It's clear there is plenty of interest in the future of the Mystic River Learning Center. While we made progress at the meeting last Thursday, it's also clear we have work to do clarfying our vision and working out the details of a new, collectively-run model for the Center. It is difficult for many to make evening meetings (or any meeting scheduled at a specific time), although many people have expressed an interest in being part of whatever the Center is becoming.
In the interest of furthering the conversation, we are opening up the Mystic River Learning Center during the month of March and inviting families to come, hang out, and begin forging a new Center. We are calling this our "Barn-raising"--a community effort to build something that will serve our collective needs well.
Our current plan is to be open Wednesday and Friday mornings, from 9:30-12:30. Stop by at any point during those times, play games, let the kids run around; we will have some projects and activities organized (suggest something you'd like to do!), and the grown-ups (and interested kids) can discuss what we want the Center to be and start organizing ideas - or just hang out and have fun. We hope from this to get a better picture of how to set things up to serve the most people's needs, to get more direct feedback from more people, and to begin creating a sense of community at the Center. There will be no specific fee for attending during this time, although donations are welcome.
If there is enough interest in other gathering times, we may be able to arrange Tuesday mornings, or some afternoon time any of these days (Tues, Weds, Fri). Let us know if these other times would be better for you. Your ongoing feedback is welcome, even if you can't attend at any point in March. Contact us at the Learning Center or feel free to contact Janet Yeracaris directly by email (jkty@yyci.com) or phone (617-244-5927).
Thanks for your interest!
MRLC runs on people-power! There are many ways, large and small, that you can help out. We do offer discounted tuition for our volunteers, although we hope that the sense of greater involvement and contribution to this community is its own reward.
* The MRLC Board needs a few new members. You can call us, drop by, or use the Contact Us page to ask what is involved in being a Board member, or let us know that you would like to volunteer.
* See what goes on at the Center day to day! While we have a hired teacher on site at all times, we very much prefer to have additional adults at the Center whenever possible. You can be as involved and engaged as you want to be: observe, read aloud, or start a project with the kids. Get the co-op rate by signing up to be an on-site volunteer for a month, in any one of our half-day time-slots.
* Teach a class! Possible subjects vary as widely as your imagination -- feel free to discuss the options with the Center director or with a Board member. We do offer some amount of compensation to parents who offer classes.
* Help us with a special event or task (anything from field trips to bake sales to helping us find a new space for the Center). If you might be available for something at some point, but don't want to commit to an on-going task, please let us know.
Guess what? Instead of having just one planetarium for MRLC students to use, we now have TWO! In July, with help from several MRLC students and a few devoted friends, Caryn Johnson fabricated and tested the MRLC Mini-Dome. The new dome is small enough for students to assemble without adult help (though they may need Caryn or Daniel to walk them through it the first time!). It stands about 7 feet high, and is only about 7 feet across, unlike the big dome, which spans almost 15 feet. The Mini-Dome will accommodate 5 or 6 kids at once, compared to the 20 or so that can fit in the big dome.
MRLC students can use the Center's "Space Theater," which projects white stars on a dark background, or "Star Theater II," which projects black star-dots on a light background, whenever they like.
Students can also arrange in advance with Caryn (~4 days notice) to use her HomeStar projector, a high-quality, stunningly accurate projection system (recently given a stamp of approval by Caryn's friend who is an editor at "Sky and Telescope" magazine!).
Please note that we use the Planetarium as a fundraising tool for Mystic River Learning Center. If you know of any places that would like us to bring the Planetarium to them, either dome can be transported to other locations and assembled on-site. Contact the Center to find out the cost to have your own Dome Workshop or Planetarium show!