Mount Baker Theatre kicks off an expanded 2011-2012 season of educational programs for children and youth next month with "Let's Go Science," an event that's part science lab and part slapstick comedy.
It features Professor Smart and Dr. Knowitall, presenting science experiments with an emphasis on entertainment as they make toilet paper fly and people's hair stand on end. Their demonstrations illustrate air pressure, the principles of flight and static electricity, gravity and mass, gyroscopic properties and the scientific method.
"It's a fun way of introducing the concept of the physical world," said Maia Newell-Large, Mount Baker Theatre's house manager and educational program coordinator.
"Kids from kindergarten through second grade will enjoy the spectacle. Older kids ... will be able to see what they've learned about (in school) first-hand. Plus, it'll just be fun!"
"Let's Go Science" is the first of eight Mount Baker Theatre educational programs that are planned for the 2011-2012 season, up from six last year. Ticket prices are $5 and $6.50 for the hour-long programs, which range from the "Circus Incognitus" acrobats; "Barynya," which highlights Russian dance and music of the pre-revolutionary era; and "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," which Newell-Large said is "an African 'Cinderella' story."
"The arts are so critical. ... It's important to be well-rounded as human beings," Newell-Large said. "The arts foster self-expression, understanding and awareness of the world. They'll have memories that will last a lifetime."
Audiences can be very spirited in the historic Mount Baker Theatre, an ornate Moorish-Spanish movie house dating to the late 1920s, when film attendance was a spectacle. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
"We tried to have a good variety" of programs, Newell-Large said. "Over the years, we've had an increase in the number of preschoolers ... it really reaches out to the younger kids."
That explains the addition of programs such as "Give a Moose a Muffin," based on the comical children's picture book and a program based on the children's literature character "Junie B. Jones."
All shows aim to instill a love of the theater and an appreciation for the performing arts, Newell-Large said. The program's aim is to make high-quality arts and entertainment available to local families at a reduced price. About one program is offered per month through the school year.
Local residents Frank and Mary King funded an endowment that supports program in the name of their son, Wade Bennett King, who was killed in the 1999 pipeline disaster. There is also sponsorship assistance from local businesses, Newell-Large said.
"That's how we're able to keep prices at the $5 range, so people can afford to come," Newell-Large said. "That's one of the main missions of the theater, to step into the gap left by the decrease in funding for the arts in the schools."
Performances of "Let's Go Science" are at 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, in the Mount Baker Theatre, 104 N. Commercial St. Tickets are $5 and $6.50.
Reserve seats for any of the shows and learn more about the programs by calling the box office at 360-734-6080 or by going online to mountbakertheatre.com.
