Mar 26, 2023 | Bloomsburg, Kids, News, Theater
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Creative kids aged five and up are encouraged to sign up for the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble’s Spring Theatre Workshops! From props to auditions and dancing to stage makeup, there is something for everyone.
Younger children can enjoy our Stage Crafting class, held on Wednesdays (March 29, April 5, 19, and 26) from 4:30-6:30pm. In this interactive, creative, and sometimes messy class, kids will explore different ways to craft and design elements of theatre, including building dioramas of sets, crafting props out of clay or popsicle sticks, and more. Fun and educational brain breaks of theatre games, musical dance parties, and more are designed for this age group.
For older kids and early teens, BTE offers three workshops. Musical Theatre Dance Party is an hour-long class held on March 26, April 2, 16, and 23 from 2:00-3:00pm. For an hour each Sunday, kids will dance, sing, and move to Broadway’s most famous shows.
Stage Makeup and Prop Design is one of BTE’s most popular classes. This series of workshops is meant for ages 12 and older and will be held March 27, April 3, 17, and 24 from 4:30pm-6:30pm. Kids will learn stage makeup techniques and dive into designing and creating props meant for the stage. In this hands-on workshop, our teachers will show students how to build props from simple elements such as foam and craft special effects makeup using makeup they can find at home.
Young thespians aged 9-12 years old can sign up for Auditioning for the Stage, held on Tuesdays (March 28, April 4, 18, and 25) from 4:30pm-6:30pm. Our instructors will guide students to future success in their next audition, whether it be at their school, BTE, or beyond!
Our instructors for this spring’s Theatre Workshops are BTE Education Director Abigail Leffler, Teaching Assistant Rebecca Thomas, and Company Stage Manager A’nie Kirchner. Classes will be held at BTE’s Theatre School space at the First Presbyterian Church, 345 Market Street, Bloomsburg. Workshops are $80 except Musical Theatre Dance Party, which is $50. For more information and to register, please visit www.bte.org/theatreschool. Financial aid is available, please see the website for more information.
Founded in 1978 as an artist-driven, community-based resident ensemble, BTE creates innovative work with local and national impact. Today, BTE produces a lively mix of classic and contemporary plays and original theatre education programs for all ages. For more information about our shows and programs, please see www.bte.org.
Mar 19, 2023 | Bloomsburg, News, Theater
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – BTE is pleased to announce an audition date for this summer’s ‘Dragons Love Tacos.’ Auditions for children and teens ages 8 to 18 will be held on April 15th at the Alvina Krause Theatre, 226 Center Street, Bloomsburg. The doors will open at 9:30 am, and auditions begin at 10:00
am.
‘Dragons Love Tacos’ is a playful and funny family show. BTE is looking for two casts of community kids for a variety of roles. Everyone auditioning must prepare a 30-second funny pantomime of any activity of their choosing. Make the actions and choices very clear—the bigger, the better! Everyone
should also be prepared to show their favorite dance moves (dragons love dancing… and tacos, of course). Callbacks will be held at 1:00 pm the same afternoon.
Cast members must be available for afternoon and evening rehearsals beginning May 30th and for performances running from July 6th through July 23rd. More information can be found at www.bte.org/summer. Any questions can be emailed to the Director, Amy Rene Byrne, at [email protected]
To audition for the play, potential cast members must have had their first COVID vaccination by the audition date and must present their vaccine card upon registering that morning. Everyone cast in the show will be required to be fully vaccinated by the beginning of rehearsals on May 30th. BTE follows the current CDC guidance on what constitutes ‘fully vaccinated’ per age group.
Founded in 1978 as an artist-driven, community-based resident ensemble, BTE creates innovative work with local and national impact. Today, BTE produces a lively mix of classic and contemporary plays and original theatre education programs for all ages. For more information about our shows and programs,
please see www.bte.org.
Mar 19, 2023 | Bloomsburg, Kids, News
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is hosting a virtual hackathon for good. The Museum is partnering with United in Recovery and Random Hacks of Kindness Junior (
https://rhokjr.org) for the event. The VIRTUAL Coding for Good hackathon is FREE and will take place on Saturday, March 25, 2023 from 9:00 am-12:00 pm.
Random Hacks of Kindness Junior is a non-profit organization that brings young people hands-on learning experiences where they apply technology to achieve social good. Students get practical exposure to the potential of computer science and a chance to use it in a way that will benefit others in their community by creating a prototype smartphone app for a local charity or global cause.
Join Random Hacks of Kindness Junior and Ginny Weibel, Ph.D, Museum Director for the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum to design and code prototype smartphone apps for projects aimed at helping address the current mental health crisis impacting teens. Helping with this issue will be Olivia Oden, Education and Stigma Reduction Specialist from United in Recovery.
The virtual hackathon is part of the museum’s yearly BloomCON Hak4Kidz. BloomCON Hak4Kidz is the only kid-friendly hacking conference in Pennsylvania. This event is produced by the Bloomsburg Children’s Museum in conjunction with the BloomCON adult hacking conference.
Participants in the virtual hackathon will experience firsthand how they can use technology to create positive change.
The coding program is open to students in grade 4 through 8. The event requires NO prior coding experience. Using Zoom, students will work in pairs with mentors to create prototype smartphone apps addressing the challenging issues of space debris and congestion.
For additional information, contact Patrice Gans, RHoK Jr’s Executive Director at [email protected].
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit overseen by a board of directors. This organization strives to offer unique, sustainable, and dynamic learning opportunities for youth through year-round interactive exhibits, programming, and community outreach.
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Mar 12, 2023 | Bloomsburg, Kids, News
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is pleased to announce that HAK4KIDZ, the area’s only kid-friendly hacking conference, returns on Saturday, March 25 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Kehr Union Center on the campus of Bloomsburg University.
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum produces Hak4Kidz in conjunction with the BloomCON, an adult-hacking conference on Bloomsburg University grounds.
Children aged 7-17 are encouraged to pre-register for this FREE conference. Registration can be done at https://www.bloomconhak4kidz.com/.
Ethical hackers, information security professionals, and educators will bring the benefits of white hat hacking to children and young adults at the conference. The conference features guest speakers, workshops, and STEM workstations. Attendees can win prizes, expand their knowledge and explore the world of hacks.
Workshops include: Can U Xcape escape room, NFC Treasure Hunt, Intro to python coding, programming with Edison robots, Thrivent Financial Finance Hacks, codes and ciphers, and much more.
Can U Xcape, located in Bloomsburg on Main St., returns for this year’s event with an escape room. They describe Hak4Kidz, “This is an event we look forward to every year! It is a pleasure to see the children’s faces light up each year as they work together to solve puzzles, along with their family and friends. Everyone always has a good time, and it’s nice to see so many young ones who are actively taking an interest in technology and are ready to apply themselves to become the problem solvers of the future!”
Dr. Phil Polstra, the producer of the parent BloomCON conference, describes the program, “The BloomCON Hak4Kidz event is now in its sixth year. It features fun STEM activities for children 7-17 primarily geared toward skills needed for work in the Information Technology and Cyber Security industry.”
BloomCON HAK4KIDZ is supported in part by PPL, Martz Technologies, and The Williams Company.
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is open Monday – Saturday 10 am-4 pm.
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit overseen by a board of directors. This organization strives to offer unique, sustainable, and dynamic learning opportunities for youth through year-round interactive exhibits, programming, and community outreach. For more information, please visit https://the-childrens-museum.org/
Mar 12, 2023 | Bloomsburg, Kids, News, Theater
Bloomsburg, PA – The Bloomsburg Public Library will host the first public performance of Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble’s Park Protectors: The Story of the Buffalo Soldiers and the National Park Service on Saturday, March 18th, at noon. The show is free, fun, and suitable for all ages. No reservations or tickets are needed!
From March through May, children in Pennsylvania and neighboring states will journey back in time to the 1890s to meet the men who created the now-familiar role of Park Ranger. BTE’s 2023 touring show, Park Protectors: The Story of the Buffalo Soldiers and the National Park Service, explores the beginnings of the National Park Service. With BTE’s time-tested, energetic storytelling style, imaginative props, and audience involvement, three Theatre In the Classroom (TIC) actors will transform elementary and
middle school cafeterias and gymnasiums into the landscape of our first National Parks. Park Protectors, BTE’s 44th TIC tour, is an inspiring collection of stories, songs, and first-person accounts woven together to share the narrative of these Army Buffalo Soldiers, America’s earliest caretakers of America’s public lands, with students.
For schools, a comprehensive study guide written from the same material as the script is provided, enabling educators to maximize the educational value of the theatre experience by providing discussion ideas, related classroom activities, a lively post-performance discussion, and a bibliography. Educators can download the study guide from BTE’s website: www.bte.org/tic.
Park Protectors tours from March 20th through May 26th. Booking dates for the 2023 tour are available.
Teachers, administrators, and parent-teacher organizations should call BTE’s School Programs Director, Paula Henry, at 570-458-4075 or e-mail [email protected] for more information or to book a show.
Founded in 1978 as an artist-driven, community-based resident ensemble, BTE creates innovative work with local and national impact. Today, BTE produces a lively mix of classic and contemporary plays and original theatre education programs for all ages. For more information about all of our shows and programs, please see www.bte.org.
Mar 5, 2023 | Bloomsburg, Kids, News
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is excited to announce that ten students that participated in the Museum’s Science Fair held in January are moving on to the state Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) after finishing first in the Regional PJAS Fair. The museum had 37 students from 9 schools and homeschool groups competing at the local science fair held at the Bloomsburg Fire Company. From that, 21 students were sent to the regional fair at Susquehanna University on February 18.
Ten of the students the Museum promoted achieved first in the Regional Fair. These students will be moving on to the State PJAS Science Fair, which will be held at Penn State University on May 15th, 2023.
The Students that achieved first awards were: Blake Rothermel (Line Mountain Middle School), Madison Rasley (Bloomsburg Christian School), Owen Greene (Greene Star Academy), Philip Polstra II (Bloomsburg Christian School), Amelia Shrimp (Montgomery Jr/Sr High School), Elizabeth Zika (Benton Jr/Sr High School), Oliva Greene (Greene Star Academy), Nathan Corbeill (Mr. Dirkman Homeschool), Kathryn Polstra (Bloomsburg Christian School), McKenna Parker (Selinsgrove Area High School).
Students that finished with second awards were; Jacob Griego (Bloomsburg Christian School), Landon Kitzmiller (Bloomsburg Christian School), Lydia Rowlands (Bloomsburg Christian School), Isabella Campbell (Bloomsburg Christian School), Josiah Stouffer (Bloomsburg Christian School), Gwendolyn Greene (Bloomsburg Christian School), Owen Sherman (Montgomery Jr/Sr High School).
In addition to these awards Kathryn Polstra was awarded a three-year perseverance award, Amelia Shrimp won the highest point total in Junior High Behavioral Science, and Blake Rothermel won the highest point total in Junior High Physical Science and the highest point total out of all projects with a perfect score from all his judges. PJAS Region 5 Director, Robert Everly, said Blake’s perfect score is very unusual. “In all the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve only given away 4 awards for perfect scores.”
The Children’s Museum receives funding from the PPL Foundation to support the local, regional, and state science fairs.
The Bloomsburg Children’s Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit overseen by a board of directors. This organization strives to offer unique, sustainable, and dynamic learning opportunities for youth through year-round interactive exhibits, programming, and community outreach. For more information, please visit https://the-childrens-museum.org/ [the-childrens-museum.org]
