Family Fun and Fantastic Authors at the North Carolina Literary Festival at UNC Chapel Hill

Saturday was a beautiful day to listen to some inspiring illustrators and authors talk about their work at the literary festival at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. North Carolina authors such as RL Stine, author of the popular "Goosebumps" series, and Lee Smith, author of "The Last Girls" were present to share their journeys as artists and sign books for fans.
Illustrator Brian Pinkney also spoke at the festival. Pinkney has illustrated numerous books for children, including two Caldecott Honor books, "The Faithful Friend," by Robert D. San Souci, and "Duke Ellington."

Family-fun activities, such as live performances and music, face-painting, mask-making and coloring provided entertainment for children. A highlight of the festivities were appearances by Clifford, the North Carolina State University wolf mascot and the Berenstein Bears (pictured).

A host of other authors joined in the festival this year, including John Grisham and one of my all-time favorites, Jill McCorkle. If I could pick my dream mentor, I think it would be McCorkle, as she is the one who made me fall in love with the southern voice at a young age and start picking up books written by Clyde Edgerton, Doris Betts, Pat Conroy, and Gail Godwin.

I am so thankful that I finally had the opportunity to attend the festival. One of my favorite parts was watching the children at the Carolina Parent exhibit area draw and color pictures of their favorite book. Talk about some creativity! Some of these illustrations will be posted soon at Carolina Parent magazine's site. All in all, a very fun day!

Fun Science for Kids!

Want to have some indoor and outdoor fun and teach some science in the process??
Check out the June cover article in Carolina Parent! This issue also has a nice article by Aleta Payne about author Sarah Dessen, who spoke at The Regulator Bookshop,Durham, Quail Ridge Books and Music, Raleigh, and McIntyre's Fine Books, Pittsboro.

"Grow a Crop of Summer Scientists"

Kitchen cupboard science

When stifling summer heat calls for an indoor activity at home, look no farther than the kitchen cupboard for fun with a scientific bent. Many Web sites provide easy instructions for kids’ experiments (see resource information below for some top sites), but if you prefer a book, try one of Janice VanCleave’s, such as 202 Oozing, Bubbling, Dripping and Bouncing Experiments or the Science Explorer series published by Henry Holt.

Here is an excerpt.. a simple activity to get kids hooked and a list of some great science activities in the area and some fun science websites!

Quicksand-Like Slime

Supplies
Cornstarch, Water

Instructions
1. Mix 1 cup cornstarch with cup water. Stir with your hands. It’s fun!
2. Add a few drops of food coloring (if desired).
3. Move your hands through the goop and let it slide through your fingers. Does it move slowly or quickly? When do you get stuck the most?

The Science (Physics and Chemistry)
The cornstarch and water mixture is a suspension, or a mixture of both a solid and a liquid. When you press down on the mixture with your hand, it is like stepping into the sand near the water at the beach. Your hand sinks into the cornstarch mixture as if it is disappearing into quicksand.

What is quicksand? Quicksand acts like both a solid and a liquid. On the surface it appears to be a solid mass of sand, but it is actually so saturated with water that it will disperse and engulf anything that puts pressure on it.


While real quicksand can be difficult to get out of, it doesn’t really suck people under according to a September 2005 article in the journal Nature. It’s like a trap because it liquefies and then collapses, but humans cannot be completely submerged because they are less dense than quicksand. If you happen to get caught, slowly wiggle your arms and legs.

Family-Friendly Local Programs

Several area museums, parks and nature centers have periodic or ongoing programs for families and children that focus on hands-on science and nature fun. The following are a few places to look into. Many require registration, and some have a fee, so check details.

Morehead Planetarium
250 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill
919-962-1236, www.moreheadplanetarium.org

Museum of Life and Science
433 Murray Ave., Durham
919-220-5429, www.ncmls.org

North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
11 W. Jones St., Raleigh
919-733-7450, www.naturalsciences.org

Agape Center for Environmental Education
1369 Tyler Dewar Ln., Fuquay-Varina
919-552-9421, www.agapekurebeach.org

Bass Lake Park
900 Bass Lake Rd., Holly Springs
919-557-2906, www.hollyspringsnc.us

Eno River State Park
6101 Cole Mill Rd., Durham
919-383-1686, www.ncparks.gov

North Carolina Botanical Garden
Old Mason Farm Rd., Chapel Hill
919-962-0522, www.ncbg.unc.edu

Stevens Nature Center/Hemlock Bluffs
2616 Kildaire Farm Rd., Cary
919-387-5980, www.townofcary.org

Wake County Parks
www.wakegov.com/parks

Find a variety of family-friendly programs at www.ncparks.gov and in the Carolina Parent print and online calendar of family events at www.carolinaparent.com.


More At-Home Science Activities
* Build a stomp rocket.
* Grow special corn for popping.
* Make ice cream in a bag.
* Build a toothpick bridge.
* Make (or buy) your own mini-butterfly house.
* Make invisible ink.


Cool Science Web Sites
www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer
www.pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci
www.science.howstuffworks.com
www.coolscience.org
www.kidzone.ws/science
www.stevespanglerscience.com/category/science-fun (includes retail products)
www.hometrainingtools.com (includes retail products)

Some Fun with Kathy Joosten of "Desperate Housewives" at the Lung Cancer Summit in Dallas, Tx

I was privileged to be chosen to participate in a gathering of advocates, survivors and health professionals at the second annual Lung Cancer Summit in Dallas, Texas hosted by the National Lung Cancer Partnership. What an amazing experience! Members of the North Carolina Chapter enjoyed meeting Kathy Joosten, a lung cancer survivor and cast member of "Desperate Houswives." Props to Joosten (second from the right), one of the few in Hollywood who will admit to being a lung cancer survivor. Whether people have smoked in the past or not, they deserve effective prevention and treatment. Lung Cancer has neither of these. It is the number one cancer killer and the least funded cancer. Of those diagnosed with lung cancer 60 percent will be non-smokers, either former smokers or people who have never smoked. People with heart disease have effective treatments. Why can't lung cancer patients? Instead, half of all lung cancer patients succumb within five years. Join the North Carolina Lung Cancer Partnership group on Facebook or visit www.NationalLungCancerPartnership.org/NC for more.

Some Quotes on Happiness

During these unsettled times, I thought some quotes on happiness might be in order. Obviously, Mark Twain is a favorite of mine, but there are a few others in the mix!

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."
--Mark Twain

"Nothing can bring you happiness but yourself."
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.
--Helen Keller

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
-- Dalai Lama

"Happiness is a Swedish sunset; it is there for all, but most of us look the other way and lose it."
--Mark Twain

If you want to be happy, be."
-- Leo Tolstoy