Mark your calendar...The 5th Annual UCSB Children’s Day will be held on Friday, April 4, 2008!

The major goal of Children’s Day is to introduce the children of faculty, staff and students to the many different aspects of our UCSB community, ranging from academics to research to athletics and beyond, and all the while, showing our children that learning, achievement and fun can all go hand-in-hand. Each child will participate in two of the following hands-on activities: “Oceans Alive” (view, touch and learn about all sorts of interesting marine organisms in the Marine Science Institute’s Marine Touch Tanks), “Mural Painting” (enjoy and learn about people’s histories and cultures at the MultiCultural Center….and paint a mural!), “The Big Kitchens of UCSB” (touring and baking cookies in the remarkable dormitory kitchens), “Dinosaurs” (see, touch and learn about dinosaurs with the Department of Earth Science), “Got Game” (learn new skills and scrimmage with the UCSB Men’s Soccer Team), “Electronic Musicmaking” (learn how computers make all those remarkable sounds with the Center for Research in Art Technology and the Department of Music), “Weird Science” (static electricity, 3-D images, colors, earthquakes and more at the Physics Circus, Department of Physics), “Adventure Climbing Center” (climb the fantastic 30 foot wall with the Department of Recreation) and “Sail Away” (building air powered sail cars with MESA in the College of Engineering).

Last year, almost 100 children participated in a fantastic day of fun and learning and we hope this year will be even better. The day’s events begin at 8:00 a.m. in Storke Plaza and finish with a pizza and salad lunch (with entertainment!) on the lawn behind the UCEN. Children must be between 5-14 years old. For safety reasons, all children ages 5 and 6 must be accompanied for the entire event by a parent or guardian. Parents of older children are also very welcome to join in the fun and accompany their children.

Children’s Day is sponsored by the UCSB Childcare Advisory Committee (CCAC) and made possible by generous contributions from many different units on campus. In addition, Children’s Day will be staffed by faculty, staff and student volunteers who generously donate their time, effort and good cheer.

Be sure to sign up right away! We have room for only 100 children and spaces in activity tracks will be filled in the order that registration forms are received. Hope to see you and your kid(s) on April 4th!