Hot August Night to feature preview of Children's Museum, Southeastern pep rally
Contact: Christina Chapple
8/15/06
HAMMOND – Among the many activities planned for downtown Hammond's annual "Hot August Night" on Friday, August 18, is a preview of the planned "Louisiana Discovery Children's Museum."
From 5-9 p.m. in the lobby and conference center of Southeastern Louisiana University’s Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts, 220 E. Thomas St., parents and children will have the opportunity to literally get their hands on a the kinds of fun, creative exhibits that might be housed in the proposed museum.
Tammy Bourg, dean of Southeastern’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, is among the community members who are involved in the museum planning. Spearheaded by Hammond City Council member Kathy Montecino, the museum is conceptualized as a hands-on, interactive exploration of the natural environment, people, agriculture, and transportation systems that have shaped Louisiana and the Florida Parishes.
To give area residents a taste of what the museum could offer, Bourg and her committee have called on community members and Southeastern faculty to create and man sample exhibits in the Columbia Theatre lobby during Hot August Night.
“We will have a fun-filled learning event for area children,” Bourg said. “The events committee is a group of creative and highly energetic members of the community who are committed to having a children’s museum in Hammond and to providing the children of the region with the all of the intellectual, cultural, and artistic stimulation and opportunities that a first-rate, hands-on, children’s museum can provide.”
Members of the museum board and exhibit committee will be on hand to distribute interest surveys. “Our work has just begun,” Bourg said. “There is much to do as the museum unfolds.”
During Hot August Night, foreign language faculty will help children explore the arts and crafts of international cultures by making Spanish dolls, Guatemalan bracelets and Venetian masks.
History faculty will operate an electric train and explain the importance of the railroad in the development of the region while young children traverse a landscape with a hand-operated train set.
The university's Horticulture Club will illustrate agriculture with activities such as planting beans and a display illustrating root systems. Chemistry and physics faculty will operate hands-on exhibits about the physics of color, electric circuits and chemistry.
With help from psychology faculty and the Psi Chi Honor Society, children will be able to try out "inverting goggles" that turn the world upside down to teach them about visual perception and illusions.
Construction and creativity exhibits will include a domino run, 3-D geometric and abstract design construction, a magnetic sculpture board and blocks, and a plexi-art faux stained glass activity.
The Hot August Night fun at the Columbia will also include performances by storyteller O’Neal Isaac, 6:30-7:15 p.m.; Hungarian dancers, 7:30-8 p.m.; and the Y-Knotts Square Dancers, 8-8:30 p.m.
Also during the Hot August Night, a pep rally for the Southeastern Lions football team, which kicks off its 2006 season August 31 on the road against New Mexico State, is scheduled for 6 p.m. The pep rally featuring the team, Coach Dennis Roland, cheerleaders and Lionettes, will take place on stage at AmSouth Bank on Railroad Avenue.
For additional information about Hot August Night events at the Columbia, contact 985-543-4366.
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