Children explore traditions

By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Raven Phillips enjoyed participating in Boxing Day, and she never had to don a pair of gloves or step into a ring.
Instead, Raven, 7, of Liberty, stepped into an art room where, she said, she had a good time making snowflakes and placing them on a box containing canned goods to go to the Second Harvest Food Bank.
The E.J. Blott Elementary School pupil also made a small wreath as well as a necklace that represents Ramadan.
Raven, daughter of Renarda Wallace and Benjamin Phillips of Liberty, was one of about 15 youngsters who came to Sunday's Multicultural Celebration of Holidays at the Children's Museum of the Valley, 139 E. Boardman St. The 31/2-hour event featured activities designed to allow children to explore cultural and religious traditions from all over the world, with an emphasis on learning about Christmas and other holidays.
Kids worked together to decorate boxes for Boxing Day, a Canadian, Australian and British tradition that encourages people to give to those less fortunate. Other activities were making Hanukkah dreidels (four-sided tops with a letter on each side that are part of a game), designing Zawadi necklaces for Kwanzaa, making Christmas wreaths, and creating items symbolizing Ramadan, a Muslim rite of fasting from sunrise to sunset.
Interactive exhibits
When they weren't gathering around the art table, several children were taking advantage of several games, hands-on activities and simulations available at the museum, which opened in August 2004. A few youngsters were seen on TV.
Well, almost.
The museum has a weather station with equipment that was donated by WFMJ Channel 21, and is complemented with a green screen similar to backgrounds that TV weather anchors use to give viewers the forecast. With a few button pushes, children can pick their "forecast" and appear in monitors throughout the museum with the weather map of their choice behind them.
"This is one of the big hits, in that the kids love it," said Amber Pustay, the facility's weekend and volunteer coordinator. "They can't wear green, of course, or they won't show up."
The room also has a teleprompter complete with script youngsters can read, although many make up their own, Pustay explained. The setup allows children to get a sense of how a newscast is put together, she continued.
For those with more scientific minds, the facility offers kits that include "singing" straws and other experiments. Cutting straws of different sizes and sliding one through another lets kids "sing" through them and affects their pitch, Pustay said.
A cage containing harmless cockroaches from Madagascar that hiss when they're frightened also was on hand. "It teaches kids not to be afraid of bugs," Pustay added.
Fun and games
One- and two-player games include matching small pictures of people, animals and other symbols on a United States map to the correct cities. One was a photograph of Elizabeth Montgomery, star of the 1960s comedy "Bewitched," which would go where Montgomery, Ala., is.
Several children tried their luck at Stairball, a game that features tennis balls and 10 steps. The object is to toss the ball and have it bounce on all 10 steps on its way down, Pustay explained.
"It's hard; I cannot do it," she said with a smile.
The children's museum also has a reading center, an art center gallery and a cultural center.
AmeriCorps members conduct a free craft and story time event from 5 to 8 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month, and the facility hosts field trips and birthday parties, Pustay noted.
"[The museum] opens creativity and lets kids explore; it's like a kid in a candy store. I've noticed adults have as much fun as the kids," Pustay said.
"It gives kids a chance to do something positive for downtown. It's a nice way to bring people downtown," added Alicia Smith, Raven's grandmother.