Winter camp offers kids five fun days

BANGOR – As unique as each snowflake falling to the ground, so is each day of Winter Camp ’05 at the Maine Discovery Museum during the week of Dec. 26-30. Preregister to drop the kids off for a day or for a whole week. The program provides supervised play, special activities and care from expert staff all day. The schedule is:

. Lords and Ladies, Monday, Dec. 26 – Go back in time to the middle ages. Find out what it was like to be a lord, lady, artisan or peasant. Design and build a cardboard castle complete with a drawbridge. Make a family crest banner or fancy finery. Grind wheat for peasant bread, or mix fine-scented ointments. Then celebrate with a crackling roast and toast with hot, spicy wassail.

. Make a Mess, Tuesday, Dec. 27 – Get your hands on some of the squishiest art materials around. Experiment with fun and unusual sculpting materials, sprinkle colorful sand to make a surprising masterpiece, and have your art fired by professional potters. One tip: Dress to make a mess on this day of winter camp.

. Mythical Beasts and Fantastic Creatures, Wednesday, Dec. 28 – Dragons, gryphons, phoenixes and giant sea monsters all have their origins in nature. Meet real and imaginary beasts, like fish that can walk on land and mysterious lizards without legs. Get to the bottom of the giant squid mystery. Make phoenix eggs and dragon scales, and explore some of the wildest stories about nature’s real and unreal creatures.

. Rainforest Day, Thursday, Dec. 29 – Teeming with life, the rainforest is one of the most fascinating places to visit. Peek inside pitcher plants, discover weird and wild fruits and walk in the footsteps of the Yanonami, and craft headdresses, blowsticks and mix face paints. Take home a mini-rainforest after a full day of explorations and discoveries.

. Movers and Shakers, Friday, Dec. 30 – Shake things up and move them around as you design and build impossible bridges, little goblin houses, funky musical instruments and life-size, usable cardboard furniture. Plan, design and build a dazzling marble-maze racetrack to bring home from a day of moving and shaking.

The cost of winter camp is $30 per child per day for members, and $38 for others. Children age 5 and up are eligible. Drop off begins at 7:45 a.m.; pickup is at 4:30 p.m. each day. Late pickup, by 5 p.m., is available for an extra $5 per day. Morning snack will be provided, bring your own lunch and afternoon snack. Financial aid is available. Call the museum at 262-7200 for more information.