Performers & Programs
Programs from the CLC Public Programming Catalog
CLC members may visit the Public Programming & Library Resource Catalog for more information about these and other performers. A username and password is required. If you are a CLC member and you do not have login information, please contact Pattie Noren at pnoren@ctlibrarians.org. For more information about the Public Programming Catalog, contact Deb Zulick at dzulick@ctlibrarians.org.
- Michael Caduto
Contact: Michael Caduto, PEACE, P.O. Box 1052, Norwich, VT 05055; 802-649-1815 (tel/fax); michaelcaduto@p-e-a-c-e.net
Michael Caduto, a long-time performer in the Public Programming Catalog, offers the program A Time Before New England: Native American Stories, specially designed for the We Dig Summer Reading summer reading theme.
For nearly 12,000 years Native Americans have lived in what we now call New England. During this entertaining and participatory program, Michael Caduto brings their ancient stories to life with a host of humorous and dramatic characters. Imagine a living past through storytelling, music, native instruments and a dance. This program is a window to understanding the Native peoples of New England, past and present.
Caduto has worked with native peoples for over 20 years. He has written and co-authored such award-winning books as Native American Gardening, the Keepers of the Earth series and A Time Before New Hampshire.
Fee: $250-$350 for each 60-minute performance, plus .30/mile round-trip and lodging if necessary. Discounts for block booking and multiple performances on the same day and same location are available. - Illustrator Kate Duke
Contact: Kate Duke, 203-865-2522 [ph] or 203-777-0615 [fax]
Kate Duke, illustrator for the "We Dig Summer Reading" program, is available for author visits. She charges a modest fee of $150 for a single 45-60 minute program, or $550 for 2-4 programs. Kate's presentations explain to children how she creates her picture books. She describes life as an artist working at home, and uses sketches and manuscript rough drafts to show that even a "real" author/illustrator makes mistakes before getting a story or picture right. After this, she and the children make up a story on the spot, with Kate illustrating their ideas at the easel. The presentations are a good exercise in creative writing skills ... and a lot of fun for all. They're geared for grades K-3, but can be adapted for grades 4-5. And parents and other grown-ups are always welcome. Contact Kate at the number above for further details or to book a visit. - The Fossil Hunter
Contact: Walter Heinz / The Fossil Hunter
P.O. Box 512, Wallingford, CT 06492
H-203-269-7581; www.thefossilhunter.com
Enjoy a fun-filled, entertaining hour with Walter Heinz, "The Fossil Hunter," as he takes children on a journey into the past. Actual fossil finds he discovered, and ancient artifacts are displayed for an educational and interesting hands-on experience not to be missed! He will explain how fossils are formed, exposed, dug up, and share the stories they tell us about our earth's past. Fossil bones, plants, insects, sea creatures, dinosaur tracks and more are all included in his fascinating display that children will be able to touch as they journey along his display table that presents a myriad of fossil treasures. He shares his fossil hunting adventures and takes kids on an imaginary underwater fossil hunting excursion as he describes SCUBA diving for ancient fossils and artifacts, one of his favorite methods of collecting. A short video of an actual underwater fossil hunt brings kids closer to experiencing the thrill of discovery. Lightly touching on geology, plate tectonics and changes in ocean levels, kids experience a vision of our ever-changing world, and will receive an actual fossil shark's tooth on a souvenir card to take home for further study and lasting memories of this information-packed, one-of-a-kind educational enhancement program!
Walter Heinz has been an avid fossil and artifact collector for twenty-five years. He has collected fossils on land, in rivers, and underwater using SCUBA equipment. Heinz is an internationally certified SCUBA diver and an associate member of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Over the years, Heinz has collected thousands of museum-quality fossils. This is his ninth year of presenting this fascinating program to schools, scouts, and libraries. His display contains such specimens as petrified wood, fossil ferns, various mammal and fish bones, a six-inch fossilized tooth from an extinct Megaladon shark, a woolly mammoth molar, a local Connecticut dinosaur track, amber with a prehistoric insect inclusion, a ten-inch T-Rex tooth, ammonites, trilobites, and much more. Heinz doesn't just talk about fossils, each year he continues to go on expeditions to collect new specimens to add to his growing collection. He brings the experience of fossil hunting alive when he gives his presentations.
FEE: ($225) $200 per 60-minute presentation (includes up to 50 souvenir cards with genuine fossil), $1.50 each for additional fossil souvenir if needed. Special discounts are available for multiple presentations. - Fun with Science Programs
"Fun with Fossils and Dinosaurs" or "Pyramids & Pharoahs"
Storytelling programs by Paulette Morin (Gr. 3 & up)
781-643-7303
FEE: $300 and up - Brendan Hanrahan
Contact: Nancy 203.767.6509 or nhanrahan@cttrips.com
Brendan Hanrahan combined a lifelong fascination with all things wild and a career in journalism to publish a new series of guides to the natural history of Connecticut last spring. A Biology and English major at Reed College, he divided his time between fieldwork and literature, and participated in studies of bird communities in Oregon and California. Mr. Hanrahan went on to work as a freelance writer and editor, contributing to publications such as the Chicago Tribune and Scholastic magazines. He and his wife, Nancy, founded their publishing company, Perry Heights Press, in 1991.
EXPLORING CONNECTICUT'S NATURAL WONDERS ((30 & 50-minute presentations with color slides) - Connecticut may seem tame, but is a place where astonishing discoveries about geology, dinosaurs and nature have been made for centuries. Presented by author and publisher Brendan Hanrahan, Discover the Geology, Paleontology and Ecology of Connecticut is a slideshow highlights many local tales, such as:- How the earth's continents have moved over time, leaving pieces of rocks found in Africa next to the ball field in Deep River.
- How molten lava once poured over the Connecticut Valley through cracks in the earth's crust.
- How a discovery of strange footprints by a young farmer in 1802 led to the Connecticut Valley being recognized as one of the most important dinosaur footprint sites in the world.
- How dinosaur bones in a block of brownstone came to be built into a bridge in Manchester, and then rescued 85 years later.
- How Connecticut's state fossil, Eubrontes, led local scientists to spot similarities between birds and dinosaurs (and to discover that the chicken you eat for dinner is a relative of ferocious meat-eating dinos).
- How the glaciers of the last Ice Age created unique natural environments like Connecticut's black spruce bogs.
FEE: $100 - High Touch-High Tech
Educational hands-on programs for grades K-5, $200 range.
Contact: Rashid Zainulbhai, 203-227-8112 (work)
11 Tubbs Spring Court, Weston CT 06883
High Touch-High Tech offers a fun and educational hands-on, interactive and sensory in-school or in-library "field trip." They provide all equipment and materials in this supply-intensive educational experience. Students receive educational handouts and/or take-home science experiments. High Touch-High Tech programming meets the National Science Student Performance Standards.- "Dig It" - Geology program about rocks, gems and minerals.
- "Dinosaur Daze" - Become a paleontologist and conduct scientific experiements.
- "Jurassic Jr." - Uncover the mysteries of the dinosaurs, make a fossil and be a paleontologist.
- Mary Jo Maichack
Contact: 413-532-3667; www.MaryJoMaichack.com. Brochure available. (View a photo of Mary Jo Maichack)
Minstrel Storyteller Mary Jo Maichack is offering a show that especially ties in with "We Dig Summer Reading" - a centerpiece tale that kids help to draw on a big posterboard. "Paco's Wild & Wobblin' Villa" is constructed before the audienceÕs eyes as Paco turns items from the dump into a beautiful home for an opera-singing goose, sad donkey and others. Best of all, although the building department condemns the place, the arts council saves it! Other tales & tunes make a happy mix for inspiring summer readers, including original songs about the joy of the library. Run time: about an hour. All other shows are available as well. - Marshmallow Masquers
Contact: Ken Aveline, 860-657-4833, mmasquers@aol.com
Especially For We Dig Summer Reading, the Marshmallow Masquers present A Sam Case Mystery: "The Mystery of the Fabulous Fossil Find." (Download a program flyer, in PDF.) Poochie unearths an old bone that may be a valuable fossil. Some mysterious strangers are very interested in his find. Can Sam Case get the fossil to its rightful owner?
All shows run approximately 45 minutes and are recommended for children ages 5-10.
FEE: $350 - Poobley Greegy Puppet Theater
"The Dinosaur Show" or "Dynasty IV: Prime Time in Egypt"
by Janice and Stephen Babcock, MA 617-325-5620 (will travel to CT)
FEE: $500 - Rhode Island Zoological Society
"Dinosaur Hunter" program by the Zoobadours
401-559-8209; www.rwpzoo.org
FEE: $360-$400 (Reviewer said program was too short)
Other Performers and Programs
- SaReel Project
www.sareel.com
This ensemble explores the myriad sounds available using instruments from around the world as well as common household items, junk and Western instruments. The resulting integration of styles includes bluegrass and Indonesian gamelan, jazz structure and Indian improvisational techniques, rock back-beat and African polyrhythms. --Recommended by Judy Rossa, Bridgeport Public Library - Connecticut Historical Society Outreach Programs
Contact: Jennifer Matos, School Programs Assistant: education_assistant@chs.org, 860-236-5621 x232; OR
Mary Muller, Coordinator of Tours & Outreach Programs: mary_muller@chs.org, 860-236-5621 x209
www.chs.org
If you cannot come to us, our programs can come to you. A museum educator will bring an outreach program for classroom presentation to your school. These 1-hour programs use reproduction objects and documents from our collection, along with hands-on activities, to bring history to life.
These participatory programs are designed for class-size groups. They are not suitable for assemblies or large groups. A maximum of three presentations can be scheduled per day. Please allow at least 15 minutes before each program for set-up.
The cost for the initial program at one school is $100; additional presentations of the same program are $50 each, plus round trip mileage from the CHS to your location at $0.35 per mile.
Grades K - 3- Colonial Kids - Students will explore the daily life of children in colonial Connecticut through storytelling, reproduction objects, and hands-on activities. They will try household chores such as spinning and weaving, play with some colonial toys, and make paper quilt squares for their classroom.
- Native Americans in Early Connecticut - This program introduces students to the life and culture of Native Americans in southern New England. Students will examine reproduction artifacts made from materials such as stone, wood, bone, and animal skins and will learn about Native American cultural values from a traditional story. Each student will make their own bear claw necklace.
- West Indian Stories and Music - This program provides an introduction to the immigration experience for younger students through a look at some of the traditions and customs that have been brought to the Greater Hartford area from the West Indies. Students will hear an Anansi story, listen to music from several different West Indian countries, and make a Carnival mask.
- Characters from Colonial Connecticut - This hands-on program is designed around "identity boxes" which introduce the lives of five people from colonial Connecticut - an apprentice, a soldier, a tavern keeper, a merchant and a domestic servant. Students work in teams and handle reproduction artifacts, engage in activities and create a final project related to their selected "identity."
- Amistad: A Journey to Justice - This program explores the exciting story of 53 Africans who were kidnapped and taken from their homeland and who managed to win a legal battle and return home. Reproductions, primary source documents and a range of physical activities will bring the Africans' tale to life as students learn to communicate and work together to solve problems just as the Africans on the Amistad did.
- Underground Railroad - Students will learn about the Underground Railroad through a series of activities that illustrate how fugitive slaves were able to make their way to freedom. After a short introduction, small groups of students rotate among four discovery stations to engage in hands-on activities and puzzles. Students complete their own worksheets as they learn about people and strategies important to the success of the Underground Railroad.
- Destination: Connecticut - A Self-Guided Outreach Program. $40.00 / 3 week rental includes one-way shipping via UPS to your school. Kits may be shipped back at your expense or dropped off at the CHS. This participatory play, performed by your students, is modeled on the 1940s-1950s radio program, "You Are There," hosted by Walter Cronkite. Playing the roles of reporters and Connecticut residents, your class explores the history of immigration to Connecticut through first-person accounts. Historical artifacts and reproductions serve as props for the play and encourage further discussion, while extension activities give students the opportunity to discover and share their own families' reasons for moving to Connecticut. This program is recommended for classes with no more than 28 students.
- The Westport Library suggests working with local nature centers.
- Newtown, Bethel and Ridgefield Libraries will work with the Town Historian and/or local historical society.
- Movie nights: The Mummy; Raiders of the Lost Ark; The Goonies.
Last update: April 11, 2005