CITYSunTimes Web Exclusives December 2009
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YOUTH & EDUCATION

Preschool Education Workshops Offered

The Challenger Space Center, in partnership with Arizona State University’s ASSET Eight PBS Station, will host a free workshop for early childhood educators, parents, and in-home care providers of preschool age children, using the popular Sid the Science Kid programs. The workshop will be held on Saturday, December 12 at 1pm.
Each workshop is approximately two to three hours in length and is designed to teach adults how they can further develop a child’s natural curiosity for the sciences. Participants will learn about online resources and other resources that can be put to use to motivate students to learn simple problems-solving skills and explore and understand the scientific world around them.
Each workshop is taught by a Sid the Science kid educator. Everyone in attendance receives free merchandise including a DVD with Sid the Science Kid episodes, a poster, resource cards and a magnifying science tool. To register, call 623.322.2001.
The Challenger Space Center is located at 21170 North 83rd Avenue, just off the Loop 101 and Union Hills exit. Visit azchallenger.org for more information.

Holiday Classic Comes Alive On Stage

The Arizona School of Classical Ballet (ASCB), under the direction of Nadya Zubkov, joins forces with Desert Youth Ballet Foundation to bring P. Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker & the Mouse King to the North Valley. This will be the first time the two organizations have collaborated, but it is the fulfilling of a dream for Zubkov who has always had a vision in her mind for this type of production.
”My students have, for the past few years, performed the second act of The Nutcracker known as the ‘Kingdom of Sweets,’” says Zubkov. “But I have always envisioned that Act I would be an interactive theatrical performance based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffman and on the holiday parties that are so common in Russia.”
Guests will participate in the play part and watch a ballet performance danced to Tchaikovsky’s famous musical score and choreographed by ASCB faculty. The performances will take place at 6:30pm on Friday, December 18 and at 1pm on Saturday, December 19 at the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, 33606 North 60th Street, in North Scottsdale.
For information on Desert Youth Ballet Foundation, call 602.494.3400 or visit dybf.org.

Winter Break Theater Camps

Curtain Call, the educational arm of the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company, will hold specialty theatre camps December 21-23 and December 28-30 for young actors ages eight-14. Camps will be held at Temple Chai, 4645 East Marilyn Road in North Phoenix, from 9am-4pm Monday through Wednesday of each week. Programs include:

Week One
Ages eight-10: Music of the Decades; taught by Miciah Dodge
Ages 11-14: Brush up your Shakespeare; taught by Julie Cotton

Week Two
Ages eight-10: Character Creation; taught by Julie Cotton
Ages 11-14: Audition Techniques; taught by Layne Racowsky

Cost for each week is $125.There will be a program for parents at 3:30pm each Wednesday. To register, call 602.264.0402 or visit azjewishtheatre.org.

YOUTH & EDUCATION Web Exclusives | CITYSunTimes December 2009