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The Catawba Chronicles
The Catawba Chronicles
Erin Graves: Charting a Course from Small-Town Roots to Catawba Science Center Innovation
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Step into the world of Erin Graves, Director of Programs at the Catawba Science Center, as she traces her roots from a quaint South Carolina town to her influential role in Hickory, North Carolina. With an academic background in biology and a spirited history of teaching in bustling New York City, Erin's voyage has been nothing short of extraordinary. Her adventures span the concrete jungle to the Alaskan wilderness, all while nurturing a fervent desire to bring science closer to the community. Our conversation reveals how a small-town girl's passion for science bloomed into a career that joyously intertwines her love for family, community, and the pursuit of knowledge.
Nostalgia meets innovation in today's episode, where we reminisce about the Catawba Science Center's ability to enchant young minds and stir the embers of curiosity within us. The center's evolution from its early days, featuring stars in the planetarium and streams teeming with life, to the cutting-edge 'Big League Fun' exhibit and invigorating summer camps, exemplifies its enduring commitment to education and entertainment. Dive into our discussion about the captivating marine exhibits and how the center is crafting experiences that blend the thrill of discovery with essential conservation messages, ensuring that the wonders of science remain accessible and enthralling for all.
Lastly, we shed light on the comprehensive and diverse programs that bring the Catawba Science Center to life, catering to a spectrum of ages and interests. From the meticulous planning of Summer Fun Science Camps to the engaging Science After Dark events for adults, our dialogue celebrates the center's dedication to fostering a love for learning in a fun-filled environment. Discover how the center reaches beyond its walls, impacting over 20 counties with its educational field trips, and how it continues to be a cornerstone of informal education, sparking imagination and building a future where science is a shared adventure for everyone. Join us on this journey that promises to leave you inspired and eager to explore the magic of science within your own community.
Connecting Communities Through Conversations
Speaker 1Welcome to the Catawba Chronicles, where we connect you to amazing people and businesses from Catawba County past and present. Whether you're new or have been here for what feels like forever, this podcast is for you. We hope this podcast will help you get to know our community better and make you feel more comfortable joining in on the conversation. So find a comfy chair and grab a cup and get ready to hear some great stories about our little corner of North Carolina.
Speaker 2Welcome back to the Catawba Chronicles. My name is Oliver Connor and today I have a very exciting guest. She happens to be the Director of Programs at the Catawba Science Center in Hickory, Erin Graves welcome.
Speaker 3Thanks so much. I appreciate you having me.
Speaker 2You're very welcome. I appreciate you taking the time. I do know that you're a very busy individual, so we'll try not to take up too much of your precious time. It is a workday and you have got very important things to do. But for a little bit I hope to talk about your position, where you came from, how you got here. So for those that don't know you including myself, I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've spoken. Tell us a little bit about Erin.
Speaker 3Yeah, thank you. I have not met you but I'm excited to spend some time with you. I have not met you but I'm excited to spend some time with you. So I am from South Carolina, born and raised in a small town smaller than Hickory and even Carroll Ford area, definitely, I know but always had an education family. My father was a school principal and my aunts uncles. There was an array of educators in my life so I've always loved learning and settled into science pretty early. Those were some great teachers I had who made it what I hope to do in this position fun and engaging and just a way to engage with the world, where you're always asking questions and experimenting. So I went to school at Wake Forest for a biology degree and knew that I wouldn't ever use it in a lab setting. I partially chose Wake because of the motto pro manitate just service to others was a directive in my life.
Speaker 3So after but appreciate formal education. So I did Teach for America. Out of college I was assigned to a middle school in Washington Heights in New York City. I spent three years doing teaching in that school. I had the same group of kids sixth, seventh and eighth grade appreciated the opportunity to be in a formal environment and teach science. You know you can only have explosions so big in a classroom and that's just sort of what teachers go through, yeah, but new.
Speaker 3I wanted to do what I'm doing now informal education. I like the idea of being the spark or the support for interest that goes beyond what we're expected kids to learn and engage with. So I did a master's in museum education. I wanted to have that background and then, sort of after having lived in New York and DC, looked upon what opportunities were available and the Science Center in Anchorage, alaska, was hiring an outreach educator. So I am of the age of northern exposure and had always wanted to live in Alaska. So I was like, great, this is a wonderful opportunity to do that. So I spent almost four years in Alaska and got to travel the state, yeah, with reptiles, explosions, other science in between.
Speaker 3But home base for the museum was Anchorage. It doesn't actually exist anymore.
Speaker 3It was absorbed into the city museum, which is a beautiful and wonderful resource, but they're still there, just in a different way. But we had funding to take hands-on science out into villages, so I learned road systems are scarce in the places where we worked. I flew all over with a whole bunch of stuff that got old and cold, so with my next move I wanted to go. I wanted it to be easy, like where I had chosen to settle my previous time was not at all sort of easy transition.
Speaker 3Time was not at all sort of easy transition. So I knew Hickory from my drive to Wake Forest when I was in college, because it kind of you know, 40 took me that way to get back home and I love that North Carolina as a state just has so many resources. You know, if you're in a medium-sized community there's informal learning centers with you or near you and you know, I wasn't too close to home.
Speaker 3I was close to Asheville, so I still had mountains. I was close to a city and settled here in 2006. So I've been here for 18 years and just sort of fell in love with the size and opportunities that are here, what we are able to do for the community. And, you know, got married to someone who is happy in his place too, so we've been here together blowing stuff up.
Speaker 2Well, so, so, and your, your husband's, from Hickory is that.
Speaker 3No, he's not. He just had also sort of traveled in his younger days and then settled in Conover, actually, oh, okay.
Speaker 2Well, there's so much to unpack in that I appreciate you running through all that and I've got so many questions before we jump into the Science Center. So, first of all, I can relate as far as you know the science degree. I got my zoology degree from NC State, so you're in good company and we can nerd out on all things science, uh, and go down any rabbit hole you so choose. But, um, so a small town smaller than Sheryl's Ford, which is not hard to do anymore, but, um, the Sheryl's Ford that I was born into and know and love, and a lot of people that listen, I think would agree, is pretty small, and so to come from a small town like that and to go through Wake Forest is one thing, but then you went to DC and New York.
Speaker 3Yeah, those are my first adult living on my own experiences.
Speaker 2How was that?
Speaker 3It was. So New York City was first and again I had had, you know, I appreciate my small town and love sort of the community I had in it, but was most definitely ready for something else, so that part didn't quite intimidate me. I realized quickly, you know, how different it was and that it like it was going to shape me, not even the position, but like I made eye contact with everybody on the street.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 3And that led to conversations which my friends you know are from Boston, chicago. They weren't used to that. And so it took me a while to realize that I wasn't, that I shouldn't do that in the city, Like it's all about getting somewhere.
Speaker 2Yeah, that.
Speaker 3I wasn't that I shouldn't do that in the city, like it's all about getting somewhere. But I, you know, appreciate even sort of in those larger cities there are communities in the neighborhoods and how that feel is similar. You know, my kids were in Washington Heights, an immigrant community, and most of them stayed in that like small spot and there's still so much more to experience, just because of the volume, um. But you know, they had a little corner of the world too and didn't take advantage of what was around them, um so you're saying interesting experience to see that.
Speaker 3Yeah, you know, like the um perceptions about, you know, small towns being sort of closed off and minded, sometimes even especially Southern. In that environment, like I had kids who didn't go beyond their 10 block radius. It's a in middle school, high school they got to pick sort of from around the city where they got to go, but it was the reality for a lot of my kids that they didn't take advantage of all was there and so you know I tried it was it's hard to do on a teacher's income, but you know I enjoyed my city time and it was time to go. I was done with that experience. Definitely DC was great.
Speaker 3Like I knew I wanted to be in museums and I love the country's resources with especially free institutions. That you know, if you have the means to get to the city is one thing that, like, once you're there there's so much available for you to interact and engage with and I appreciate that I had done an internship during my teaching years at the Natural History Museum so understood sort of what it meant to be an educator in that space. You know who you engage with is different than even our audience here, just because it is free and it was New York was or DC wasn't busy enough for me after New York, so I've grown to appreciate it after Anchorage, because that was a totally different experience, like I thought I was going to another city, but it's one definitely isolated. It's changed too, like everywhere has, but you know they get excited as a chain restaurant was opening when I was there. They still do.
Speaker 3There's just more to choose from now.
Speaker 2I guess I never thought about it, but it makes perfect sense, right? Especially if we're going to talk science. I mean, if your resources are more abundant, like in a city, then your home range can be smaller. So I guess you know we take that for granted a lot in Catawba County. As far as how far and I saw this in my wife you know I went, I went to Miami after, uh, college and spent a few years there and probably had a lot of the same realizations that you did. And um, and my wife, who is, is here and has been here for quite some time.
Speaker 2You was from Metro Detroit area and then she went to Miami and so it was one of those things where you see that, where there's so much in such a small area that they don't venture out until you get to a certain point, and I think we lose sight of that sometimes. But I don't know, we're blowing up down here. We've got a Publix and Starbucks just opened. My home range may be closing in on me how you went from Anchorage and I've never been to Alaska, so forgive me, but that does sound very cold and you decided that that wasn't for you. And then you came back to Hickory because of you said that the location with with the mountains being so close. Is that something that you uh enjoy doing on your free time?
Speaker 3Yes, definitely Um, I, like you know, and not just mountains. I'm less of a beach person, but you know, we are. Their resources are close and somewhat easier to get to. And again, I'm about three hours from my hometown. My mom's still there. Okay, After being, you know, a flight away from family. I wanted to be a little bit closer, but not too close.
Speaker 2I understand that. Hey, mom, if you're listening, thank you for raising such a wonderful daughter and allowing her to spread her wings and end up here in Hickory. I know there's probably a lot of people and Emily Hewling who helps me. She has wonderful things to say about you and what you're doing. And so 2006, I believe you said right, you land here in Hickory and you start at the Science Center. Then, yes, and what was your position at that time? Was it the same?
Speaker 3I've always been in this role. Sort of the responsibilities have varied over the years, like just with changing administration and experience and opportunities that either we are pursuing or I pursue. I appreciate that there is a lot of support within the organization to sort of experiment, Like we will model the scientific method we get to try things and hopefully they work out and are a benefit to everyone in the organization.
Speaker 3Sometimes not so much, but it's still fun to you know, have the opportunity to grow in a position. Even now it's sort of it's been I've had the same title.
Science Center Memories and Future Events
Speaker 2Really. So one would say you're probably well versed in all of those things. Science center, um, I for one have very fond members, uh memories of the science center growing up. Uh, that was always one of my favorite field trips, I'll have to admit, and I'm pretty sure it's not in the building you're in now, cause I was speaking with the arts. Um, uh, is it a museum, the art museum? I believe it was last week. Yeah, and I get them confused. So I was speaking to them. And are they right there with you? Did I understand that right?
Speaker 3Yes, the Salt Block Houses.
Speaker 2Salt Block, that was it.
Speaker 3Yeah, that's it. You might have been talking to staff from that organization. They support all the tenants on the block. So we're science, arts and literature together. We have, you know, one of the Hickory branches on the campus as well, so the art museum is next door. I am closest right now, in proximity to our musical friends Gotcha, the symphony, yeah.
Speaker 2I really, like I said so many fond memories in it and like it was probably in the old building. Um, there was some of the things that I remember. Number one, the gift shop uh was, of course, you know, you always have to have something to go home with. And and number two, which I was trying to think before you came on, whether or not this got me started, it was definitely one of the starting points for my love of science and animals.
Speaker 2There was an exhibit which was a natural flowing stream with a fish at the bottom. Flowing stream with a uh like fish at the bottom, and I want to say that they had some sort of salamander or other amphibian there in this exhibit. And to, you know, go inside of this building that was in Hickory, you know, it's not some elaborate zoological facility, uh, where you expect to see, you know, something like this and to see this exhibit. It really did spark something in me that was, I don't know, a love and a passion for all things science. That and then the other thing was the planetarium and in looking at the website, which is an amazing website so for those of you that are listening that have not gone, it is the katabascienceorg. Is that right? No, it is the CatawbaScienceorg.
Speaker 3Is that right? No, just CatawbaScienceorg, it is just CatawbaScience Right.
Speaker 2Got it and so there are lots of things and I do believe. Correct me if I'm wrong. There is a planetarium and these exhibits still exist.
Speaker 3Yes, they do. So the stream that you remember was in the main building before I think we expanded next door into the Aquarium Planetarium building. Okay, I think we expanded next door into the Aquarium. Planetarium building and if you had a prior to 2008,. Nine, when we opened next door, if you have a astronomy memory with us, you went in star lab, so it was this blow up dome and you had to, like, crawl through an opening and we would do star talks in that space.
Speaker 3We don't have that anymore and we're on our second planetarium. I've just based on the time and the technology that exists, but we do still have living things. Um, most of the aquatic animals have moved into the planetarium aquarium buildings. We have saltwater and freshwater. We haven't uh, um, that had been sort of a representation of a North Carolina stream and with the salamander and everything it was. You know it was Western, definitely. Right now our freshwater exhibit is freshwater Amazonian animals. So a little different.
Speaker 3Still a waterfall, still some fun noises. Popular on the other side is the stingray, who has a personality that just has grown and everyone feels attached to him. The sharks are less fun but our stingray is pretty outgoing and that you know those spaces are definitely some of our most popular. Everyone gravitates and sort of visits the animals. There's a herpetarium and exhibit that sort of combines conservation messages. Next door we have an alligator on display for the public, which is my favorite, and then the planetarium is how I met Emily. She was here for Bobfest, an event with the Astronomy Club where we all things amateur astronomy and I was doing shows all day in the planetarium. It's a fun resource to see the night sky regardless of the weather, anytime, and it's definitely one thing that is unique. You know we have some dark sky opportunities in the county and about, but the things we can do with that technology is great Like I can't I just don't show you the moon and that Jupiter's in the sky.
Speaker 3with that, technology is great. Like I can't, I just don't show you the moon and that Jupiter's in the sky. We can fly off to it and sort of experience our galaxy from that perspective.
Speaker 2Yeah, I definitely need to come back and I need to bring my boys. I think they're probably ready for something like that and I imagine the technology has come a long way. I think that was probably last time I was there was sometime in the 90s.
Speaker 3Okay, so yes, yeah, so definitely changes. There's been a few changes and upgrades.
Speaker 2And, as the director of programs, I would imagine that you have some very fun and exciting things that are on their way. Do you do spring events or summer events? What's our next biggest thing?
Speaker 3So spring is always incredibly busy and around this time we are gearing up for summer camp season. We offer hands-on classes and engaging opportunities from 730 to 530 for preschoolers through rising ninth graders, every week that the system schools nearest to us are out. So we're starting May 28th and running through August 23rd. Those are things you register for specifically but they're designed specifically for a grade group. You know, a smaller section of our learners, explorers and this summer sort of coloring. All of our activities is our traveling exhibit for the summer that'll open mid-May. Our opening date is May 18th for Big League Fund. So it is the science of baseball. We're super excited. It gives us a chance to partner with definitely the crawdads who are a great supporter.
Speaker 3We've done lots with them in the years over the years. But the exhibit itself. You know everything about baseball, from the mechanics of being a pitcher or a catcher to what statistics mean, for you know predicting lineups and best players and concession sales. So it's a wide range of baseball, lots of fun things to do in that space and it sort of helps us plan our summer. We have something going on most weekend day throughout the summer. We're hopefully getting there. April's the North Carolina Science Month, so it's always super busy for us and I'm happy that that's behind me and I can focus now in summer.
Speaker 3But we have lots of fun things to do starting in May. Definitely first weekend actually In May we're doing our first 5K, so Splashy is our mascot, we have a stingray that rivals the crawdad and we're going to have a Splashy Sprint 5K coming up May 4th.
Speaker 2And is that all ages?
Speaker 3That is all. Ages. Registration is open. We're doing it at Crawdad Stadium. So again, perfect to kick off baseball for the summer. But again they are great partners with ours. That's sort of the first May event and then we'll be doing lots of baseball things. Working on those details now, but throughout the summer there's lots going on besides camp.
Speaker 2Well, I like the idea of the baseball statistics and all the science behind baseball. I think probably being involved in something like that as a younger kid might have made baseball a little more exciting for me. My wife, like I said, metro Detroit. She loves the Tigers. I think they grew up, you know running the baseball game.
Speaker 2So I've got a love for baseball and, of course, um, going to see the crawdads uh, that was a thing back then too and really enjoy it. But when it came down to playing the sport, I don't know that it was fast enough for me, but I think had I been involved in something like this, it sounds that I might have understood some of the mental aspects behind the game a little and appreciated those a little more.
Speaker 3Yeah, I was always. I needed more movement and a softer ball was my need in sports. My hand-eye coordination definitely took some time to develop and baseball, softball was not my favorite or golf those are hard things.
Speaker 2They are.
Summer Fun Science Camp Details
Speaker 3My basketball and volleyball. But yeah, like there's, you know, even if that's not your sport, it's not your thing, it can be a little slow. You know there's other things to experience and it is in our traveling exhibit space, so it's what rotates through every few months or so, and so the rest of the museum is open and we'll have lots going on in all of the spaces.
Speaker 2Very nice, and the Summer Fun Science Camps. I believe that's what you were referring to as well. So for those of you that are on the website, it looks like it's, you know, the main menu, under fun, right there in the middle of the page, and that starts May 28th, so this should be well ahead of that. We'll put this out there so that everyone can get a heads up, and it looks like it's pre-K to ninth grade, is that right?
Speaker 3So it is. We have fewer camps for our middle schoolers. There's a lot more going on and opportunities to engage, so we don't offer a camp every week for seventh, eighth graders and ninth graders. It's rising it's how you you know sort of place into our age. So what grade you're going into, what we try to do with them, and the majority of that audience are kids that have grown up with us.
Speaker 3So they've been coming to camp since they were young. It gives us the chance to sort of build on what we've done. They've been with us and even those who are just doing one week. But it's a little more in-depth. We take more trips, we see more of the county and sort of relevant to the content of the week, because it does change every week Fun part. But we want you know, we've sort of winnowed down to the kids who are super interested in the content and are excited to just do that for a week.
Speaker 2So it's not just at the Science Center location. You guys do field trips. I guess you could call.
Speaker 3We will. Yeah, we do not every grade group and it sort of depends. Our older kids we try to get out in the community, definitely Our older kids we try to get out in the community, definitely. So. For example, one of the weeks for that age group is Chem Basics and it's last week in June. We're going to go to the Manufacturing Solutions Center sort of see their processes for testing materials and, you know, improving design. That's their trip. That week we're doing amusement park science, so we'll be going into carowinds.
Speaker 1That week with that grade group.
Speaker 3Yeah, so that's the end of July, beginning of August and again you know they will live science longer than some of our younger kids. So, like our first second graders, the way our camp works is we have a morning and afternoon that includes free choice activity and field trips and for swimming or movies, just sort of normal camp summer activities. And the hands-on science is concentrated from 10 to noon and it's sort of a menu. You pick what you need in child care or interest and so you sign up if you need early morning drop-off in case you have a 8.30 report to work and need to have some care for your kids before then. 10 to noon is that hands-on part and we sort of divide kids out even more so that they're in specific grade groups.
Speaker 3After the noon end that's our afternoon adventures and that looks more like other camps in the area. So we're going to the Y swimming, or we're going to Carolina Theater for a movie, or we're taking our fifth sixth graders bowling. We're going to some of the wonderful parks nearby. That is a bit more free. It's not as structured science-wise. We still do science and visit the science center and take advantage of the resources here, but it gets to be a little broader and there's definitely more active outside time. Depending on weather, we do camps at Glen Hilton Park as well, so it's not just here.
Speaker 2We will do them in a nature-based setting here we will do them in a nature-based setting. It sounds like a wonderful program, but I do have to ask. I mean, I guess there's a cost to this right and on the back of that are you committed through the whole summer? It sounds almost like you can pick and choose.
Speaker 3Yeah, you pick and choose. So you decide what weeks you want. In Emily's case, she has visiting grandkids and just wants to plug them in for a specific week when they're here for something else to do during the day or if they're, you know, really into the topic we're doing. Um, so you, you pick um of all of the weeks that are there, you know one to 12. Um, we do have kids. This is their childcare, so we were with us all summer. Um, but you pick and choose not just the time of day that you need support or entertainment and some education, but the weeks that you need as well.
Speaker 2And on the back of that I do see that there could be scholarship opportunities for individuals that may not be able to afford.
Speaker 3Right, yes, you know the Science Center tries as best we can and we appreciate all the funders that help us do that make our programs and our just exhibits and memberships accessible to anybody who's interested. You know there is a cost to supporting that. We have to feed those sharks and pay the staff that are doing all of these things and we want it to be, you know, an engaging experience for them. We are definitely trying to pay our staff and support their work, but that can be a barrier. So we have membership programs where you can pay as little as $2 every time you visit, or free admission, and then the same with scholarships for camps and our homeschool program. We'll work with Title I schools as well to sort of help with that pricing, help with transportation costs, if we can. It. Just, you know, depends on the support we have each year and luckily we are well supported. We can always use more but we appreciate the community support we do have.
Speaker 2Well, and speaking of support, it doesn't look like the summer fund is just for kids. I mean, it looks like you may be hiring or taking volunteers.
Science Center Programs and Events
Speaker 3Oh, definitely yeah. So we definitely love volunteers. It's that transition Once you hit 13, you maybe don't want to participate in camp, but you still want to assist and support us. So we have a robust volunteer program. They sort of sign up the same way. They let us know what week they're interested in working and we plug it in. They are our support during the classes. So you have your educator in the room, but there are a couple of teams as well who are helping keep kids engaged and safe into restrooms and helping move about campus and all of the supplies that go into it. Move about campus and all of the supplies that go into it. And then we also hire staff. We have just like there are three parts of the day, we have three staff to support it. Morning counselors are bright and early morning people.
Speaker 3I am not that person but I said to work mornings. They're here and up to 18 in that age group are educators for the hands-on portion. We have a lot of teachers who need a break during the summer but still want to do something fun. Maybe they teach high school and want to experience, you know, the joy of teaching a second grader, so they'll work with us again the weeks they want and then our afternoon counselors. We need staff who are 21, cause we do drive kids around quite a bit. But yeah, we are maintaining a safe ratio. We want to parents know that we're having fun and are safe and supported.
Speaker 3So, there's lots of opportunities, and that's just with camp. We have increased visitorship during the summer, so our visitor services staff, we support you when you come and visit.
Speaker 2We also have summer positions there too, and volunteers work in that area very nice and, um, there are so many programs, so go to the website, look at all of the things. Erin and I would be here all day if we covered all these. I do. I do want to say that there is, there really, really is, and I do see that you have something underneath your director of programs. You have Science After Dark. So I have to ask what is Science After Dark?
Speaker 3Well, this is one of those experiments that turned out well that I got to engage in. It's a you know, you and I had memorable experiences as kids and we have these resources available. So Science After Dark is our adult themed programming. Yeah, we want to engage all learners and to entice adults to come out after night, after dark, in the night when there aren't, you know, kids and school groups and everything here. You get to be that you know 12-year-old joy in your heart, even if you're older.
Speaker 3It's programming that we design. It's laser shows in the planetarium. But as a side benefit we have, you know, beer and wine available for donation so you can enjoy. It is it's a different engaging date. Yeah, coming up in May we're doing a sports challenge night. After we open Big League Fun. We are going to have a competition in our main building. That all includes some feats of strength and sport-like, but just engage with the things that we have in a slightly competitive scavenger hunt way. So we're doing that on the 23rd of May. There'll be info on the website about that event.
Speaker 3I am currently looking for bugs. We're going to have an insect challenge if you want to eat a creature. That's part of the feat, sort of a oh goodness, fear Factor-esque element to it, because you know a little fun. But we'll do laser shows this summer. I tend to plug those in during the summer. They're a little easier for us to pull off when there's so much else going on. But we'll do July and August. Hopefully we'll have some options available. We're hoping to get a Taylor Swift show. It's going to be quite different than my normal classic rock Pink Floyd experience.
Speaker 3but that's coming, so I'm hoping to have some Swifty Saturdays in my summer too.
Speaker 2I like that a lot. I mean and this is no joke I mean I'm looking at the Pink Floyd program and I can't imagine Taylor's going to be any different, but the February one looked like it sold out.
Speaker 3Oh, it did, it did. We added a show I got to. Oh goodness, at least we changed up the albums.
Speaker 3I love Floyd, but four hours is a lot, and it was, you know, the lunatic was in my mind most definitely after being in the dark and watching those shows. The laser experiences are something else that, like you know, you might have nostalgia for if you're older. So we definitely have a crowd that will come and hang out with us for those events. But um, you know it's, it's, it's lasers and patterns set to music. It can be fun for everybody. So we will experiment with a different genre. I'm excited to see how that goes.
Speaker 2That's awesome. Yeah, I don't know whether I would rather listen to Pink Floyd for four hours or Taylor Swift. I mean, personally it's a toss-up, but I think I don't know. I think I could jam out to Taylor a little longer than Pink Floyd.
Speaker 3Okay, I think the benefit of the Taylor show will be variety from her catalog. The Floyd shows have just been albums, so the Wall and Dark Side of the Moon.
Speaker 1And.
Speaker 3Dark Side is a favorite, but it's on repeat. I definitely like it's talk radio after that for a week. I just have to cleanse after all that music.
Speaker 2I love it and so you know, out of respect for time, we are kind of pushing that mark there. Where things start to, we start to run into some extras and for the sake of our listeners just hearing Erin and I nerd out on these things because I literally can- talk about this all day, Erin. What are we missing?
Speaker 3By not coming to the Science Center.
Speaker 2Or what do.
Speaker 3I want to have, but I don't have it, or what haven't? We talked about Take it where you want to take it.
Speaker 2Is there anything that you really love that you think we didn't mention? That needs a mention.
Speaker 3Well, the experiences you talked about earlier, having field trips here that is the majority of my job. Most of the time is supporting kids coming from the county system, definitely, but over 20 Western North Carolina counties come in and do hands-on programming with us Every day. We're open to the public during the week, and so I appreciate that. It's an opportunity and sort of going back to the beginning, inspiring that interest in kids and hopefully they become regular visitors to the Science Center. What I'd say is we've talked about specific programs and I've mentioned a few special events, but we're always changing.
Speaker 3There's things going on that aren't regularly scheduled. We try to bring in business partners to talk about the science of their careers, and so most Saturdays during the month we'll have something different and extra going on. We'll have that exhibit space where baseball is this summer will become something new, and we're excited to have an exhibit on artificial intelligence coming in the fall on artificial intelligence coming in the fall. So my sort of suggestion is to just, you know, follow the Science Center on social media so you don't miss out on the special opportunities and changing exhibits. And, you know, check out the website, sign up for the newsletter so you get up-to-date info about what we're going to be doing for the month. There's a lot of fun things. I have my favorites. Again, I mentioned blowing things up. I will teach chemistry anytime, even though it's not my background. But there's lots of different experiences here and we want everybody to feel comfortable and welcome and explore science at their level of interest. Again, hopefully, we inspire deeper interest and understanding.
Speaker 2Yeah, well said, and I can't again. I can't thank you for coming. I can't thank you enough for coming on here and spending some time with us and I know there are a lot of people that listen and not just, you know, not just here in Catawba County, but we do have some that are all over. So you know if anyone is interested, if you're in the area, if you're coming to the area and you want to check out the Science Center again, katabascienceorg and they have a nice Contact Us page with all the information, hours and admission. If you're interested in supporting what they're doing, erin and her team, there's definitely enough information there. And if you're looking for someone to contact, unfortunately you wait a second Splashy has an email link. Hold on.
Speaker 3Oh yeah.
Speaker 2You can. It goes to the fine team at marketing, unfortunately not Splashy himself, but I'm sure they will get Splashy. The email you know. Check that website out. And, erin, thank you again. It's been a blast from the past, to say say the least. I have so many fond memories of the Science Center and I hope to come up there and visit you guys soon.
Speaker 3That's great, Oliver. You get to make some new memories with your kids when you revisit, so that's exciting.
Speaker 2That's right. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3Yes, you're welcome.
Speaker 1Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the Catawba Chronicles. If you're enjoying this show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. That helps others find the show and we greatly appreciate it. Once again, we really appreciate you taking the time to listen and getting more acquainted with all of the wonderful things Catawba County has to offer. We hope you'll join us again in the next episode of the Catawba Chronicles.