On Sunday, April 12, from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the Westerville Partners for Education (WPE) will host the 3rd annual “Nationwide Children’s Hospital Starry Night” family learning festival at Westerville North High School, 950 County Line Rd. The festival will offer dynamic learning experiences with experts from Columbus’ premier educational and non-profit organizations. Geared toward students in preschool through 8th grade and their caregivers and families, the event highlights motion at all scales—from microscopic to cosmic—with the 2015 event theme, “Movement.”
Generous sponsor support brings diverse exhibitors together under one roof, including Nationwide Children’s Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy, OSU Electrical Engineering, Otterbein Physics and Biochemistry, Westerville Parks and Recreation, Capital University’s Primmer Outdoor Learning Center, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center, OSU Meteorology Club, Central Ohio LEGO Train Club, Westerville Electric Division, Central Ohio Paper Folders, Westerville Arts Council, Dramatic Impact with Candace Darman, Westerville North biology and ecology student presenters, and many other organizations. Enjoy LEGOs, origami, art, planetary motion, sports, dance, music, fluid dynamics, costumes, drama, juggling, woodworking, and much more.
Starry Night 2015 also features special movement demonstrations with crowd participation, including juggling, fitness, yoga, and drum and dance.
Attendees can procure food on-site from the Tortilla Street and Short North Bagel Deli food trucks, as well as Westerville’s own I Heart Cupcakes bakery.
“Starry Night provides a completely unique learning experience for kids and their families,” says Westerville City Schools Arts Curriculum Coordinator and Westerville Arts Council member, Dr. Jan Fedorenko. “It breaks down the usual boundaries between arts and sciences for an immersive, exciting, learning adventure that crosses generations. Kids—and adults—just love it!”
Westerville Partners for Education organizes this event as an annual opportunity for families to learn together and to develop relationships with community organizations. “Starry Night allows us to go out and find the most fascinating educational organizations in the Columbus area and put them in a room with kids and families. The best part is that we all get to break the rules by putting protozoa next to kinetic art and across from a room-size model of the solar system. Having a unifying theme like “Movement” makes wild interdisciplinary connections possible for kids. It’s exciting!” says event organizer and WPE president, Jen Aultman.
Westerville Partners for Education is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization devoted to enriching student learning across the Westerville City School District. WPE supports and offers innovative programming, engages community volunteers in schools, and cultivates partnerships with organizations and businesses in support of education. In addition to Starry Night, WPE puts on the Book Bonanza! book giveaway program with the Westerville Kiwanis Club, hosts a tutoring program with the Columbus Tutoring Initiative, and much more. For more information about Starry Night, please visit http://www.westervillepartnersforeducation.org/starry-night.