Enjoy stargazing and more at Raritan Valley Planetarium…
Witches and Wizards Galore
The Skies over Hogwarts
Saturday, October 20, 7:00 pm
Friday, November 9, 7:00 & 8:00 pm
Saturday, November 10, 3:00 & 7:00 pm
Join our eclectic group of witches and wizards as they take you on a "Harry Potter"-themed tour of the night sky. Discover how the starry sky inspired some of J.K. Rowlings's characters. (Recommended for ages 8-adult)
Fright Light (family-friendly)
Saturday, October 20, 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 27, 4:00 pm
The Witches and Ghouls continue to haunt the planetarium. They love our laser songs, including "Time Warp," "Monster Mash," and "Thriller." (Recommended for ages 8-adult)
Spooky Skies Saturday, October 27, 3:00 & 7:00 pm
Spooky Skies takes viewers back to medieval Ireland to explore the roots of the Halloween holiday, then goes into the heavens to draw parallels between some celestial objects and famous monsters. What does a werewolf have on an inescapable Black Hole; a noxious, deadly planet like Venus; or a crushing, dangerous supernova? (Recommended for ages 8 to adult)
Fright Light (PG-13 version) Saturday, October 27, 8:00 pm
Not for young viewers or those easily scared! Features songs including Alive by Meatloaf, Thriller by Michael Jackson, and The Night Santa Went Crazy by Weird Al. (Recommended for ages 13 to adult)
Young Stargazer Shows -For kids ages 3-8 and their grown-up friends
Rockin' Rocket Ride
Saturday, October 20, 3:00 pm
Put on your space suit and blast-off into outer space to visit the Moon, Sun and planets. A lively experience for young people with selected music from "Journey Into Space" by Jane Murphy. (Recommended for ages 3-8)
SkyLights Saturday, October 20, 4:00 pm
Our youngest audience members can sing along with songs by mr. RAY (Family Ride, Kalien the Alien) and Jane Murphy (Moon Rock Rock, The Planet Song). Some songs are illustrated with lasers and other songs feature video images. (Recommended for ages 3-8)
Check our website for the Fall schedule and show descriptions.
Reservations are recommended.
Observatory - Weather permitting, the 3M Observatory will be open to the public on Saturdays from sunset to about 9:00 p.m.
There is no fee to visit the Observatory.
Sensory-Friendly programs
The Sky Above Saturday, November 3 5 pm
Enjoy music, laser lights, stories, and information about the planets, Moon, and constellations. Content is presented on a kindergarten level.
RVCC Planetarium offers special astronomy and music shows designed for families with children on the Autism spectrum or those with developmental disabilities. These sensory-friendly shows, which are appropriate for audiences of all ages, will provide a comfortable and judgment-free space that is welcoming to all families. During the show, the doors will remain open so children may freely leave and return if they choose. Lights will be left dim (instead of dark) and the audio will be lowered and kept at a consistent level.
Call to make a reservation: 908-231-8805
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Also at RVCC theater this weekend -- 1:00PM Performance Sunday is First Relaxed Event of the Season.
"The Rainbow Fish" - Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia
Sun., Oct. 21 at 1PM* & 3:30PM
Most appreciated by ages 2+
All tickets: $10
Meet the most beautiful fish in the sea, whose scales shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow. The Rainbow Fish will enchant even the youngest child with his silver scales and heart of gold in this award-winning production about the colorful fish who learned to share his most prized possession. This original stage adaptation brings Marcus Pfister's enchanting story to life along with two of the author's companion tales, Rainbow Fish Discovers the Deep Sea and Opposites. Innovative puppetry, striking scenic effects and evocative original music provide young audiences with an effortless introduction to the performing arts and the excitement of reading.
Our *relaxed performances were designed as sensory-friendly especially for children with autism or related conditions who experience heightened sensory sensitivity. In recent years, we have broadened this audience to include those, who for a variety of reasons desire a relaxed atmosphere, providing a safe and judgment-free space welcoming for all audience members. Seating is general admission, allowing everyone to choose a comfortable spacing.
Those who have not been to The Theatre at RVCC before are invited to stop by and visit the space and explore the seating areas beginning two hours before the show. You also may visit in advance by making an appointment.
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Attention all ghosts and goblins! Bridgewater Township presents...
Halloween Trick or Treat for Bridgewater Residents -Tuesday, October 30, 2018 6:30 pm- 8:30 pm Bridgewater Municipal Complex 100 Commons Way (parking will be available at Municipal Building and overflow at BRHS)
Mayor Hayes and the Bridgewater Council invite you to join them for an evening of spooky fun for the whole family. Wear a costume and trick or treat throughout the scary courtyard! Play our guessing game and win prizes! Wear your BOOgie Shoes and dance the night away while our D.J. spins your favorite tunes!
This is a smoke-free event.
* Please note there will NOT be a Haunted Trail* Questions? Please call the Bridgewater Recreation Department at (908) 725-6373 or email recreation@bridgewaternj.gov
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The deadline is long past, but the sentiments expressed by the author parallel my own as do the memories of librarians past…
The press release came though my email with dozens of others this morning. Only this one stopped me with its subject line: "Search for nation's most beloved librarians comes to a close on Oct. 1."
It prompted me to think about some of the people who have made the biggest difference in my life.
Sure, there have been teachers, friends, family and colleagues who were there. The Latin professor, who filled in the blanks of a substandard education. Friends, who would show up in the middle of the night with a shovel, ask for the body and no questions. Not that that's happened, but it's good to know.
A husband, who has stood by me for 35 years. And editors, who have saved me from looking like the idiot I can be.
But librarians, well, they have also been there from the beginning. They hold the key to the magic kingdom, and how often do we take the chance to appreciate them?
…Like many who grew up poor, there was no extra money for books, but the library allowed me as many as I could read. Once I aged out of picture books and Beverly Cleary (though one should never age out of Cleary), and having exhausted the library at my Bronx elementary school, I was pacing the children's room in what was then The Fordham branch of the public library.
A lovely woman, whose name is long lost to me, suggested "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Consistently ranked among the top children's book, Frances Hodgson Burnett's tale about a Victorian girl rallying her intelligence and bravery is a timeless work of literature.
If you have never read this and have a child in your life, stop whatever you are doing, buy a copy or, better yet, run to the library and take it out. Read it with that child, and a box of tissues.
I am not a princess fairy tale kind of person, and this is so far from a princess kind of book.
Briefly: Sara Crewe's mother dies in childbirth. Initially, coddled in luxury by her doting and dashing father, a sea captain, she's enrolled in a posh boarding school in Victorian England.
She arrives with her trunks of velvet and lace and her doll with a matching lavish wardrobe. Her father dies, penniless, and she is evicted from her suite and made a char girl in the school. But smart, brave and kind Sara vanquishes all adversity.
This kind librarian put the book in my hands, stamped the card (remember those?) and sent me on my way. Later that night, long after my lamp had been shut off, I was able to read by the city kid's method - the streetlight outside the building. I read and wept. I cried so hard, I cried all over the pages.
It was the only time in my life I ever made a page crinkly with tears. (We are not discussing angsty teen poems right now, and even then, nothing came close.)
In the morning, the horror hit me hard. I had destroyed public library property. Admittedly, I was a Girl Scout, a goody-goody, and the notion of my vandalism, deliberate or not, nearly paralyzed me with fear. I told no one. I did, though, have to finish the book.
A couple of days later, it was a long walk back to the library. I rehearsed the whole walk over. I would throw myself on their mercy and explain I did not realize I was leaking onto the book. I would beg the librarian to please not take away my card because I did not think I could survive. (Yes, I was also a rather dramatic child. But I meant it and I still do.)
She was there, this woman I would nominate if I even had a clue to her name, though chances are it was so long ago she is long dead. In her shirtwaist dark green plaid dress and curly hair, she ruled from behind the desk.
She smiled, addressed me by name and asked what I thought of "A Little Princess." I looked up at her and committed a second library crime: I burst into loud sobs.
She came around the counter and put her hands on my shoulders and I wept out what happened. She hugged me and told me they would never take away my card.
Safe.
…As important as so many jobs are, I have long thought of librarians as the standard bearers of democracy. They ensure that anyone who enters has the same access. As someone who frequently works in Manhattan libraries, I love that a homeless woman reading the newspaper is treated with the same respect as someone in a Chanel suit.
…And in my book, while nurses may save your life and clergy may save your soul, librarians save your mind.
Read the complete article at: https://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2018/09/librarians_thank_and_nominate_one_today.html
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Another favorite childhood book was “Misty of Chinoteague”
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The True Story of Misty of Chincoteague, the Pony Who Stared Down a Devastating Nor’Easter
The Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 was a horse of another color
The ponies of eastern Maryland and Virginia, seen here in 2002, were made famous in the book “Misty of Chincoteague.” (AP Photo/Scott Neville)
By Eliza McGraw SMITHSONIAN.COM OCTOBER 16, 2018
Assateague and Chincoteague’s most famous residents know how to stay safe in extreme weather conditions. After all, the wild ponies have comfortably roamed the islands along the mid-Atlantic coast for centuries. While legend says they arrived at the barrier islands of Virginia and Maryland after surviving a shipwreck, it’s more likely that their origin can be traced to horses owned by 17th-century settlers.
However they arrived, these feral herds have thrived over the years, no matter the obstacle, and have become a permanent fixture of the region’s character. So, when Hurricane Florence threatened the Atlantic coast earlier this fall, officials were unconcerned with their safety. “This is not their first rodeo,” Kelly Taylor, supervisor of the Maryland District Division of Interpretation and Education, told the media. “They come from a hearty stock, and they can take care of themselves.”
But the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 was a different story. The Level 5 nor’easter was fierce and unrelenting in its three-day barrage. Poultry farms flooded, houses disappeared underwater, and coffins floated. For thousands of American children paying attention to the news, one question about the crisis rose above the rest: Was Misty all right?
Misty of Chincoteague, a 16-year-old palomino mare, was the best-known member of the herd of wild ponies. She catapulted to fame 14 years earlier, when children’s book author Marguerite Henry wrote Misty of Chincoteague. The book tells the story of orphans Paul and Maureen Beebe, who long to buy a mare named Phantom and her filly Misty and bring them to their grandparents’ farm.
Henry, a Newbery-award winning author, wrote 59 books, many of them about horses. She wrote about the burros who carry loads in the Grand Canyon, 1924 Kentucky Derby winner Black Gold, and the Godolphin Arabian. But Misty had a special kind of alchemy for readers, perhaps because Paul and Maureen lived the dream of every horse-crazy kid: surrounded by ponies and pining for one of their own, they wind up with her. “Misty here, she belongs to us,” their grandfather tells them. The book centers on the themes of freedom and belonging: the animal lover’s twofold fantasy.
Henry traveled to Chincoteague in 1945, looking to write a book about the ponies. There she visited Beebe Ranch, which was home to the real-life foal Misty. (The orphaned children of the same name, however, were fictional.) The pony captivated her, and in 1946, she arranged to have Misty shipped to her home in Wayne, Illinois. When the book became a bestseller, Misty became an overnight celebrity, named an honorary member of the American Library Association, and invited to attend its annual convention at the Pantlind Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/real-misty-chincoteague-once-stared-down-barrel-storm-180970557/#G9mKruqwvBF6GdvI.99
Make a vibrant connection to history... 
