Things to Do and Places to See this Summer

*Davie Elementary has found twenty-five websites that contain fun & educational activities.  See the complete list  HERE.

*Here’s a fun way for children to practice their reading skills over the summer: Watch a favorite family movie with the volume turned down and the  Closed Captioning feature on.

*Take a trip to the zoo. Bring a camera and take pictures. When you get home, write facts about each animal that you observed. Make a book about your trip to the zoo.

*Take a trip to the beach. Start a collection of seashells. Fill up a bucket with salt water. Try placing different objects in the bucket to see if they float or sink. Make a chart to show which objects floated and which ones sank.

*Go to a theme park like Disney World or Universal Studios. Write down the time you began waiting to get on a ride and the time you got off each ride. Calculate how much time you spent waiting in each line.

* Go to the public library and check out one of the books on the Broward County Library’s “Suggested Summer Reading”  list (click here). There are two public libraries near Davie Elementary:  The Davie/Cooper City Library (broward.org/library/branch_dc.htm) and the Alvin Sherman Library on the Davie campus of NSU (nova.edu/library/main/). This library has a children’s section and is open to all Broward County residents.

* While you are at the Alvin Sherman Library don’t forget to check out the many works by famous artists that are on display. For instance did you know that there is a large glass sculpture by world renowned artist Dale Chihuly on the second floor?   On the first floor you can see a Tibetan Prayer Wheel which was donated by the Dalai Lama in person.   These are just a few of the many works of art that you can see free. For details check their web-site at nova.edu/library/about/artwork/

* The Alvin Sherman Library will also be offering FREE special activities for children including: Story time with professional story tellers, showings of family movies on their big screen, Fantasy Factory Theater, art displays. The library has something special for kids almost every Wednesday through Sunday. See their calendar of events on the right hand side of their website at: http://www.nova.edu/library/portal/browardkids.html.

* Take a nature walk either at Tree Tops Park (3900 S.W. 100th Ave. Davie) or at Wolf Lake Park (5400 SW 76 Avenue). Bring a brown paper bag and go on a bug/leaf hunt. Or you could bring a camera and take pictures of your “specimens” as well as any birds that you see. Then make a trip to the library and check out books on insects, plants or birds of South Florida and try to identify the items that you have found.

* Third, fourth and fifth grade students can prepare for next year’s fcat test and have fun playing the games on fcat explorer at: http://www.fcatexplorer.com/

* At the website www.nasa.gov students can check out the latest photos from the Mars rover, take a virtual moon walk, play interactive games plus much more.

* Another great website is storylineonline.net/ . On this site children can hear a selection of children’s books read by famous celebrities.  There are also some suggested activities for each book.

* Young at Art is having a special “Night at the Museum Camp” on June 18th , July 16th & August 20th. Children can also see their permanent exhibits seven days a week. For times, details and directions see the museum’s web site at: http://www.youngatartmuseum.org/

* The Miniaci Theater on the NSU Davie campus will feature a performance of “The Jungle Book Kids” on July 20th. For information and tickets go to miniacipac.com/Events/event.aspx?publishID=1755

* The Museum of Discovery and Science will be featuring many special exhibits including, “The Bone Yard” . This exhibit will showcase how a paleontologist locates, preserves, excavates and transports dinosaur bones from the field to a research center. Other exhibits will include dinosaur egg casts, claws and teeth. Go back in time and explore the amazing world of the dinosaur!

For more information and for times and directions check out their website at: mods.org/exhibits/specialexhibits.htm

* Buehler Planetarium on the campus of Broward College has interesting programs on space and space exploration on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The cost is minimal ( $2 & $4) for these informative programs at one of the most advanced planetariums in South Florida. For more information see their website at iloveplanets.com

* The Town of Davie will be hosting their annual Independence Day Craft & Fireworks Show on Sunday, July 4th. For information see their website at: davie-fl.gov/Pages/DavieFL_SpclPrjcts/eventinfo/Independence%20Day

* The following public swimming pools are open in our area:

Betty Booth Roberts

Pine Island Park and Aquatic Center

C.B. Smith pool and water park

* For $54 plus tax you can buy a Summer Savings pass worth unlimited visits to  Miami Seaquarium, Lion Country Safari , Miami Metrozoo,and one day at  Wannado City through September 30th. For more information click here summersavingspass.com/

* Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, (the world’s largest butterfly and bird park) is offering a discount coupon worth $2 off admission on their website at : butterflyworld.com

* Flamingo Gardens Botanical Gardens and Wildlife Sanctuary is also offering a discount coupon on their website at: www.flamingogardens.org/

* See works by famous artists like Paul Gauguin and Pablo Picasso while getting a glimpse of Florida’s history surrounded by great architecture at the Bonnet House in Ft. Lauderdale. For details see: bonnethouse.org. Don’t forget to scroll down on the homepage for the discount coupon on the left hand side.

* Don’t forget the summer worksheets listed on the homepage of the davieelementary.com website

* Can’t get to the zoo? Then go to the National Zoo in Washington (nationalzoo.si.edu/) website.  The site has  webcams in select  animal foreclosures so you can see the animals live through your computer.  Special note: we have found that the cams are hard to access using the firefox server.  We suggest you use another server.

Come back and see us again!  We are constantly on the look-out for more things for kids to do this summer and will be updating our list periodically.

Have a Great Summer!

daviewebmaster@gmail.com