NEWS FROM THE GREAT VALLEY MUSEUM
FALL 2016
MODESTO JUNIOR COLLEGE; YOSEMITE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
VOL. 38, No. 4
THE AMAZING WORLD OF SCIENCE & NATURAL HISTORY
H a l l owe e n C h e m i s t r y S h ow
Halloween Chemistry Show coming October 21, 2016
The Great Valley Museum is excited to
host a special one night only show of Dr Al Chemists and
the Mischiefs. This wacky group of chemists will present
a series of fascinating and amazing live chemistry
demonstrations. Through the magic of chemistry, things
will bubble, boil, burn and explode...a perfect start to
Halloween! The zany antics of the group are not just to
awe, but also to provide a deeper look into the chemistry
that makes it all possible. Beware! you might be turned
onto chemistry!
The presentation will benefit the Great Valley
Dr. Steve Murov, Dave Menshew, Michael McKibban, Mike Kennedy
Museum and MAPS (Modesto Area Partners in Science).
It will be held in Sierra Hall, room 132 on Friday evening, October 21 from 7:00-8:30. General admission is $10.
Members and students $8. Prices at the door: general admission $15, members/students $12. Please note,
admission includes admittance to the museum after the show. This show is rated PG-13. (some language
inappropriate for children)
Tickets are available at the GVM web site, (mjc.edu/gvm click on events.)
Don't miss this fun, educational evening... a pumpkin WILL ooze goo!
For more information and to keep current on scientific events in Stanislaus County,
go to: http://murov.info/familyscience.htm
S ave t h e D a t e
The Great Valley Museum's Gala Dinner fundraiser will be March 18, 2017. The theme will be Discover
the Big Birds of the Museum. Negotiations are in progress to bring several large birds to the museum for the Gala.
Don't miss it!
THE AMAZING WORLD OF SCIENCE & NATURAL HISTORY
Live Animal & Bookworm Story Telling
Story hour during the school year is geared to 3-4 year olds. The animal shows
are suitable for everyone. Very small children are welcomed if supervised by
their parents. All stories and shows start at 10 am, last about an hour, and are
free with paid admission.
Oct 7
Oct 21
Nov 4
Nov 18
Dec 2
Spiders & bats
Bats & Spiders
Fabulous Fall
Squirrels and other animals in Fall
Bears and hibernation
H a n d s - O n We d n e s d a y s
T
he “Hands-On” Wednesday, an after school program for elementary school
children, will start back up in September and go through the end of May. These
exciting classes will be held the first Wednesday of the month from 3:30-4:30. In
general, Hands-On Wednesday will expand themes from the Great Valley
Museum’s rotating exhibits. Museum staff will engage young learners with
experiments, demonstrations and touchable objects to increase curiosity and
generate interest in further discovery. Your child can expect something different
and exciting for each Hands-On Wednesday class.
For more information and to enroll call 209-575-6196 or
visit our website at www.mjc.edu/gvm
Traveling Teacher Corner
T
he traveling teacher programs are in great demand again. Already there are
traveling teacher programs scheduled for every month up to May, 2017. If you
are thinking of scheduling a traveling teacher program, better do it soon. This year,
the programs are being updated with new materials. Plus, the content outlines are
being rewritten to include the latest ideas and technology. This is being undertaken by
Molly, and Bob Dailey, a museum volunteer. There will be a new look for many of
the 42 programs. Participating schools will reap the reward of the latest scientific
materials.
Several new people have joined the traveling teacher team: Rapunzel Amador-Lewis,
Tom Cain, Cody Simar, and Fred Yerzy. On the other hand, some of the old teachers are leaving
to expand their education: Erin Thompson is doing graduate work at Cal Poly, Mike Hart is
getting his teaching credential in Jr High Science, and Rapunzel Amador-Lewis is enrolling in the
credential program at CSUS. Good luck to all. New traveling teachers are always welcome. If you
are interested in becoming a traveling teacher for the museum, please call Molly at 209-575-6674.
This year, the Great Valley Museum is once again partnering with MID and Tuolumne
River Trust. MID is to updating the MID Electricity and MID 411 programs. These programs
are free to Modesto and Mountain House School Districts because they are served by MID.
The partnership with Tuolumne River Trust is in the second phase of the Water Ways--EPA
program.
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CONTACT US
209-575-6196
209-575-6466 fax
[email protected]
www.mjc.edu/gvm
Modesto Junior College
West Campus
Science Community Center
2201 Blue Gum Ave
Modesto, CA 95358
MUSEUM PUBLIC
HOURS
Sunday
Closed
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
9am-4pm
Wednesday
9am-4pm
Thursday
9am-4pm
Friday
9am-4pm
Saturday
9am-4pm
Public parking on the MJC
campus is $2 Monday – Friday.
Please bring small bills. Parking
is free after 5 pm on Fridays,
and all day on weekends.
PLANETARIUM
Tickets available at the GVM
Nature Shop or online. Not
recommended for children
under 4 years of age. Limited to
the first 100 guests. Please
arrive 10-15 minutes prior to
scheduled show time as the
doors to the Planetarium DO
NOT OPEN once the program
has begun.
The planetarium currently has
public showings on Saturdays
at 11am & 1pm
Check our web page,
www.mjc.edu/gvm for
programs, times and pricing.
Science Colloquiums

Sept. 7th — C. V. Allen, M.D., "Diagnosing our Medical
System’s Ills"

Oct. 19th — David Martin, MJC Anatomy/Physiology
Professor, "Medical Applications of 3D Printing"

Sept. 14th — Heidi Meyer, MJC Mathematics
Professor, "Overcoming Obstacles: 19th Century Women of
Mathematics"

Oct. 26th — Emily Basnight, MJC and CSU Stan
Economics student: “Pricing Carbon: Cap and Trade or
Fee and Dividend- Which is Best?”

Sept. 21st — Debbie Laffranchini, “Autism: Genes
and Neurobiology, OH MY!”

Nov. 2nd — Doug Singleton, CSU Fresno, “The
Mysterious Dark Energy in Our Cosmos”

Sept. 28th — Regina Hirsch, Sierra Watershed
Progressive, “Conserving Residential Water: Gray Water,
Cisterns and More”

Nov. 9th — Des Orsinelli, Brown Caldwell Engineer
“Notes on the cost to save the world (Or what would a ‘tax’ on
carbon really cost us?)”

Oct. 5th — Steve Murov, MJC Chemist (Ret)
“Exploring Matter: An Inexpensive, Interactive Chemistry
Museum Exhibit.”

Nov. 16th — Roland Nyegaard, M.D., “Dying well-magical thinking or possible?”

Nov. 23rd — Thanksgiving vacation. No SE.

Oct. 12th — Laurie Hatch, MJC Child Dev. (Ret)
 Nov. 30th — Bobby Hutchison, MJC Professor,
"Adverse Childhood Experiences: How Early Trauma Affects
“World AIDS Day”
our Brains, our Bodies and Our Lives"
M o d e s t o A r e a Pa r t n e r s i n S c i e n c e
The Modesto Area Partners in Science (MAPS) lecture series has operated since 1990 to foster science
education in our community for youths through adults. Once a month during the academic year, MAPS offers
stimulating free science programming, bringing educators and local citizens into contact with scientists and mindexpanding ideas.
FREE Public Programs
7:30pm MJC West Campus - Sierra Hall, Rm. 132
September 30th
October 28th
November 18th
December 2nd
“Desert Bighorn Sheep”
“Mathematics: A Human
Endeavor”
“Pluto Up Close”
“Fusion: Building a
Miniature Star on Earth”
Dr. Jeff Villpique, a
Mark Showalter from SETI
Wildlife Biologist with the
MJC mathematics
institute discusses NASA’s
Dr. Tammy Ma is an
Department of Fish and professor Dr. Heidi Meyer
New Horizons Pluto
experimental physicist at
Wildlife’s Inland Deserts
returns to MAPS with a
mission. Images of this
the National Ignition
Region, will discuss his
tour of the history of math. mysterious frigid world
Facility at Lawrence
experiences with bighorn
show ice mountains,
Livermore Laboratory. She
sheep.
glaciers and a thin blue
will discuss research in
atmosphere.
harnessing fusion energy.
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Directors Notes
By being a Great Valley Museum member you assist this local nonprofit with the costs needed for its daily
operations. Your membership not only gives you anytime access to this museum, you also can also deduct that
membership cost from your taxes. But there are other ways one can help support us. Below is a list of the various
ways.
 eScrip
 Will or Estate Plan (please contact the
 AmazonSmile
GVM Director)
 Amazon Wish List (search for Great
 Monetary Donation
Valley Museum)
 Volunteer/Docent
 Layne Labs (mice donations)
 Tell everyone about us!
 In-Kind Gifts
 website for the links or forms for the above options. We appreciate all that you do for the
Please check our
museum. Our community would not have such a wonderful museum without our dedicated members. We’ll see
you at the museum.
Exploring Matter Exhibit
The Great Valley Museum has a new hands-on exhibit called
Exploring Matter. The exhibit focuses on the properties of matter
with an emphasis on the elements. Despite the extreme importance
of chemistry in everyday life, chemistry exhibits are rarely found in
museums. This original and unique exhibit is designed to provide a
STEM educational experience for individuals and families. It's all
fun chemistry!
There are 20 interactive stations to explore for an understanding of matter.



Stations 1-12 deal with the properties of matter with an emphasis on
density.
Stations 13-15 are problem solving exercises based on observations.
Stations 16-20 present contemporary issues related to chemistry
including nuclear issues, fossil fuels and drug designs.
Dr. Murov has a web site that explains each station ( http://murov.info/EM-TOC.htm)
The exhibit requires some reading, thinking, and doing...in short, hands-on for learning. For example,
Station Number 8 is figuring out something peculiar about two groups of pennies. You must discover what is
different about the two groups. When you weigh them on the scale, you see that they actually fall into 2 different
groups by mass, (or by weight. Mass in the metric system is measured in grams– about 1/28th of an ounce). It
turns out that one penny group, minted before 1982, was heavier than the group minted after 1982. What's going
on? Pennies are all made of copper, right? Wrong. Since 1982, when the copper in pennies was worth more than a
penny, they changed the content of pennies to be mostly zinc! Zinc weights less than copper. So pennies with
mostly zinc have less mass( weight) than pennies made before1982, which are made of heavier copper. You could
bring your own pennies and test this out!
The last station of our new interactive chemistry exhibit has
something very interesting---an infrared camera---a camera which takes
pictures of heat! At this station you can see that the thermal pictures
show that the Earth is really getting hotter! ( As if those of us in
Modesto needed more proof!) But here's what's fun--you can have your
own thermal picture taken (and sent to your email), with our new
Infrared camera.
The exhibit was developed by Steve Murov, Professor Emeritus
of Chemistry, Modesto Junior College, Dave Menshew, science
instructor at Enochs High School, Arnold Chavez, Director of Great
Valley Museum, and Enochs High School CSI Students.
It was funded by a grant from the American Chemical Society
and the Modesto Junior College Foundation. It will be translated into
Spanish by the El Concilio organization with Yamilette Villadolid.
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Pe r i o d i c Tab l e o f S p o n s o r s P l a q u e U nve i l e d !
The Periodic Table Donor's Plaque Unveiled on August 23, 2016
Finally last August, after more than 5 years, all the periodic elements found a sponsor. A beautiful periodic
table in a wooden frame with the donor's names engraved under their chosen element was created. On
Wednesday, August 23, in the early evening, a group of members came to the museum for the unveiling of the
Periodic Table Donor's Plaque. After a brief introduction by Arnold Chavez, GVM director, the unveiling was
realized by Lynn Hanson, and Dr. Steve Murov. As far as anyone remembers, Steve Murov was one of the
originators of this sponsorship idea, along with Dr. Brian Sanders and the late Sandy Vanway. After checking out
their names under their element, sponsors were treated to cookies that looked like atoms. This plaque will
permanently hang in the museum. If you don't have your name, or a loved one's name, forever immortalized on
the wall of the museum, don't despair. The museum will soon have stars in the planetarium that you can sponsor!
Membership
Categories
Please Circle One
$40
Senior
$50
Individual
$120
Family
$250
School
$300
Other Groups
Business
$500
Small Business
$1000
Standard
$2000
Premium
$5000
Elite
Here is how you benefit by becoming a member:
*Free admission to the Museum
*10% discount in the Nature Shop
*Discounts on class and program fees
New Membership:
*Valley Views Newsletter
*Resource materials for checkout
*Discounts on Planetarium Shows
Renewal Membership:
Name _______________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip ______________________________________________________
Phone ____________________________________________________________
E-mail ____________________________________________________________
Check payable to the Great Valley Museum, 2201 Blue Gum Ave., Modesto, CA 95358
Credit cards accepted at the Museum or online at www.mjc.edu/gvm
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Gifts/Donations and New GVM Members
T
he Great Valley Museum has a nice way to remember a deceased relative or friend, or to acknowledge a
birthday, anniversary or other special occasion. You can make a memorial contribution or recognition gift to the
Great Valley Museum in someone’s name. We acknowledge your gift in three ways: with a thank you to you,
with a note to the family or honoree saying that you have made a donation and specifying the occasion, and with
a listing in Valley Views.
Gifts/Donations
New Members

Alpha Graphics

Michael Angelo


Ann Dutton

Betty Reposa


Arnold Chavez

Nasco


Erynn Lucas

Evelyn Van Andel

Elizabeth McInnes

Shirley & Richard Plotzker

Thomas Nomof

Roger Gohring

Dr. Brian Sanders

DKG Epsilon Nu

Judith Lancaster


John Stott
Richard Avant/Denise Godbout-Avant

Mrs. Shrack

Roland & Carla Russell

Mrs. Valasco

Martha Carter-Bhatti

James McAndrews Jr.

Noel Russell

Foster Farms





Mary Barbagallo
Dennis Garber
Terry Glassey
Bonnie Jones-Lee
Millen Joseph
Owen Key
Tong Sun
Volta Elementary School
Its bird migration time in the Central Valley again.
Turn off as many lights as you can to help the birds.
If you would like to save a tree and get the Valley Views Newsletter e-mailed to you instead of
a mailed hard copy, email: [email protected]. Please provide your name, email address and a
statement about preferring an email copy rather than mailed, hard copy.
6
FALL 2 0 1 6 C A L E N D A R FOR THE GREAT VALLEY MUSEUM
For full details of events mentioned here call the museum at ( 2 0 9 ) 5 7 5 - 6 1 9 6 or view web www.mjc.edu/gvm
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
1
SEPTEMBER
4
5
11
6
12
7
 Hands-On 3:30pm
 Science Colloquium 3pm
13
14
Science Colloquium 3pm
FRIDAY
2
 Bookworm Storytime 10am
 Science Night 7p-10p
8
9
 Animal Show 10am
15
16
 Bookworm Storytime 10am
18
19
20
21
22
23
25
26
27
28
29
30
SUNDAY
MONDAY
Science Colloquium 3pm
Science Colloquium 3pm
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
 Animal Show 10am
SATURDAY
3
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
10
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
17
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
24
WILD PLANET
 Animal Show 10am
 M.A.P.S. 7:30pm
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
OCTOBER
2
3
9
4
10
Hands-On 3:30pm
 Science Colloquium 3pm
11
12
Science Colloquium 3pm
6
7
Bookworm Storytime 10am
 Science Night 7p-10p
13
14
 Animal Show 10am
16
17
18
19
20
21
23/30
24/31
25
26
27
28
SUNDAY
MONDAY
6
7
Science Colloquium 3pm
Science Colloquium 3pm
TUESDAY
1
NOVEMBER
5
8
WEDNESDAY
2
Hands-On 3:30pm
 Science Colloquium 3pm
9
20
14
21
15
22
16
Science Colloquium 3pm
23
Animal Show 10am
 M.A.P.S. 7:30pm
THURSDAY
3
10
Science Colloquium 3pm
13
 Bookworm Storytime 10am
17
28
29
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
15
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
22
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
29
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
FRIDAY
4
Bookworm Storytime 10am
 Science Night 7p-10p
SATURDAY
5
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
11
12
Animal Show 10am
 Planetarium Shows:
18
19
Bookworm Storytime 10am
 M.A.P.S. 7:30pm
24 CLOSED 25
11a & 1p
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
26
CLOSED
27
8
 Planetarium Shows:
11a & 1p
30
Science Colloquium 3pm
THE AMAZING WORLD OF SCIENCE & NATURAL HISTORY
MUSEUM PUBLIC HOURS
Tuesday—Saturday: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Closed
Sunday & Monday:
MUSEUM ADMISSION
12 & Over:
$5
Children 3-12:
$3
Family (up to 6):
$15
Age 55+:
$4
MJC students w/ID:
Free
Parking M -F:
$2
CONNECT WITH US
www.mjc.edu/gvm
(209) 575 - 6196
(209) 575 - 6466 fax
[email protected]
Email Traveling Teachers:
[email protected]
facebook.com/greatvalleymuseum
@gvmatmjc
MUSEUM BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President:
Jodi Karambela
Vice President:
Diana Loomis
Treasurer:
Tim Fisher
Secretary:
James McAndrews
Arnold Chavez
Molly Flemate
Samuel Leatherman
Stan W. Elems
Guy Van Cleave
Teri Curtis
Museum Director:
Museum Specialist-Outreach Ed:
Museum Office Technician:
Senior Curator:
Curator of Vertebrates:
Curator:
Anne DeMartini
Dr. Al Alt
YCCD Board Representative:
MJC Representative:
Elizabeth McInnes
Deborah Martin
Larry Hockenbery
Martha Carter-Bhatti
Roger Gohring
Jeff Kahler, DVM
Denise Vieira
Joyce Stetler
FALL 2016