Children’s Museum of NH Hosts Art Beyond Vision Gallery Show

DOVER—

It’s a common mistake to think of art as mere visual representation and a venue open only to those who can see. Inviting people to touch works of art can broaden the experience of both the sighted and the non-sighted.

In a unique collaboration between the NH Association for the Blind and the NH Art Association, the Children’s Museum of NH’s Gallery 6 is hosting an exhibit titled “Art Beyond Vision” through May 28. This curated collection of textural paintings, fiber arts and sculpture welcomes visitors to open their minds to a fresh new way of experiencing the beauty of art. Tactile works created by more than a dozen New Hampshire artists offer opportunities for gallery visitors to explore each piece using different senses. Unlike most art exhibits, this one welcomes guests to take a hands-on approach as they tour the gallery.

Marty Quinn's MoveMusic technology is also featured during Art Beyond Vision as part of the popular Build It, Fly It exhibit. Museum visitors will be able to hear the paths of objects as music as they fall in flight. Using visual-to-image sonification technology developed by Quinn's Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab, visual surveillance software tracks the moving objects as they are selecting pixels in a selected image. Those pixels are turned into music using MoveMusic's innovative algorithms. In addition to hearing the objects fall through various and selectable artistic images, qualities of the moving objects, such as size, speed, angularity and change of direction add to the musical mix, providing additional information that visually challenged guests can utilize to perceive the flights of the falling objects, and experiment to hear how the music varies with different objects and their unique flights.

"We are thrilled to have this one-of-a-kind gallery show in the Museum,” said Justine Roberts, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of NH. “It is amazing what you can accomplish with the right partners, and in this case, we had an ideal team with the New Hampshire Association for the Blind and the New Hampshire Art Association.”

“This show captures so much of what Gallery 6 is about,” Roberts continued. “It is multi-sensory, which is an ideal way for children to learn, and gives our visitors a successful experience with art. This show also fuses science with art by exploring vision. And we have come up with some really exciting art projects that will be available in our Studio, allowing visitors to do their own creative explorations."

George Theriault, President and CEO of the New Hampshire Association for the Blind, stated, “We hope that many, many people of all ages will come to the museum for this fascinating exhibition—it will challenge visitors to ‘see’ and perceive art in very new and different ways! And, we hope that this experience will promote better understanding and appreciation of all of the senses and how people whose sensory input is reduced or impaired can and do fully appreciate art and lead independent and fulfilling lives. The New Hampshire Association for the Blind is delighted to join in this very special partnership opportunity.”

An opening reception for the featured artists and invited guests will be held on the evening of March 14. The museum has also planned a special day of tactile experiences for young visitors on Tuesday, April 17, from 10:30am–2:30pm.

For more information about the Art Beyond Vision exhibit, please visit www.childrens-museum.org, or email NHAB@sightcenter.org or NHAA@nhartassociation.org.

“Cheers to Children” Showcases Local Food, Wine, Music and Arts

DOVER—

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is celebrating Dover’s vibrant arts and cultural community with a new fundraising event featuring wine, food, music and more. Cheers to Children will take place at the Museum on Friday, March 23 from 6-9pm. The event will showcase signature dishes of local restaurants, handpicked fine wines, live music and a vibrant art gallery show. The winning ticket in the Museum's 2012 MINI Cooper Car Raffle will also be pulled at this event.

“There is so much creative capital here in Dover,” said Justine Roberts, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of NH. “Not only are there emerging technology companies and growing businesses of all types, but there are also great restaurants, galleries, studios and shops. Encouraging creativity is a core part of our mission, so we wanted Cheers to Children to have a distinctly local flavor that shows off some of the best things happening around us.”

At Cheers to Children, guests will be able to try specialty dishes prepared by chefs from the White Apron, Terra Cotta Pasta, The Farm, Kelley’s Row, Calef's, University of New Hampshire Catering and more. Dover Wine Company has hand-selected wines that will be poured by NH-based distributors Vinlandia, The Imported Grape, Southern Wine and Spirits, RP Imports, Crush Distributors, Horizon Beverages and Candia Vineyards. There will also be live music and everyone will get to enjoy the museum's new exhibit in Gallery 6, “Art Beyond Vision.”

All proceeds from Cheers to Children benefit the Museum's award-winning programs. Nearly 50 percent of the Museum's 93,000-plus annual visitors are admitted at reduced or no cost through programs like Story Explorers and the Exploring Our Way Autism Partnership Program. The Children’s Museum of NH is committed to providing critical resources for children, schools and families throughout New Hampshire.

To purchase Cheers to Children tickets, please visit www.childrens-museum.org or call the Children's Museum during weekday business hours at 603-742-2002. Reservations can also be made at the Museum’s front desk.

Photo Caption: On Friday, March 23, the Children's Museum of NH will host Cheers to Children, a fundraising event featuring the best of local food wines, music and art. (Courtesy Photo)

NH Soap Box Derby Competitors Visit Children’s Museum of NH

DOVER—

During New Hampshire's February school vacation week, the Children’s Museum of NH will host a special visit from two young NH Soap Box Derby competitors and their cars. On Wednesday, February 29, from 11am–2pm, visitors can meet 12-year-old Ryan Chasse and 11-year-old Teal Borden and check out the actual cars that they have built and raced on the NH Soap Box Derby Circuit. Ryan competes in the stock car division, while Teal competes in the super stock division.

The NH Soap Box Derby is a youth racing event that is open to boys and girls between the ages of 8 through 17 that reside in the State of New Hampshire. This unique program encourages close parent-child activities while building and racing the car. The construction of the gravity racecar reinforces the importance of setting and completing goals while developing traits such as self-confidence, perseverance and craftsmanship. The youth is encouraged to do as much of the work on the car as their level permits.

Rally races are held throughout the spring, summer and fall in New Hampshire and around the United States. Rally races allow the racer to accumulate All-American Soap Box Derby Rally Points which potentially earns the driver the right to compete in the All-American’s World Rally Championship held during the same week in July. More information can be found at www.nhsbd.home.comcast.net.

The Children’s Museum of NH will be open Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 12-5pm for the New Hampshire school vacation week. Each day, different science and creative activities will be available in the Muse Studio on the museum's first floor. NH school vacation week will include a Free Family Fun Night on Friday, March 2, from 5:30–8pm with the museum open to all at no charge.

Photo Caption: Pictured is 11-year-old Teal Borden, soap box competitor in the super stock division. (Courtesy Photo)

Children’s Museum of NH Hosts Kids’ Clothing and Gear Consignment Sale

DOVER—

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is hosting a consignment sale of children’s clothing and gear on March 31 and April 1. This sale will offer gently used, good quality children’s clothes, baby clothes and gear, footwear, costumes, toys, nursery furniture and décor, sports equipment, books, music, and videos at outstanding prices. Maternity wear will also be available. People who consign items will earn 60 percent of the revenue from their sold items. The remaining net proceeds will benefit the Children’s Museum of NH and its vital education and outreach programs.

The sale will be open to the public at the Museum’s 6 Washington Street location on Saturday, March 31, from noon-7pm and on Sunday, September 11, from noon–5pm. Sunday will be a half-price sale on many items. There will also be a private pre-sale event on Saturday morning from 9am-noon for people who consign 25 items or more, or who register to volunteer at the sale.

“We got such a great response to our first consignment sale last fall, we decided to make it a semi-annual event,” said Justine Roberts, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire. “We love it because consignment sales not only help families recoup some of the money they’ve spent on kids’ clothes and accessories, but they also help other families in the community, promote recycling and provide support for our museum, which serves the entire region.”

The Children’s Museum’s consignment sale makes use of technology to streamline the process of consigning items, scheduling volunteers and automating sales. “People interested in consigning can go to our website and click through to a page where they can log in all the items they want to sell,” Roberts explained. “When all of their items are entered, the program will print out a page of bar-coded tags that can be cut out and attached to each item before being dropped off for the sale. Clothing will all be organized by size to make shopping easier, and the tags clearly state the brand and price of each item. We use hand-held bar-code scanners for easy check-out, then consignors can log in and see which of their items sold and how much money they have earned. Volunteers can also sign up right at our website.”

At the conclusion of the sale, consignors may pick up their unsold items or sign-off to have the Children’s Museum donate unsold items to local charities.

Photo Caption: Children’s Museum of NH will host two consignment sales this year. (Courtesy Photo)