Texarkana Entertainment Blog

This Sunday provides a chance to see something new (and old): items locked away in the storage vaults over at the Texarkana Museums System. Their three “Behind the Scenes” tours at the Museum of Regional History and Discovery Place Children’s Museum starts on the hour between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Show up at the MORH (219 N. State Line Ave.) to participate; tickets are $10.

What do  you get? A look at stuff too delicate to display to the public and historic items (such as photos and maps) there’s not enough room to put on view all the time at the three TMS properties now open to the public. The archives and research library are included in the tour. More info: call 903-793-4831.

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

Don’t get caught between a rock and a hard place. Well, you won’t at “Arkansas Rocks, Rivers, and Roadcuts” at the Discovery Place Children’s Museum in downtown Texarkana. But you will certainly gain some knowledge about how geological forces shape and mold our world, even today. The special emphasis is on how Arkansas itself was changed by such forces over time. The new exhibit, a presentation of Arkansas Discovery Network, will be in town for six months. I talked with Melanie Dowd, Texarkana Museums System executive director, about some of its rockin’ aspects and the result is our feature from last Friday’s Accent page in the Gazette: Arkansas Rocks!

- Aaron Brand

A model of Earth is seen at the new "Arkansas Rocks" exhibit at the Discovery Place Children’s Museum in this staff photo by Eric J. Shelton.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Ever find art through a microscopic view of the world or music in the blips and bleeps of electronics? Ever wonder how tall you are in nanometers? “Science & Art,” a new exhibit at the Discovery Place Children’s Museum in Texarkana, shows some of the ways the disciplines of science and art converge. Geared toward kids but with installations adults can enjoy, the exhibit showcases the work of five creative people for whom science and art can merge. Scientist and assistant professor of genetics Ahna Skop, for example, has researched the tiny C. elegans worm and photographs of her microscopic research capture some of the creature’s artful design. Tristan Perich composes 1-Bit music from basic electronics machinery. And Robert Lang, a former physicist and engineer, went from the sciences to origami, an art form that utilizes scientific techniques in his approach; that portion of the exhibit is over in the first floor and basement of the Regional Arts Center. It’s a fun, playful, and interactive exhibit to experience if you have an interest in either the arts or the sciences. More info: 903-793-4831.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photos by Tanner Spendley:

Popularity: 1% [?]

I have a couple of items to share about museums. First, I wrote several weeks back about the Texarkana Museums System revamping and updating its Website, which was in need of a fresh look. Now they’ve truly gone 21st century with the addition of a blog, Twitter page (yes, they Tweet), and Facebook pages for both the Quadrangle Festival and Discovery Place Children’s Museum. Check it out at Texarkanamuseums.org. Pretty cool stuff. 

Also, the University of Arkansas will open a new science and math museum for youngsters on Monday, August 31, in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas Discovery Zone will operate in partnership with the Arkansas Discovery Network. Admission to the museum will be free. The first exhibit, “Arkansas Road Trip: Arkansas Rocks, Rivers and Roadcuts,” explores Arkansas geology, and since Texarkana’s Discovery Place is part of that network the exhibit will eventually come here after it’s displayed in Fayetteville. More info about the University of Arkansas Discovery Zone: 479-575-3875. 

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: -0% [?]

The Texarkana Museums System will soon add some space-themed exhibitions to its second-level space at Discovery Place Children’s Museum. One of the exhibits is the Smithsonian’s “Earth from Space” poster show. It features a 20-poster set of satellite images of Earth taken from far away and showing various spots on the planet with some fascinating details—from Kansas farmland to the Great Pyramids. The poster exhibition was sent to more than 700 schools, libraries, and other places for children and the general public to see, including Texarkana. Down below is an example of one of these images—a view of the Lena Delta as the Lena River flows into the Arctic Ocean after traveling through Russian Siberia. The submitted photo from the Smithsonian was taken by the Landsat 7 satellite in July of 2000. 

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: -0% [?]

Discovery Place Children’s Museum has juggling on tap for the kids in a couple weeks. They’ll bring Rhys Thomas and his fun, whimsical Science Circus show to town for three days. Thomas has performed professionally for about 22 years, combining his humor with circus tricks and juggling in many a venue—from cruise ships to corporate events. You might say he has a juggling mania. His Science Circus act has some madcap hijinks but it’s all in the aim of teaching physics. He’s even opened for Weird Al Yankovic and Leon Redbone. 

Here in Texarkana Thomas will be part of a “dinner and a show” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 13, at Discovery Place, and then also the next day on Saturday there are two shows at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday shows: free to members and regular admission for non-members. The kids-only Friday night dinner is $5 per kid for members and $10 per child for non-members. More info: 903-793-4831. Thomas is also showing off his supreme juggling skills in local schools. 

- Aaron Brand

Submitted art:

Popularity: 1% [?]

It’s been 400 years since Galileo aimed his telescope at the starry skies and ushered in the era of modern astronomy. Looking back, it was truly a momentous moment in history. In January, astronomers initiated celebrations and activities for what’s being hailed as the International year of Astronomy. Here in Texarkana, the Red River Astronomy Club is one of about 100 clubs, museums, nature centers or schools nationwide that have been given photos from the Hubble Space Telescope and a couple of NASA’s “great observatories.” The RRAC hopes to first unveil its photographs at the Discovery Place Children’s Museum on Saturday, Feb. 28. I’ll have a story soon in the Gazette’s metro section.

Here’s a resource for amateur astronomers who’d like more information about the worldwide celebration of peering deep into the stars and exploring the mysteries: International Year of Astronomy 2009. 

- Aaron Brand

Popularity: 1% [?]

You only have until Jan. 10 to catch the latest exhibit at Texarkana’s Discovery Place Children’s Museum. “Good Vibrations” captures many vibes: sound frequency, infrared light, the “visible effects of the invisible,” cloud rings, a bicycle wheel gyro, and even a miniature tornado. It’s a lot to explore and fascinating for youngsters. The hands-on exhibit was created by the renowned Exploratorium in San Francisco. Info: 903-793-4831. Tickets: $4.50 for folks 5 and up. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Tanner Spendley:

Different sound frequencies cause these circular steel bands to vibrate, illustrating harmonic resonance.

Popularity: 1% [?]