Recycling fun at museum

recyclingfun052: Recycling fun at museum
Garrett Austin seems mesmerized by the large soap bubble in the hands of Shafter 4-H Club volunteer Melissa Bloemhof.
Probably most people would consider recycling necessary but probably not fun. More than 500 children discovered that recycling can be fun when they attended a June 21 event at the Kern County Museum arranged just for them called "Summer Fun Day: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." For starters, they got in a for a reduced admission price of just $3 that included lunch, bounce houses, slides, games, crafts, music and art. And, oh yes, they learned about recycling, too.

"It all came about as a result of a grant we got from Target Stores that permitted us to charge lower admission prices provided we supplied an educational program for the under served children in our community," said Education and Volunteer Services Manager Jackie Brouillette.

"This time around it was recycling because we feel it is a great thing to teach children. We are a throw away society and if children can learn early how important recycling is they will grow up wanting to do it instinctively. With help from the City of Bakersfield, Colombo Construction, Keep California Beautiful, Target Stores, Cool Quencher USA and a grant from the California Integrated Management Board, we geared fun activities around that theme of recycling."

One of the more popular venues had Shafter 4-H Club volunteers molding recycled newspapers into decorative hats for visiting children. Two volunteers wrapped newspaper around the heads of the children who sat patiently while the edges were curved, bent, folded and tucked to fit the shape of their craniums. Then, the children could accessorize their chapeaus with an assortment of glue-on multi-colored cotton balls and other recyclable materials.

"It's a fun community service project for club members, and we are happy to be doing it," said 4-H Club member Melissa Bloemhof. "Besides I think we are almost having more fun than the children."

Joining in to make it a fun experience for the children were volunteers from the Girl Scouts and Mineral Mites Club.

Several booths provided refrigerator magnets, pens, pencils and various novelty items designed to peak children's interest and remind them of the importance of recycling. San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District illustrated two of the area's biggest polluters, "Particulate Matter" and "Ozone," as dastardly creatures on pages suitable for coloring and posting on the family refrigerator.

"We are trying to teach children that air pollution and smog are the enemies of the air we breath," Turner said.

Elsewhere on the museum grounds, Charlie Barfield and several of his volunteers from the Petroleum Shrine Club caught the interest of many a child with a computer, a pad and a camera. Unsure at first as they sat facing the computer screen, the children's eyes soon lit up when they saw first their finger prints and then their faces appear on the screen. It was all for a good cause. The visual information was electronically transformed to an information sheet, which when printed out gave parents a record that could assist in finding a lost or missing child.

Sherry Core at the Keep Bakersfield Beautiful booth was handing out cards with four words written on them designed to improve a child's vocabulary and teach them something memorable about recycling. Following each word was a use for it, i.e., Reduce -- consumption, Recycle -- cardboard, glass, paper, Renew -- make into something else and Reuse -- donate used books and clothes.

"Our message to the children and their parents is that four-point-four pounds per person, per day of trash is thrown away," Core said.

As Kiana Hughes' grandmother watched her having fun blowing environmentally-friendly soap suds at another booth, she found something else fun about the day.

"It is so interesting visiting the museum," the grandmother said. "My ancestors came from India, and Kiana is so impressed because she can see how the buildings were built, dresses were made and how they lived many years ago."

The museum is planning another Fun Day for Aug. 16 and the theme will be "water."


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