Interactive displays and activities will be set up throughout the museum and in Friendship Fountain Park to teach visitors about one of our most precious resources – water.  Highlights of the day include boat tours, a musical performance by Cathedral Arts Project, and an animal program by the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Guests will learn about the negative effects water pollution has on people, plants and animals.  They will also learn ways to conserve and protect this natural resource, including our own St. Johns River.  Activities will take place from noon to 4 p.m.  The museum, however, will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Museum of Science & History is located at 1025 Museum Circle near Friendship Fountain Park.  MOSH, first chartered in 1941, inspires the joy of lifelong learning by bringing to life the sciences and regional history.  Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.  Museum admission is $10 for adults and $8 for active and retired military, seniors and children 3-12.  There is no admission fee for children 2 and under or museum members.

Enjoy gigantic, creative gingerbread houses built by chefs, bakers, architects, engineers, culinary school students, families, young people and other individuals. These tasty creations will be on display at the Jacksonville Historical Society headquarters, historic Old St. Andrews, immediately across the street from the Veteran’s Memorial Arena.

The Gingerbread Extravaganza, in its ninth year, showcases some of the most creative art exhibited during the year in Jacksonville. Gingerbread and confection creations from traditional houses to animals and fairy tale themes offer holiday magic. Hundreds of hours are required for the construction of these edible structures – amazing sights to behold!

Children will love to play the scavenger hunt and find items throughout the display.

This charity event will benefit the children’s programs of the Jacksonville Historical Society and runs through December 22.

Visit gingerbreadjax.org for full details!

Julia Landon College Prep and Hendricks Avenue Elementary joined schools from around the world today to celebrate International Walk to School Day.

Approximately 175 students from Landon participated today along with parents, teachers and community leaders. 

In the U.S., International Walk to School Day was  expected to be celebrated at over 3,500 events at participating schools. Walkers from the U.S. joined children and adults in 40 countries around the world.

Walk to School events work to create safer routes for walking and bicycling and emphasize the importance of issues such as increasing physical activity among children, pedestrian safety, traffic congestion, concern for the environment and building connections between families, schools and the broader community.

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FIND THE BEST TIMES AND LOCATIONS FOR YOUR CHILD TO ENROLL.

Registration Fee: $75 for the 14 sessions of play, tennis racquet for new participants, USTA Florida T-shirt, certified instruction and team play and season ending playday and medallion.

If your child does not have a USTA Jr. membership, the $19 required membership is free. USTA is awarding a free membership to all who enroll in any USTA program until the end of 2011. Offer excludes renewals!

Southside Tennis Center:  Tues/Thur: U8 (ages 6,7,& 8,) play at 3:30 to 4:15 pm

Southside Tennis Center:Tues/Thus: U10(ages 9,10) play at 4:30 to 5:15 pm

See more details at http://www.jaxyouthtennis.com

Now in its 14^th year, this one-day event in the U.S. is a part of an international effort in more than 40 countries to celebrate the many benefits of safely walking and bicycling to school and to encourage more families to consider getting out of the car and onto their feet on the way to school.

International Walk to School Day has a strong presence in Northeast Florida with fourteen local schools registered to participate in the event. Several of those schools are also conducting long-term Safe Routes to School programs with infrastructure and education initiatives designed to facilitate and encourage safe walking and biking to school.

The Health Planning Council received a grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Foundation through the Healthy Jacksonville Childhood Obesity Coalition to develop a pilot Safe Routes to School program. The pilot program will help schools by facilitating the implementation of Infrastructure Improvement Grants offered by the Florida Department of Transportation. In addition to making physical changes to the built environment through sidewalks, street crossings, street signs, traffic signals and bicycle lanes, there is an education component to promote healthy and safe lifestyles. There is a deficit in pedestrian and bicycling safety education for middle school students. The pilot program being developed at Julia Landon College Preparatory (JCLP) Middle School makes environmental changes which facilitate safe walking and bicycling, and also augments the critical education needed around healthy and safe lifestyles.

In an economy where public schools need additional resources and community support, this program offers both. Parents and community volunteers along with the District 5 City Council Representative, Lori Boyer, will be accompanying students on the morning walk to JCLP. Councilwoman Boyer had this to say regarding the Walk to School Day: “Walking or biking to school is one of the simplest and most effective ways to build more exercise into the daily lives of our children. I applaud the efforts of the Health Planning Council and participating schools in working to provide a safer environment, from both traffic and crime perspectives, and to better educate children with regard to their personal safety. Walking to and from school was a fun, social, part of my childhood and something I looked forward to even in bad weather.”

The Health Planning Council congratulates all the schools participating throughout the Northeast Florida region and the nation, and we encourage parents, students, educators and community members to contact their local school to see how they can make their communities healthier by supporting the International Walk to School Day. We also encourage drivers to take special care on October 5^th in light of the many children that will be walking and biking to school on that day.

The Northeast Florida schools registered for International Walk to School Day are:

Andrew Robinson Elementary School, Bunnell Elementary School, Cypress Creek Elementary School, Deltona Lakes Elementary School, Heritage Middle School, Holly Hill School, Julia Landon College Prep And Leadership Development School, Mcrae Elementary School, Rymfire Elementary School, Sadie T. Tillis Elementary School,  Silver Sands Middle School, South Daytona Elementary School, Spirit Elementary School, and Westside Elementary School.

To view the names and locations of all registered U.S. schools participating in Walk to School Day 2011, visit www.walktoschool.org/who/index.cfm.

For past photos of International Walk to School Day activities, visit: www.iwalktoschool.org/photos.

About The National Center for Safe Routes to School

Established in May 2006, the National Center for Safe Routes to School assists states and communities in enabling and encouraging children to safely walk and bicycle to school. The National Center serves as the clearinghouse for the federal Safe Routes to School program. The organization also provides technical support and resources and coordinates online registration efforts and provides technical support and resources for U.S. Walk to School Day and facilitates worldwide promotion and participation. The National Center is part of the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. For more information, visit www.saferoutesinfo.org.

What:

When: Saturday, September 17 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Where: MOSH

1025 Museum Circle

Details: Did summer pass by without a visit to MOSH?  As the final weeks of the museum’s summer exhibit, Savage Ancient Seas: Dinosaurs of the Deep, tick by, MOSH is hosting a special $2 admission day on Saturday, September 17.  The exhibit explores the marine reptiles that slithered through the sea during the days when dinosaurs roamed the land.

The $2 admission rate includes admission to 10 exhibits like The Body Within and The Florida Naturalist’s Center and to programs like Extreme Science! in the JEA Science Theater and live animal programs.

Restrictions: This special admission rate is not valid with other coupons or offers and does not include admission to the Bryan-Gooding Planetarium. Planetarium admission is $5 per person.

The Museum of Science & History (MOSH) is located at 1025 Museum Circle near Friendship Park. MOSH, first chartered in 1941, inspires the joy of lifelong learning by bringing to life the sciences and regional history. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.  Admission is $10 for adults, $8.50 for active and retired military, $8 for children ages 3 through 12.  There is no admission fee for children 2 and under or museum members. Admission is $5 on Fridays.

The sun drifted slowly over the horizon Tuesday morning, welcoming hundreds to the Julia Landon PTSA Donuts with Dads breakfast celebration. Those first rays of September carried with them the smell of hot coffee and powdered sugar to be shared with family and school community. The small cafeteria quickly filled to capacity with sets of fathers, sons and daughters.

Julia Landon has a very active PTSA. Last year, they decided to ask the students what type of event they would most enjoy. The kids said they wanted to share more activities with their parents. “Donuts with Dads” was the first implementation of that concept.

Conversation was lively as paternal units clustered around the low, middle-school-sized cafeteria tables. Something as simple and straightforward as a donut with Dad in the morning can hold tremendous meaning. Men took time out of their busy mornings to connect with their children, to gain insight into their school life, and to eat where they eat each day.

30 dozen donuts were eaten. 12 gallons of juice and 8 gallons of coffee were served. Over 140 Dads got to share a simple moment with their sons and daughters. It was a nice way to start the month.