The company will present an English language and Spanish language performance of Emilio and the Enchanted Cow each day. These performances cap a busy week of spring break programs offered by the Children’s Museum.
Using colorful puppets, music and humor Marionetas de la Esquina’s performances at LICM addresses a difficult situation many children face – the changes to their lives following a divorce. In the story Emilio and the Enchanted Cow, eight year old Emilio fears going to a new school, trying to make friends, and living in a new home without his father. Emilio uses his drawing talent to create an imaginary friend, “cow,” to help him cope with all these changes.
“We are delighted to bring a company of such international renown to the LICM audience,” said LICM Executive Director Suzanne LeBlanc. LeBlanc noted that the play’s theme is especially relevant for the LICM Theater. “Children’s museums are designed to offer adults and children an opportunity to begin a dialogue, ask questions and look for answers in a non-threatening environment – and the LICM Theater has accomplished that goal using a variety of performing art styles.
The dual language performances will allow more Long Island families to enjoy this wonderful company’s artistry,” she added.
Puppetry is a “family business” at the Marionetas de la Esquina company. Amaranta Leyva, who wote Emilio and the Enchanted Cow, is the puppeteer for the lead character. Her father, Lucio Espíndola, who founded the company in 1973, designs the puppets and her mother Lourdes Pérez Gay directs the acclaimed company’s productions. Leyva received Mexico’s National Prize for Children’s Theater in 2006, the same year the company was awarded the National Critics Award.
English performances are held Saturday, Apr. 18 at 3 p.m. and Sunday, Apr. 19 at 1 p.m. LICM will also present performances completely in Spanish on Saturday, at 1 p.m. and Sunday, at 3 p.m. Tickets are $6 with museum admission ($4 members), and $8 for the theater only.
In addition, LICM will also offer a puppet-themed workshop on Saturday, at 2 p.m. Kids will learn about the ancient art form of puppetry, which combines art and storytelling, and create their own tabletop puppets. This workshop is for children 5 years and up. The cost is $3 with museum admission ($2 members).
