November - December 2008

Need any more holiday gift ideas? Tickets to the dinosaur exhibit could also be a fun, affordable present for family, friends or that special someone! Admission tickets may be purchased online at www.heardmuseum.org. Admission is $8 adults and $5 for kids 3-12 and seniors.

Over the last three years of this annual exhibit, thousands of families have visited the Heard to see twelve life-size animatronic dinosaurs situated along a half mile trail. Learn interesting dinosaur facts, see them move, and hear them, too! Check out both herbivores and carnivores and the return of the infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex! New dinosaurs include a Tyrannosaurus-Rex baby, Iguanodon, Crylophosaurus, Chasmosaurus (along with its baby), Amargasaurus, Muttaburrasaurus, Suchomimus and Therizinosaurus. Kids will also enjoy playing on the static Apatosaurus and Parasaurolophus baby dinosaurs. The new dinosaurs are sure to become more of your favorites! The dinosaur trail is jogging stroller friendly.

A cold day is still a perfect day to visit the Heard. Come inside to view our Cretaceous Underwater exhibit. Imagine being underwater during the Cretaceous with swimming turtles the size of Volkswagons, Tylosuars the size of a Great White Shark and ammonites the size of 18-wheeler tires. You will experience an aquatic environment, cool, blue and full of wondrous sounds from the ocean. Tylosaur fossils of every shape and size with pieces from a real live ongoing paleontology dig! There are interactive “hands-on” activities with amazing creatures that the children are sure to enjoy.

Also, Holidays at the Heard & Artisan's Market provides the perfect opportunity to get a head start on your holiday shopping. Artisans will present one-of-a-kind nature-themed arts and crafts including jewelry, photos, crafted gourds, feather wall hangings, books, gift cards, and natural honey! This event will provide a great resource for thoughtful gifts and inspired decorations.

Guests visiting during Holidays at the Heard & Artisan's Market will not only enjoy shopping at this market, but also taking photos with Father Christmas and Mother Nature, and touring our Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit. All guests will enjoy complimentary holiday treats and sandwiches for sale by The Great Outdoors, while the kids can make a complimentary holiday craft to commemorate the season and their visit to the Heard. The new outdoor amphitheatre will also feature the talents of local bands and choirs, which will perform holiday favorites throughout the day.

Several Heard sponsors, including Children's Medical Center, will also be on site with special activities. If the weather cooperates, The Heard anticipates a large crowd as all McKinney residents will receive free admission.

Sponsors
Dinosaurs Alive! is presented by the Bessie Heard Foundation. Other sponsors include Children's Medical Center Dallas, Star Community News, KLTY, Billings Productions, and Tucker David Foundation.

Young, Talented Artists inspired
by Nature

The Mikhailangelo Art Studio has an exhibit now on display at the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary featuring works of art depicting nature from several of the studio's talented artists. The exhibit is included in general admission.

Mikhailangelo Art Studio was founded in 1998. The studio trains art students in painting and drawing. The students learn from observation and from classical art, working in plain air, experimenting with media, and visiting museums and exhibitions. Apart from learning technical and professional skills, the instructor, Mikhail Dimov, helps his students discover and shape their own creative talents as well as a personal aesthetic and philosophical standpoint. He encourages them to strive to fulfill their highest potential in their work and to see beauty in all aspects of life.

Since 1980, Dimov has taught art at a university level in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, at the North Carolina School of the Arts, and at Collin County Community College, while producing his own artwork and giving private lessons. He has also worked in the theater, cinema, and television industries. Dimov's current goal continues to be to assimilate the experience of the art world into his routine life, to improve his own mastership, and to share his knowledge and experience with his students

Holidays at the Heard and Artisan's Market is the perfect time to visit the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary. On this special day, guests will have the opportunity to not only enjoy our trails and special exhibits like Dinosaurs Alive! and Live Animals of the World, but also the day's activities, which will include $5 photos with Father Christmas and Mother Nature, who will be situated in a natural Heard holiday setting.

Those looking for a one-of-a-kind gift can browse our special “Artisan's Market,” featuring nature-themed arts and crafts including jewelry, photos, crafted gourds, feather wall hangings, books, gift cards, and natural honey!

All will enjoy complimentary holiday treats and sandwiches for sale by The Great Outdoors, while the kids can make a complimentary holiday craft to commemorate the season and their visit to the Heard. The new outdoor amphitheatre will also feature the talents of local bands and choirs, which will perform holiday favorites throughout the day.

Several Heard sponsors, including Children's Medical Center, will also be on site with special activities. If the weather cooperates, The Heard anticipates a large crowd of over 1,000 people that day as all McKinney residents will receive free admission.

Hike the Heard…A Collaborative Community Fundraiser

On Saturday, March 28, 2009, The Volunteer McKinney Center and The Heard will present “Hike the Heard…A Collaborative Community Fundraiser.” Our goal is to bring together many non-profits with one fundraiser and encourage our community to connect with these local non-profits and discover the beauty of nature right in their own backyard.

Hikers will not only enjoy the Heard nature trails on a beautiful spring day, but also a fun event that includes breakfast, a free t-shirt, a chance to win door prizes, and special activities like kite-making and flying in the Heard meadow.

Registration is only $20 per person ($5 per child ages 3 - 12) with proceeds benefiting the non-profit of choice, The Heard, and The Volunteer McKinney Center. Details coming soon!

“Halloween at the Heard”
was a Huge Hit!

The sky was clear. The air was cool and calm. The dinosaurs were ready with candy. . .Saturday was the prefect night to celebrate Halloween at the Heard! Kids of all ages and even some adults came dressed up in their favorite Halloween costumes like Ironman, Shrek, princesses and witches, a macaw and a little marshmallow peep! Kids loved showing off their costumes as KLAK 97.5 held the costume contest on the new Heard amphitheater stage.

The 12 life-size animatronic dinosaurs from the Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit were roaring as kids went trick-or-treating along the trail for candy—before and after dark. Kids also got to watch the movie, “Casper,” under the stars in the Heard’s new outdoor amphitheater.

The Heard would like to thank those who came for “Halloween at the Heard.” They were happy to hear that so many people enjoyed their time and they look forward to providing the public with another fun Halloween event next year. Just remember to get your tickets early!

Event sponsors included: KLAK 97.5, Market Street, Huntington Learning Center (Frisco, Plano and McKinney locations), American Bank of Texas and 6-Day Dental & Orthodontics

Heard Ropes Course Grand Opening

On November 15, the Heard Natural Science Museum's new Ropes Course will host an open to the public day from 9 AM to 5 PM. Experience the Zip line, Rock Climb and Dangle Duo!

Adults and children ages 7 and older may participate. Children must be accompanied by an adult. General admission is $25/per person. Guests will enjoy this event on a first come, first serve basis.

Lowes of North and South McKinney have been instrumental in helping the Heard renovate the Education Annex to make it into the perfect location for our indoor Ropes activities. On Thursday, November 13th the Heard will showcase the ropes course program and recognize Lowes' generous donations by doing a ribbon cutting ceremony.

This project is part of the Lowe’s Heroes Program. Thank you to Valspar Paint and Olympic Paint for donating all paint to this project.

2009 Photo Contest

The 2009 Photography Contest is just around the corner! Now is the time to make sure you have the perfect picture to submit. Choose from numerous different photographic categories within these themes: wild nature, shared world, artistic, creative interpretation and nature experiences at the Heard.

The Heard is looking forward to another successful event with our affinity group, the Heard Nature Photographer's Club. All proceeds from the contest will help to support and maintain the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary.

The photography contest submission dates, category details, entry fees, registration forms and other pertinent information can be found at www.heardmuseum.org/PhotoContest.asp. Additional information and contest forms can also be found at: www.heardnaturephotographers.com.

Roger Sanderson, Director of Botanic Gardens and Wildlife Biologist is coordinating and creating new designs for gardens and plantings around the buildings. These projects include creating a Sanctuary Garden outside the backdoors of the museum to illustrate many of the species that visitors will encounter on our trails, revitalization of the Cactus/Desert Garden in front of the SRC, and creation of a new landscape design to improve the entrance to the SRC. The new Butterfly Garden, which surrounds the new Butterfly House that was constructed this summer, has been designed. Most of this garden was installed October 25th by the McKinney Make A Difference Day.

Roger is also designing an impressive formal entrance to the museum on Country Club Drive (FM 1378) and a newly landscaped area around the front gate area.

The Native Plant Garden will be restored to native Texas plants. Currently, this garden hosts a few non-native, but drought resistant, varieties. This garden will provide inspiration to those garden enthusiasts looking for ecologically friendly ideas for their own landscapes!

After the previously mentioned projects have been completed, Roger also plans to extensively label garden and trail plants. This project will make these resources an even more valuable educational experience for visitors. The Heard is desperately seeking donations from the public to purchase labels for this project.
These projects require resources and time, and the Heard will need your help to accomplish this. Volunteers who are willing to donate their time are also important to these projects. For information on becoming a Heard Native Plant Garden Volunteer or Nature Sanctuary Restoration Volunteer, please consult our website where you can find an application as well as further descriptions of these opportunities.

The Heard always welcomes the support of the public. The Heard Staff knows that, often, many of our supporters would like to contribute items that they already have in their possession, but they do not know if these items would be of use to the museum. Also, you may be interested in making a monetary gift to the museum, but would like to know what this gift is going towards.

The Heard has created a new Animal Care Wish-list to help the public understand some of our needs with regards to Animal Care. The items on this list are all important to enhance the lives of the animals at the Heard through mental stimulation and health enrichment. You may even have a few of these things sitting in your garage or attic and have been meaning to get rid of them! If you are interested in helping the Heard with animal care needs, you will want to check out this list.

Many of you have already met Beverly Halperin. She has been at the museum since January of this year, when she began working part-time for The Heard Natural Science Museum as Corporate Bookings Coordinator.

She is now the Heard Volunteer Coordinator.

Beverly came to the Heard with over 14 years of non-profit and volunteer management experience as Senior Vice President for the Plano Chamber of Commerce. She has a passion for non-profits and working with volunteers.

In addition to working with volunteers, Beverly also serves as a volunteer for (currently) PTA, PISD Education Foundation Ski Plano 2009, Moms Club of Plano, Girl Scouts, (formerly) Junior League of Plano, CITY House, and Literacy Volunteers of America. Beverly enjoys spending time with her family, papercrafting, playing tennis and reading. She and her husband, Ian, and two daughters, Ainsley and Gillian, live in Plano.

Beverly looks forward to working with all current Heard volunteers as well as welcoming new volunteers! As we journey into 2009, the museum is experiencing an exciting time of expansion. This is also a great time for volunteers because there is an unprecedented variety of opportunities. The museum has added new education programs, more exhibits than ever before, a new high ropes course, and even a new amphitheater! New garden plans and labeling projects are in development.

There is something for everyone! The museum is currently looking for volunteers interested in being Trail Guides, Animal Care Volunteers for both Inside Live Room Animal Care and Outside Animals Care (for the Animals of the World exhibit), Nature Store Volunteers, plus much more! The museum is also always seeking Native Plant Garden Volunteers and Native Sanctuary Restoration Volunteers. Many other volunteer opportunities take place throughout the year and also await your helping hands. Volunteering at the Heard is also a fun way to teach your kids about responsibility!

For information on becoming a Heard Volunteer, please consult our website where you can find an application, a full list of opportunities, as well as descriptions. Beverly's door is also open to anyone seeking additional information about volunteering. Please contact her at bhalperin@heardmuseum.org.

Beginning this fall, the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary is participating in a recycling program called Cartridges for Kids. The museum will receive money based on the particular items collected from donations. Many of these items are often simply thrown in the trash. By donating them to the Heard, you will be environmentally responsible, while providing an excellent fundraising opportunity for the museum.

Cartridges for Kids does not charge the Heard anything to participate in this program, and they are also a non-profit organization. As a result, being a part of it helps their organization as well. To find out if you have items you could donate, visit www.cartridgesforkids.com to check out the program and see the large variety of products they accept. A link is also available through the Heard website for your convenience.

Bring your items in today! Cartridges for Kids collects laser, inkjet, fax & copier cartridges, laptops, PDAs, iPod's, DVDs, video games, cameras, cell phones and GPS systems.

The Citizenship class also put up much-needed shelves in the animal care cottage. The shelving materials were graciously provided by the Volunteer McKinney Center. They also repainted a bathroom.

The Kiwanis Club also came and put together 5 picnic tables and then transported them by truck to the picnic table site.

The Heard would like to thank each special person who gave their time and effort to help with these projects. Your gifts will have a far reaching effect on the visitors that come to the Heard, especially the school children that visit with us each year. You really have made a difference!