LAKE COUNTY >> Every year when the first weekend of May rolls around, The Children’s Museum of Art and Science (CMAS) puts on a day-long camp at the Ely Stage Stop and the Taylor Observatory. Fourth through sixth graders from around the entire county are invited to participate in hands-on projects. Demonstrations include music, planetary shows, the dissection of owl pellets and a rare bird show.
“It’s a mix of things that we’re hoping kids are going to be sparked to learning,” explained Carolyn Jarrett, president of CMAS.
It was early in the camp’s years when Jarrett received validation for countless hours spent running the project. “At the end of the day this boy came up to me and said, ‘Is this a once in a lifetime thing or will I get to do something like this again?’” she recalled. Jarrett knew then that CMAS was an invaluable program for the kids of Lake County.
“There are not as many opportunities for kids learning outside of school in Lake County as in other places,” Jarrett said. This was especially true when CMAS started their day camp, but in recent years similar programs have popped up.
Despite it’s name, The Children’s Museum of Art and Science is not an actual museum, but a traveling program that hopes to get children in the county excited about learning. A group of volunteers go from school to school, presenting hands-on art and science activities, two subjects that Jarrett feels often get pushed to the wayside in a regular school-day. “I know that art and science are just two things that get so squeezed out of the every day curriculum,” she said.
CMAS has been working closely with Pomo and Burns Valley after-school programs, though the program is free to all schools in the county, whether a public or a charter school. CMAS provides all of the supplies needed for instructors to lead demonstrations.
There are no future desires to build a physical museum, at least not for Jarrett. The funds just aren’t there. “The economy just fell and the grants just shriveled up. It would take monumental efforts to get back to [a museum],” she explained. “We struggle right now to make our insurance. With just the limited amount of the stuff we do right now, insurance is a big chunk our of our budget.”
Even though nothing more than an educational program is on the books, Jarrett is happy with the way things are going. For the past three years, CMAS has sponsored a program once a week at Taylor Observatory, where kids build rockets and learn about aerodynamics. “Transportation in our county is such an obstacle for our kids,” she explained. “So even though the Kelseyville observatory is kinda out of the way, it was a terrific opportunity for us to have a locale for kids.”
With no solid plans to turn the educational classes into an actual museum, one may wonder why the program is called the Children’s Museum of Art and Science. About a decade ago, a separate group of volunteers came together and acquired a large building with numerous rooms which they dedicated to various educational subjects. “This beginning group was really focused on South County and especially Clearlake,” said Jarrett. But besides a building and an idea, the group didn’t have much else for the program.
Shortly after the opening, which sparked enough interest in Jarrett for her to join CMAS, the original group disbanded. What was left was the name and already acquired non-profit status. Jarrett took the reigns and expanded the program.
“Some new people came on board and we decided that this should be a county-wide effort,” Jarrett said. For the past nine years, she and CMAS have been serving the Lake County children. All programs are free of charge and are run by all-volunteer staff.
When Jarrett began, the program put on art and science demonstrations at the county fair for a few years. “For three days of the fair we made a hands-on art and science building,” she explained. “After three days we had to take everything down.” Three years later, they grew tired of the tedious process and decided to start the day camp that continues today.
The idea that Lake County needed more educational programs was solidified when Jarrett spoke to a Sonoma State engineering student, who was originally from Middletown. Curious as to why he chose that subject, Jarrett discovered that he attended elementary school in San Jose, which was plentiful in after school robotics clubs. “I thought to myself, in Lake County our kids have nothing like that,” Jarrett said. “After I heard this story from the young man, I thought, we need to be providing the Lake County youth with opportunities that other kids have.”
Then came an after school endeavor that allowed children to create and program their own robots. “We come in and put on a two hour workshop and they follow the instructions on the computer and follow prompts to build a robot,” said Jarrett.
“Everything we do is very hands on,” she explained. “As an elementary school teacher, I know this is the way kids learn best.”
While CMAS served younger kids in the past, Jarrett explained that she feels fourth to sixth graders need to most encouragement when it comes to learning. “Kids are pretty darn excited about learning in the elementary age,” she said. But once they get to fourth grade, circumstances change. “There’s a lot of peer pressure and they kind of turn off the learning.”
An elementary school teacher for 18 years and another 8 years spent on the Konocti school board, Jarrett enjoys the freedom that CMAS gives her. During her time associated with the school district, there were many rules and regulations, but that’s not the case anymore. “One of the things I love about being associated with CMAS, we can do whatever we want and that’s really exciting for us,” she said.
This newfound freedom allows Jarrett to expose kids not only to arts and sciences, but also to the opportunities they may not have known about before. “It was really kind of discouraging to me, kids had a kind of negative attitude about Lake County,” she said. She hopes CMAS allows children to see all of the great resources available to them, including Eli’s Stage Stop and Taylor Observatory.
This past year, CMAS was honored with a Stars of Lake County Award for youth advocate group, so it’s no wonder that they have numerous donors who are eager to help out. “We have so much support from the community,” said Jarrett. “There are no deep pockets in Lake County [Donors] are supporting a variety of things that go on in Lake County.” Every September CMAS puts on a dinner fundraiser with the help of the Yuba College Culinary class. Rotary donates sums of money and provides lunches for the day camp. Foods Etc. donates all of the snacks and water for the camp each year. Scientists and artists donate their time.
“It’s that kind of support that really makes it possible to do what we do and we really appreciate it so much,” Jarrett said gratefully.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
